In the league of per-capita monthly income of urban residents for 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions, Shanghai is second with just 12 yuan (1.5 U.S. dollars) less than Beijing.

However, in the listing of per-capita disposable income, Shanghai came in first with 1,625 yuan (203 U.S. dollars), 12.96 yuan (1.62 U.S. dollars) higher than Beijing, which ranked second.

However, with their incomes rising faster, Beijingers are more generous in spending. The per-capita income in Beijing exceeded 10,000 yuan (1,250 U.S. dollars) for the first time in the first half year. In the first seven months, Beijing per-capita consumption spending was 8,363 yuan (1,045 U.S. dollars), up 14 percent from the same period last year.

Provinces in the first tier of urban residents in July were Zhejiang, Guangdong, Jiangsu and Fujian.