Shanghai ranked first in the country for disposable income by its citizens with the first quarter averaging 14,153 yuan (US$2,280), according to a data released yesterday.

It was followed by Beijing and east China’s Jiangsu Province, where average disposable income were 13,503 yuan and 11,516 yuan, respectively, with authorities revealing that the two municipalities and the province had residents with discretionary spending power of more than 10,000 yuan.

Qinghai and Gansu provinces and the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region stood at the bottom with average individual disposable incomes of 6,212, 6,258 and 6,272 yuan, respectively.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, per capita urban disposable income during the first three months averaged 8,572 yuan, representing an increase of 8.3 percent from a year earlier.

In 17 cities, provinces and regions the disposable income grew faster than the national spending.

Among them, Gansu Province topped with 10.6 percent increase from the same period last year, followed by the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region with a 9.6 percent increase. Guizhou and Jiangxi Provinces tied for third at 9.5 percent from a year earlier.

The Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region was at the bottom of the list with an increase of 6.9 percent.

Statistics in some cities, provinces and regions showed that residents’ disposal income increased faster than gross domestic product.

For example, Beijing’s 13,503 yuan of average resident disposable income in the first three month this year was up 8.4 percent from last year, while its GDP increased 6.8 percent in the same period.

Residents in Hebei Province had 6,698 yuan for disposable spending, with a 9 percent growth, while its GDP grew 6.2 percent.