---
title: "Living in Ankara as a digital nomad: cost, safety, visa, internet"
url: https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/ankara
description: "Türkiye's orderly capital on the Anatolian plateau"
dataset: 2026.10.7 (2026-10-13)
license: CC BY 4.0
---

# Ankara, Türkiye

Ankara scores 59.5/100 for digital nomads under balanced weights, ranking 625 of 1000 cities. Expect about $871 per month, a nomad visa (Digital nomad visa), and a measured median download speed of 20.2 Mbps.

Ankara is a planned, mostly modern capital with a metro, a large student population and rents well below Istanbul, plus the same nomad visa. It is landlocked and bureaucratic, winters are cold, and few foreigners choose it over Istanbul or the coast.

Known for: Government and embassies, Cheaper than Istanbul, Anıtkabir mausoleum, Cold winters.

## Scores (balanced weights, 0–100)

| Factor | Score |
| --- | --- |
| Overall | 59.5 |
| Cost of living | 65 |
| Safety | 53 |
| Healthcare | 73 |
| Internet | 57 |
| Visa ease | 73 |
| Getting there & around | 70 |
| Climate | 33 |
| Air quality | 55 |
| Quality of life | 57 |

## The numbers behind the scores

| Metric | Value | Level | As of | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly cost, one person | $871 | city | 2026-09 | [^2] |
| Central 1-bedroom rent | — | city | 2026-09 | [^3] |
| Outskirts 1-bedroom rent (basis of the monthly total) | — | city | 2026-09 | [^3] |
| Homicide rate (per 100k) | 2.41 | country | 2024 | [^5] |
| Political stability (0–100) | 50.2 | country | 2025 | [^6] |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | 77 | country | 2023 | [^7] |
| Life expectancy (years) | 75.3 | country | 2021 | [^8] |
| Median download (Mbps) | 20.2 | city | 2024 | [^9] |
| Median upload (Mbps) | 5.8 | city | 2024 | [^9] |
| Starlink residential service | Coming soon (Pending regulatory approval) | country | 2026-10 | [^10] |
| Nomad visa | Digital nomad visa (min $3,000/mo) | country | 2026-10-04 | [^11] |
| Visa guide | [Türkiye long-stay visa guide](https://nostos.navoy.io/visas/turkiye) | country | 2026-10-04 | [^11] |
| Entry for US / EU / UK passports | 90 days / 90 days / 90 days | country | 2026-02 | [^12] |
| Non-stop destinations (ESB) | 94 | city | 2026-09 | [^13] |
| Restaurants within 3 km of the centre (OpenStreetMap) | 127 | city | 2026-10 | [^17] |
| Walkability / transit (1–5) | 3 / 4 | editorial | 2026-09 | [^14] |
| Comfortable months | 4 of 12 | city | 2001–2020 | [^15] |
| Annual mean PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 25.3 | city | 2025 | [^16] |
| Human Development Index | 0.853 | country | 2023 | [^18] |
| English proficiency band | very-low | country | 2024 | [^19] |

## Climate (2001–2020 normals)

| Month | Mean °C | Rain mm | Humidity % | Comfortable |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Jan | -2.1 | 50 | 87 | no |
| Feb | 0.3 | 36 | 81 | no |
| Mar | 4.2 | 42 | 73 | no |
| Apr | 8.9 | 39 | 67 | no |
| May | 14.2 | 51 | 64 | no |
| Jun | 18.6 | 44 | 59 | yes |
| Jul | 22.2 | 13 | 49 | yes |
| Aug | 22.5 | 14 | 47 | yes |
| Sep | 18 | 19 | 51 | yes |
| Oct | 11.9 | 33 | 63 | no |
| Nov | 5.1 | 32 | 73 | no |
| Dec | 0 | 47 | 84 | no |

## Airports and nonstop flights

| Airport | IATA | Nonstop destinations | International | From US airports |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Ankara Esenboğa Airport | ESB | 94 | 55 | 0 |

Unique destinations across all airports: 94, of which 55 international (Wikipedia, 2026-09).

## Similar cities

- [Kuşadası](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/kusadasi) (58.9) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/ankara-vs-kusadasi)
- [Antalya](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/antalya) (61) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/ankara-vs-antalya)
- [Marmaris](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/marmaris) (57.4) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/ankara-vs-marmaris)
- [Izmir](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/izmir) (61.3) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/ankara-vs-izmir)
- [Fethiye](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/fethiye) (59.4) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/ankara-vs-fethiye)

## FAQ

### How much does it cost to live in Ankara as a digital nomad?

A single person typically spends about $871 per month in Ankara. That is a 65/100 cost score, where 100 is the cheapest city in the dataset.

### Is Ankara safe for digital nomads?

Ankara scores 53/100 on safety. Türkiye records 2.41 homicides per 100,000 people per year (WHO, 2024) and a political-stability score of 50.2/100 (World Bank WGI). Both figures are national, so neighbourhood-level risk can differ.

### Does Türkiye have a digital nomad visa?

Yes. Türkiye offers the Digital nomad visa with a minimum income of about $3,000 per month. Verify current rules with the issuing authority before applying. Full guide: https://nostos.navoy.io/visas/turkiye

### How fast is the internet in Ankara?

Measured median download speed in Ankara was 20.2 Mbps (upload 5.8 Mbps) across 12,183 M-Lab tests in 2024. Measured speeds run below advertised plan speeds everywhere, so compare cities rather than reading the number as a plan.

### Is Starlink available in Ankara?

Not yet. Starlink's availability map lists Türkiye as coming soon (Pending regulatory approval) as of 2026-10. Roaming plans may work for short stays, but local rules on using them vary.

### Which airports serve Ankara and how many nonstop flights are there?

Ankara is served by Ankara Esenboğa Airport (ESB) with 94 nonstop destinations, of which 55 are international. 0 US airports have a nonstop link. Source: Wikipedia, 2026-09.

### When is the best time of year to be in Ankara?

The most comfortable months are Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep. Mean temperatures range from 28°F (-2°C) in Jan to 73°F (23°C) in Aug (NASA POWER 2001–2020 climatology).

### Ankara or Kuşadası: which is better for digital nomads?

Kuşadası is the city with the closest factor profile to Ankara in this dataset. Which one wins depends on your weights; the comparison page puts every factor side by side with the numbers behind them.

## Plan a trip

[Where to stay in Ankara](https://navoy.io/hotels/turkey/ankara) on Navoy, the AI travel planner behind Nostos.

## Sources

[^1]: City population (latest census or official estimate), Wikipedia (citing national statistics offices). CC BY-SA 4.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^2]: WhereNext city cost estimates 2026 (city pages), WhereNext. CC BY 4.0. https://getwherenext.com/cities (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^3]: Cost of Living Global 2026 (city rows), WhereToEmigrate. CC BY 4.0. https://github.com/0brien18/global-emigration-dataset (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^4]: 2026 Cost of Living Index (country level), WhereNext. CC BY 4.0. https://getwherenext.com/data/cost-of-living-2026 (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^5]: Victims of intentional homicide per 100,000 population (national data, latest year), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, dataUNODC. UNODC data, free to reuse with attribution. https://data.unodc.org/datareport/hom-victim (retrieved 2026-10-12)
[^6]: Worldwide Governance Indicators — Political Stability and Absence of Violence (score 0–100), World Bank. CC BY 4.0. https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^7]: UHC service coverage index, World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO data policy). https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/indicators/indicator-details/GHO/uhc-index-of-service-coverage (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^8]: Life expectancy at birth (years), both sexes, World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO data policy). https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/indicators/indicator-details/GHO/life-expectancy-at-birth-(years) (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^9]: M-Lab NDT statistics (city aggregates, 2024), Measurement Lab. CC0 1.0. https://statistics.measurementlab.net/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^10]: Starlink availability map, SpaceX (Starlink). Factual status cited from starlink.com. https://www.starlink.com/map (retrieved 2026-10-07)
[^11]: Nostos long-stay visa guides, Navoy. CC BY 4.0. https://nostos.navoy.io/visas (retrieved 2026-10-04)
[^12]: Passport Index dataset (visa requirements, 199 passports × 199 destinations), Ilya Ilyankou (compiled from passportindex.org). MIT. https://github.com/ilyankou/passport-index-dataset (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^13]: Airport destinations (Wikipedia airline and destination tables), Wikipedia contributors; countries via Wikidata. CC BY-SA 4.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/ (retrieved 2026-09-24)
[^14]: Walkability and transit ratings (editorial), Navoy. CC BY 4.0. https://nostos.navoy.io/methodology (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^15]: NASA POWER climatology (2001–2020 monthly means), NASA Langley Research Center. Public domain (US Government). https://power.larc.nasa.gov/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^16]: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database, June 2026 update (V8), World Health Organization. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO data policy). https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/who-ambient-air-quality-database-(update-jun-2026) (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^17]: OpenStreetMap restaurants (Overpass API), OpenStreetMap contributors. ODbL 1.0. https://overpass-api.de/ (retrieved 2026-10-02)
[^18]: Human Development Index (HDR 2025, HDI 2023), United Nations Development Programme. CC BY 3.0 IGO. https://hdr.undp.org/data-center/documentation-and-downloads (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^19]: EF English Proficiency Index 2024 (band), EF Education First. Proprietary; band cited as a fact with attribution. https://www.ef.com/epi/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)

HTML page: https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/ankara