---
title: "Living in Aqaba as a digital nomad: cost, safety, visa, internet"
url: https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/aqaba
description: "Jordan's Red Sea free zone with diving and Wadi Rum"
dataset: 2026.09.4 (2026-09-26)
license: CC BY 4.0
---

# Aqaba, Jordan

Aqaba scores 43.6/100 for digital nomads under balanced weights, ranking 280 of 309 cities. Expect about $1,354 per month, no dedicated nomad visa, and no reliable internet measurement.

Aqaba is Jordan's only coast, a Red Sea town with diving, a duty-free economic zone and Wadi Rum an hour away. It is small and hot, and Jordan's nomad-friendly visa rules apply.

Known for: Red Sea diving, Special economic zone, Wadi Rum 1h, Petra 2h.

## Scores (balanced weights, 0–100)

| Factor | Score |
| --- | --- |
| Overall | 43.6 |
| Cost of living | 54 |
| Safety | 60 |
| Healthcare | 70 |
| Internet | — |
| Visa ease | 6 |
| Getting there & around | 10 |
| Climate | 58 |
| Air quality | 42 |
| Quality of life | 48 |

## The numbers behind the scores

| Metric | Value | Level | As of | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly cost, one person | $1,354 | 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) | 2.3 | country | 2021 | [^5] |
| Political stability (0–100) | 59.9 | country | 2024 | [^6] |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | 74 | country | 2023 | [^7] |
| Life expectancy (years) | 75.6 | country | 2021 | [^8] |
| Median download (Mbps) | — | city | 2024 | [^9] |
| Median upload (Mbps) | — | city | 2024 | [^9] |
| Nomad visa | none listed | country | 2026-07 | [^10] |
| Visa-free days US / EU / UK | visa or e-visa required / visa or e-visa required / visa or e-visa required | editorial | 2026-02 | [^11] |
| Non-stop destinations (AQJ) | 3 | city | 2026-09 | [^12] |
| Walkability / transit (1–5) | 3 / 1 | editorial | 2026-09 | [^13] |
| Comfortable months | 7 of 12 | city | 2001–2020 | [^14] |
| Annual mean PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 31.3 | city | 2023 | [^15] |
| Human Development Index | 0.754 | country | 2023 | [^16] |
| English proficiency band | low | country | 2024 | [^17] |

## Climate (2001–2020 normals)

| Month | Mean °C | Rain mm | Humidity % | Comfortable |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Jan | 10.7 | 9 | 57 | no |
| Feb | 12.5 | 10 | 51 | no |
| Mar | 15.9 | 5 | 45 | yes |
| Apr | 19.7 | 4 | 38 | yes |
| May | 24.1 | 1 | 34 | yes |
| Jun | 26.7 | 0 | 36 | yes |
| Jul | 28.3 | 0 | 37 | no |
| Aug | 28.2 | 0 | 41 | no |
| Sep | 26.1 | 2 | 46 | yes |
| Oct | 22.7 | 3 | 48 | yes |
| Nov | 17.1 | 6 | 51 | yes |
| Dec | 12.5 | 5 | 55 | no |

## Airports and nonstop flights

| Airport | IATA | Nonstop destinations | International | From US airports |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| King Hussein International Airport | AQJ | 3 | 2 | 0 |

Unique destinations across all airports: 3, of which 2 international (Wikipedia, 2026-09).

## Similar cities

- [Amman](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/amman) (46) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/amman-vs-aqaba)
- [Jakarta](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/jakarta) (43) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/aqaba-vs-jakarta)
- [Accra](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/accra) (39.3) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/accra-vs-aqaba)
- [Riyadh](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/riyadh) (48.9) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/aqaba-vs-riyadh)
- [Kumasi](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/kumasi) (33.9) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/aqaba-vs-kumasi)

## FAQ

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

A single person typically spends about $1,354 per month in Aqaba. That is a 54/100 cost score, where 100 is the cheapest city in the dataset.

### Is Aqaba safe for digital nomads?

Aqaba scores 60/100 on safety. Jordan records 2.3 homicides per 100,000 people per year (WHO, 2021) and a political-stability score of 59.9/100 (World Bank WGI). Both figures are national, so neighbourhood-level risk can differ.

### Does Jordan have a digital nomad visa?

No dedicated digital nomad visa was listed for Jordan as of 2026-07. Visitors from the US can stay only with a visa, e-visa, eTA or visa on arrival days.

### How fast is the internet in Aqaba?

M-Lab did not record enough speed tests in Aqaba in 2024 to publish a median.

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

Aqaba is served by King Hussein International Airport (AQJ) with 3 nonstop destinations, of which 2 are international. 0 US airports have a nonstop link. Source: Wikipedia, 2026-09.

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

The most comfortable months are Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Sep, Oct, Nov. Mean temperatures range from 51°F (11°C) in Jan to 83°F (28°C) in Jul (NASA POWER 2001–2020 climatology).

### Aqaba or Amman: which is better for digital nomads?

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

## 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]: Estimates of rates of homicides per 100 000 population, 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/estimates-of-rates-of-homicides-per-100-000-population (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^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]: Digital Nomad Visas 2026, WhereToEmigrate. CC BY 4.0. https://github.com/0brien18/global-emigration-dataset (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^11]: 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)
[^12]: 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)
[^13]: Walkability and transit ratings (editorial), Navoy. CC BY 4.0. https://nostos.navoy.io/methodology (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^14]: NASA POWER climatology (2001–2020 monthly means), NASA Langley Research Center. Public domain (US Government). https://power.larc.nasa.gov/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^15]: SatPM2.5 satellite-derived annual PM2.5 (V6.GL.02.04), Atmospheric Composition Analysis Group, Washington University in St. Louis. CC BY 4.0. https://sites.wustl.edu/acag/surface-pm2-5/ (retrieved 2026-09-26)
[^16]: 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)
[^17]: 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/aqaba