---
title: "Living in Brasília as a digital nomad: cost, safety, visa, internet"
url: https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/brasilia
description: "Niemeyer's planned modernist capital, built for cars and civil servants"
dataset: 2026.10.7 (2026-10-13)
license: CC BY 4.0
---

# Brasília, Brazil

Brasília scores 60.9/100 for digital nomads under balanced weights, ranking 570 of 1000 cities. Expect about $1,332 per month, a nomad visa (Digital nomad temporary visa (VITEM XIV)), and a measured median download speed of 41.2 Mbps.

Brasília is the planned capital inaugurated in 1960, a UNESCO site of Niemeyer buildings laid out on an aeroplane-shaped plan of residential superquadras. Government jobs give it Brazil's highest incomes and rents to match. Distances are long and designed for cars, with a two-line metro, and the May-to-September dry season brings very low humidity.

Known for: UNESCO modernist architecture, Superquadra neighbourhoods, High salaries, high rents, Dry season May to September.

## Scores (balanced weights, 0–100)

| Factor | Score |
| --- | --- |
| Overall | 60.9 |
| Cost of living | 49 |
| Safety | 35 |
| Healthcare | 72 |
| Internet | 73 |
| Visa ease | 77 |
| Getting there & around | 43 |
| Climate | 58 |
| Air quality | 86 |
| Quality of life | 54 |

## The numbers behind the scores

| Metric | Value | Level | As of | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly cost, one person | $1,332 | 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) | 18.69 | country | 2024 | [^5] |
| Political stability (0–100) | 58.9 | country | 2025 | [^6] |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | 84 | country | 2023 | [^7] |
| Life expectancy (years) | 72.4 | country | 2021 | [^8] |
| Median download (Mbps) | 41.2 | city | 2024 | [^9] |
| Median upload (Mbps) | 23.6 | city | 2024 | [^9] |
| Starlink residential service | Available | country | 2026-10 | [^10] |
| Nomad visa | Digital nomad temporary visa (VITEM XIV) (min $1,500/mo) | country | 2026-10-04 | [^11] |
| Visa guide | [Brazil long-stay visa guide](https://nostos.navoy.io/visas/brazil) | country | 2026-10-04 | [^11] |
| Entry for US / EU / UK passports | 90 days / 90 days / 90 days | country | 2026-02 | [^12] |
| Non-stop destinations (BSB) | 48 | city | 2026-10 | [^13] |
| Restaurants within 3 km of the centre (OpenStreetMap) | 245 | city | 2026-10 | [^17] |
| Walkability / transit (1–5) | 1 / 2 | editorial | 2026-09 | [^14] |
| Comfortable months | 7 of 12 | city | 2001–2020 | [^15] |
| Annual mean PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 11.2 | city | 2023 | [^16] |
| Human Development Index | 0.786 | country | 2023 | [^18] |
| English proficiency band | low | country | 2024 | [^19] |

## Climate (2001–2020 normals)

| Month | Mean °C | Rain mm | Humidity % | Comfortable |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Jan | 22.4 | 209 | 81 | no |
| Feb | 22.3 | 180 | 82 | no |
| Mar | 22.1 | 197 | 84 | no |
| Apr | 21.5 | 107 | 82 | yes |
| May | 20.2 | 25 | 75 | yes |
| Jun | 19.7 | 5 | 66 | yes |
| Jul | 20.2 | 2 | 54 | yes |
| Aug | 22.3 | 11 | 44 | yes |
| Sep | 24.9 | 32 | 43 | yes |
| Oct | 25.2 | 113 | 57 | yes |
| Nov | 23.2 | 200 | 76 | no |
| Dec | 22.6 | 221 | 80 | no |

## Airports and nonstop flights

| Airport | IATA | Nonstop destinations | International | From US airports |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Brasília International Airport | BSB | 48 | 8 | 2 |

Unique destinations across all airports: 48, of which 8 international (Wikipedia, 2026-10).

## Similar cities

- [Porto Alegre](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/porto-alegre) (62.5) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/brasilia-vs-porto-alegre)
- [Foz do Iguaçu](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/foz-do-iguacu) (60.8) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/brasilia-vs-foz-do-iguacu)
- [Willemstad](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/willemstad) (68.1) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/brasilia-vs-willemstad)
- [Paraty](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/paraty) (60.9) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/brasilia-vs-paraty)
- [João Pessoa](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/joao-pessoa) (60.3) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/brasilia-vs-joao-pessoa)

## FAQ

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

A single person typically spends about $1,332 per month in Brasília. That is a 49/100 cost score, where 100 is the cheapest city in the dataset.

### Is Brasília safe for digital nomads?

Brasília scores 35/100 on safety. Brazil records 18.69 homicides per 100,000 people per year (WHO, 2024) and a political-stability score of 58.9/100 (World Bank WGI). Both figures are national, so neighbourhood-level risk can differ.

### Does Brazil have a digital nomad visa?

Yes. Brazil offers the Digital nomad temporary visa (VITEM XIV) with a minimum income of about $1,500 per month. Verify current rules with the issuing authority before applying. Full guide: https://nostos.navoy.io/visas/brazil

### How fast is the internet in Brasília?

Measured median download speed in Brasília was 41.2 Mbps (upload 23.6 Mbps) across 208,194 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 Brasília?

Yes. Starlink's availability map lists residential service as available in Brazil (checked 2026-10), so a dish can serve as a backup line in Brasília. Check the exact address on starlink.com before ordering, since capacity varies by area.

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

Brasília is served by Brasília International Airport (BSB) with 48 nonstop destinations, of which 8 are international. 2 US airports have a nonstop link. Source: Wikipedia, 2026-10.

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

The most comfortable months are Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct. Mean temperatures range from 67°F (20°C) in Jun to 77°F (25°C) in Oct (NASA POWER 2001–2020 climatology).

### Brasília or Porto Alegre: which is better for digital nomads?

Porto Alegre is the city with the closest factor profile to Brasília 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

[Hotels in Brazil](https://navoy.io/hotels/brazil) 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]: 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 2026-10-07)
[^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/brasilia