---
title: "Living in Cusco as a digital nomad: cost, safety, visa, internet"
url: https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/cusco
description: "Inca capital at 3,400 metres"
dataset: 2026.09.4 (2026-09-26)
license: CC BY 4.0
---

# Cusco, Peru

Cusco scores 46.6/100 for digital nomads under balanced weights, ranking 267 of 309 cities. Expect about $1,406 per month, no dedicated nomad visa, and a measured median download speed of 22.6 Mbps.

Cusco is the base for Machu Picchu with a walkable historic centre and very low costs. Altitude takes days to adjust to.

Known for: Machu Picchu gateway, Colonial and Inca architecture, Very low cost, Altitude.

## Scores (balanced weights, 0–100)

| Factor | Score |
| --- | --- |
| Overall | 46.6 |
| Cost of living | 52 |
| Safety | 44 |
| Healthcare | 60 |
| Internet | 55 |
| Visa ease | 59 |
| Getting there & around | 21 |
| Climate | 0 |
| Air quality | 75 |
| Quality of life | 54 |

## The numbers behind the scores

| Metric | Value | Level | As of | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly cost, one person | $1,406 | 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) | 6.2 | country | 2021 | [^5] |
| Political stability (0–100) | 54.7 | country | 2024 | [^6] |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | 68 | country | 2023 | [^7] |
| Life expectancy (years) | 71.7 | country | 2021 | [^8] |
| Median download (Mbps) | 22.6 | city | 2024 | [^9] |
| Median upload (Mbps) | 13.3 | city | 2024 | [^9] |
| Nomad visa | none listed | country | 2026-07 | [^10] |
| Visa-free days US / EU / UK | 180 days / 90 days / 180 days | editorial | 2026-02 | [^11] |
| Non-stop destinations (CUZ) | 6 | city | 2026-09 | [^12] |
| Walkability / transit (1–5) | 4 / 2 | editorial | 2026-09 | [^13] |
| Comfortable months | 0 of 12 | city | 2001–2020 | [^14] |
| Annual mean PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 16.4 | city | 2023 | [^15] |
| Human Development Index | 0.794 | country | 2023 | [^16] |
| English proficiency band | low | country | 2024 | [^17] |

## Climate (2001–2020 normals)

| Month | Mean °C | Rain mm | Humidity % | Comfortable |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Jan | 8.5 | 129 | 83 | no |
| Feb | 8.5 | 127 | 84 | no |
| Mar | 8.3 | 96 | 85 | no |
| Apr | 8.2 | 44 | 84 | no |
| May | 7.9 | 9 | 81 | no |
| Jun | 7.5 | 4 | 78 | no |
| Jul | 7.2 | 11 | 75 | no |
| Aug | 7.9 | 8 | 72 | no |
| Sep | 8.5 | 18 | 72 | no |
| Oct | 8.9 | 63 | 74 | no |
| Nov | 9.1 | 72 | 76 | no |
| Dec | 8.8 | 137 | 80 | no |

## Airports and nonstop flights

| Airport | IATA | Nonstop destinations | International | From US airports |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport | CUZ | 6 | 3 | 0 |

Unique destinations across all airports: 6, of which 3 international (Wikipedia, 2026-09).

## Similar cities

- [Arequipa](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/arequipa) (47.1) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/arequipa-vs-cusco)
- [Cuenca](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/cuenca) (52) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/cuenca-vs-cusco)
- [Phuket](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/phuket) (50.9) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/cusco-vs-phuket)
- [Almaty](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/almaty) (45.6) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/almaty-vs-cusco)
- [Boquete](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/boquete) (50.4) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/boquete-vs-cusco)

## FAQ

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

A single person typically spends about $1,406 per month in Cusco. That is a 52/100 cost score, where 100 is the cheapest city in the dataset.

### Is Cusco safe for digital nomads?

Cusco scores 44/100 on safety. Peru records 6.2 homicides per 100,000 people per year (WHO, 2021) and a political-stability score of 54.7/100 (World Bank WGI). Both figures are national, so neighbourhood-level risk can differ.

### Does Peru have a digital nomad visa?

No dedicated digital nomad visa was listed for Peru as of 2026-07. Visitors from the US can stay 180 days visa-free.

### How fast is the internet in Cusco?

Measured median download speed in Cusco was 22.6 Mbps (upload 13.3 Mbps) across 11,110 M-Lab tests in 2024. Measured speeds run below advertised plan speeds everywhere, so compare cities rather than reading the number as a plan.

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

Cusco is served by Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport (CUZ) with 6 nonstop destinations, of which 3 are international. 0 US airports have a nonstop link. Source: Wikipedia, 2026-09.

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

No month meets our comfort rule (59–82°F / 15–28 °C mean, at most 5.9 in / 150 mm rain, at most 85% humidity). Mean temperatures range from 45°F (7°C) in Jul to 48°F (9°C) in Nov (NASA POWER 2001–2020 climatology).

### Cusco or Arequipa: which is better for digital nomads?

Arequipa is the city with the closest factor profile to Cusco 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/cusco