---
title: "Living in Hong Kong as a digital nomad: cost, safety, visa, internet"
url: https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/hong-kong
description: "Dense, efficient, and exceptionally connected"
dataset: 2026.09.4 (2026-09-26)
license: CC BY 4.0
---

# Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Hong Kong scores 68.3/100 for digital nomads under balanced weights, ranking 44 of 309 cities. Expect about $2,448 per month, no dedicated nomad visa, and a measured median download speed of 42.5 Mbps.

Hong Kong packs world-class transit, hiking trails and a global airport into a few square kilometres. Rents are extreme for the space; there is no nomad visa.

Known for: Skyline and hiking, MTR, Global hub airport, Tiny expensive flats.

## Scores (balanced weights, 0–100)

| Factor | Score |
| --- | --- |
| Overall | 68.3 |
| Cost of living | 28 |
| Safety | 89 |
| Healthcare | 97 |
| Internet | 68 |
| Visa ease | 52 |
| Getting there & around | 56 |
| Climate | 58 |
| Air quality | 75 |
| Quality of life | 92 |

## The numbers behind the scores

| Metric | Value | Level | As of | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly cost, one person | $2,448 | city | 2026-09 | [^2] |
| Central 1-bedroom rent | $2,301 | city | 2026-09 | [^2] |
| Outskirts 1-bedroom rent (basis of the monthly total) | $1,756 | city | 2026-09 | [^2] |
| Homicide rate (per 100k) | 0.3 | country | 2022 | [^4] |
| Political stability (0–100) | 76.7 | country | 2024 | [^5] |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | — | country | 2021 | [^6] |
| Life expectancy (years) | 83.7 | country | 2022 | [^7] |
| Median download (Mbps) | 42.5 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Median upload (Mbps) | 19.1 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Nomad visa | none listed | country | 2026-07 | [^9] |
| Visa-free days US / EU / UK | 90 days / 90 days / 180 days | editorial | 2026-02 | [^10] |
| Non-stop destinations (HKG) | 149 | city | 2026-09 | [^11] |
| Walkability / transit (1–5) | 4 / 5 | editorial | 2026-09 | [^12] |
| Comfortable months | 7 of 12 | city | 2001–2020 | [^13] |
| Annual mean PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 16.3 | city | 2024 | [^14] |
| Human Development Index | 0.955 | country | 2023 | [^15] |
| English proficiency band | high | country | 2024 | [^16] |

## Climate (2001–2020 normals)

| Month | Mean °C | Rain mm | Humidity % | Comfortable |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Jan | 16 | 36 | 74 | yes |
| Feb | 17.8 | 29 | 78 | yes |
| Mar | 20.2 | 72 | 79 | yes |
| Apr | 23.3 | 104 | 81 | yes |
| May | 26.3 | 210 | 84 | no |
| Jun | 27.9 | 282 | 86 | no |
| Jul | 28.5 | 185 | 85 | no |
| Aug | 28.4 | 218 | 84 | no |
| Sep | 27.6 | 161 | 81 | no |
| Oct | 25.1 | 49 | 76 | yes |
| Nov | 21.6 | 30 | 75 | yes |
| Dec | 17.1 | 25 | 71 | yes |

## Airports and nonstop flights

| Airport | IATA | Nonstop destinations | International | From US airports |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Hong Kong International Airport | HKG | 149 | 87 | 8 |

Unique destinations across all airports: 149, of which 87 international (Wikipedia, 2026-09).

## Similar cities

- [Taipei](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/taipei) (69.7) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/hong-kong-vs-taipei)
- [Toronto](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/toronto) (63.8) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/hong-kong-vs-toronto)
- [Montréal](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/montreal) (64.1) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/hong-kong-vs-montreal)
- [Sharjah](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/sharjah) (62.9) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/hong-kong-vs-sharjah)
- [Lisbon](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/lisbon) (71.5) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/hong-kong-vs-lisbon)

## FAQ

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

A single person typically spends about $2,448 per month in Hong Kong, renting a one-bedroom outside the centre (about $1,756). A central one-bedroom costs about $2,301, which brings the total to roughly $2,993. That is a 28/100 cost score, where 100 is the cheapest city in the dataset.

### Is Hong Kong safe for digital nomads?

Hong Kong scores 89/100 on safety. Hong Kong records 0.3 homicides per 100,000 people per year (WHO, 2022) and a political-stability score of 76.7/100 (World Bank WGI). Both figures are national, so neighbourhood-level risk can differ.

### Does Hong Kong have a digital nomad visa?

No dedicated digital nomad visa was listed for Hong Kong as of 2026-07. Visitors from the US can stay 90 days visa-free.

### How fast is the internet in Hong Kong?

Measured median download speed in Hong Kong was 42.5 Mbps (upload 19.1 Mbps) across 58,063 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 Hong Kong and how many nonstop flights are there?

Hong Kong is served by Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) with 149 nonstop destinations, of which 87 are international. 8 US airports have a nonstop link. Source: Wikipedia, 2026-09.

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

The most comfortable months are Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, Oct, Nov, Dec. Mean temperatures range from 61°F (16°C) in Jan to 83°F (29°C) in Jul (NASA POWER 2001–2020 climatology).

### Hong Kong or Taipei: which is better for digital nomads?

Taipei is the city with the closest factor profile to Hong Kong 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]: 2026 Cost of Living Index (country level), WhereNext. CC BY 4.0. https://getwherenext.com/data/cost-of-living-2026 (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^4]: Intentional homicide rate, Hong Kong (Police via Wikipedia), Wikipedia, citing Hong Kong Police Force. CC BY-SA 4.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intentional_homicide_rate (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^5]: 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)
[^6]: 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)
[^7]: Life expectancy at birth, Hong Kong (Census and Statistics Department), Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department. Open data (data.gov.hk). https://www.censtatd.gov.hk/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^8]: M-Lab NDT statistics (city aggregates, 2024), Measurement Lab. CC0 1.0. https://statistics.measurementlab.net/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^9]: Digital Nomad Visas 2026, WhereToEmigrate. CC BY 4.0. https://github.com/0brien18/global-emigration-dataset (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^10]: 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)
[^11]: 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)
[^12]: Walkability and transit ratings (editorial), Navoy. CC BY 4.0. https://nostos.navoy.io/methodology (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^13]: NASA POWER climatology (2001–2020 monthly means), NASA Langley Research Center. Public domain (US Government). https://power.larc.nasa.gov/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^14]: 2024 Annual Air Quality Review (EPD monitoring data), Clean Air Network, Hong Kong. Cited as a fact with attribution. https://hongkongcan.org/press-release/annual-air-quality-review-2024-pollution-reduced-but-still-incurred-high-health-and-economic-costs/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^15]: 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)
[^16]: 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/hong-kong