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

A single person typically spends about $2,750 per month in Leeuwarden (a country-level estimate for Netherlands). That is a 25/100 cost score, where 100 is the cheapest city in the dataset.

Is Leeuwarden safe for digital nomads?

Leeuwarden scores 81/100 on safety. Netherlands records 0.66 homicides per 100,000 people per year (WHO, 2024) and a political-stability score of 75/100 (World Bank WGI). Both figures are national, so neighbourhood-level risk can differ.

Does Netherlands have a digital nomad visa?

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

How fast is the internet in Leeuwarden?

Measured median download speed in Leeuwarden was 97.1 Mbps (upload 56.6 Mbps) across 3,228 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 Leeuwarden?

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

Which airports serve Leeuwarden and how many nonstop flights are there?

Leeuwarden is served by Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS) with 289 nonstop destinations and Groningen Airport Eelde (GRQ) with 12 nonstop destinations, 291 unique destinations across all of them, of which 290 are international. 22 US airports have a nonstop link. Source: Wikipedia, 2026-11.

When is the best time of year to be in Leeuwarden?

The most comfortable months are Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep. Mean temperatures range from 38°F (3°C) in Feb to 64°F (18°C) in Aug (NASA POWER 2001–2020 climatology).

Leeuwarden or 's-Hertogenbosch: which is better for digital nomads?

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

Photo: C messier · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Leeuwarden

Netherlands · Europe · 124,481 people · Europe/Amsterdam · EUR

Leeuwarden scores 71/100 for digital nomads under balanced weights, ranking 38 of 1501 cities. Expect about $2,750 per month (country-level estimate), no dedicated nomad visa, and a measured median download speed of 97.1 Mbps.

Leeuwarden is the capital of Friesland, a compact canal city with its own language, the leaning Oldehove tower and a cultural boost from its year as European Capital of Culture in 2018. Ferries to the Wadden islands leave from the nearby coast. Rents are lower than in the Randstad, but Amsterdam is over 2 h away by train, the city is small and the weather is windy.

Frisian language and culture
Oldehove leaning tower
European Capital of Culture 2018
Gateway to the Wadden islands

Balanced score

out of 100

Vibe check

Cost2.8
Safety9.0
Health9.8
Internet9.8
Visa6.7
Mobility8.0
Climate3.7
Air10.5
QoL10.7

Rank 38 of 1,501 · its cost is a national estimate, so Top 10 lists rank it after cities with a local price

Rank with your own weights →Plan a trip to Leeuwarden →

Monthly cost$2,750country estimate
Nomad visaNone listedUS passport: 90 days
Internet97.1 Mbpsmeasured median
Comfortable months4 of 1259–82°F (15–28 °C), dry, not humid

For US nomads

US passport entry
90 days visa-free
no visa needed for a visit
Time vs New York
6 hours ahead of New York
3h of a 9–6 day overlap with Eastern time
Time vs Los Angeles
9 hours ahead of Los Angeles
0h of a 9–6 day overlap with Pacific time
Non-stop from the US
22 US airports
Wikipedia, 2026-11

Prices are in US dollars. US citizens are taxed on worldwide income; the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion and state residency rules are worth a look before a long stay.

Eating out

OpenStreetMap, 2026-11¹⁶

87restaurants within 3 km

Mapped around the centre of Leeuwarden: a modest scene, worth checking the neighbourhoods. A count of what is on the map, not a rating, and it does not affect the score.

How Leeuwarden scores, factor by factor

Superscripts link to the source list at the bottom. Country-level figures apply to all of Netherlands.

Cost of living

Monthly cost for one person (log-scaled, cheaper is better).

Monthly cost, one person: $2,750² · country-level, 2026-09
Central one-bedroom rent: no data³ · city-level, 2026-09 — no city-level rent row in the WhereToEmigrate dataset

Safety

Homicide rate and political stability (country-level).

Homicide rate: 0.66 per 100k⁴ · country-level, 2024
Political stability: 75/100⁵ · country-level, 2025

Healthcare

WHO universal-health-coverage index and life expectancy (country-level).

UHC service coverage: 85/100⁶ · country-level, 2023
Life expectancy: 81.6 years⁷ · country-level, 2023

Internet

Median measured download and upload speed (M-Lab, city-level; the province or country aggregate where the city has too few tests).

Median download: 97.1 Mbps⁸ · city-level, 2024
Median upload: 56.6 Mbps⁸ · city-level, 2024
Tests measured: 3,228⁸ · city-level, 2024
Starlink: Available⁹ · country-level, 2026-10, not scored

Visa ease

How easily your passport gets in and stays: visa-free days, eTA, visa on arrival, e-visa or consular visa, plus a nomad visa and how affordable its income threshold is. Averages US, EU and UK passports until you pick yours.

Nomad visa: none listed¹⁰
Entry, US passport: 90 days¹¹ · country-level, 2026-02
Entry, EU passport: unlimited¹¹ · country-level, 2026-02
Entry, UK passport: 90 days¹¹ · country-level, 2026-02

Getting there & around

Non-stop airport destinations (hub size) plus editorial walkability and transit ratings.

Non-stop destinations from AMS/GRQ: 291¹² · city-level, 2026-11
Walkability: 5/5¹³ · editorial, 2026-09
Public transit: 3/5¹³ · editorial, 2026-09

Climate

Share of months that are comfortable: 59–82°F (15–28 °C) mean, at most 5.9 in (150 mm) rain, at most 85% humidity.

Comfortable months: 4 of 12¹⁴ · city-level, 2001–2020 normals

Air quality

Annual mean PM2.5 on a fixed scale: 5 µg/m³ (WHO guideline) scores 100, 50 µg/m³ or worse scores 0.

Annual mean PM2.5: 7.5 µg/m³¹⁵ · city-level, 2023

Quality of life

Human Development Index and English proficiency (country-level).

Human Development Index: 0.955¹⁷ · country-level, 2023
English proficiency: very-high¹⁸ · country-level, 2024

What does Leeuwarden cost per month?

Total, one person	$2,750	country estimate
One-bedroom rent, centre	no data	city-level rent unavailable
Country cost index (US = 100)	75	country

Can you stay legally?

Nomad visa	none listed
Minimum income	—
US passport	90 days
EU passport	unlimited
UK passport	90 days

Visa rules change often. Verify with the issuing government before you book.

Do you pay tax here on income from abroad?

Tax status · Netherlands

Residents pay 35.75%–49.5% on worldwide earnings; savings and investments are taxed on a deemed return

Worldwide income

Once you live in the Netherlands you are taxed on worldwide income. Salary or freelance fees from abroad pay 35.75% to 49.5% (2026), national insurance included. Investment income is not taxed as received: instead box 3 taxes 36% of a fixed deemed return on net savings and investments above €59,357, about 0.46% a year on bank balances and 2.16% on investments. The 30% ruling helps only employees on a Dutch payroll.

Remote work income
Salary from a foreign employer or fees from foreign clients
Taxed
35.75% up to €38,883, 37.56% to €78,426, 49.5% above (2026, under state pension age; includes national insurance)
Investments and pensions
Dividends, interest, gains, rent and pensions from abroad
Taxed
Box 3: 36% of a deemed return (2026 provisional: 1.28% on bank balances, 6.00% on other assets, minus 2.70% on debts) above €59,357 per person
Wealth
Net wealth and inheritance
Levies on assets
Box 3: 36% of a deemed return, about 0.46%–2.16% of net assets above €59,357 a year (2026). Inheritance tax applies

Tax resident after: home or ties test
Top income tax rate: 49.5%

On the nomad visa

The Netherlands has no digital nomad or remote-work visa. Non-EU freelancers usually need the self-employed residence permit, scored on experience and business plan and valid for up to 2 years at a time. US and Japanese citizens can use the treaty route instead (DAFT for Americans): a business investment of €4,500 for most legal forms and KVK registration within 6 months. Neither permit carries a tax regime, and the 30% ruling needs an employer, so it does not apply to the self-employed. Holders who rent, register and live there are resident taxpayers on worldwide income from arrival. US citizens on DAFT also stay taxable in the US on worldwide income and use the US foreign tax credit or earned income exclusion. EU citizens need no permit but must register after 4 months.

Salary from a foreign employer or fees from foreign clients

Taxed35.75% up to €38,883, 37.56% to €78,426, 49.5% above (2026, under state pension age; includes national insurance)

Salary from a foreign employer and fees from foreign clients are box 1 income, taxed like Dutch income. The first bracket's 35.75% is mostly national insurance contributions (8.10% is income tax), and tax credits (general credit up to €3,115, labour credit up to €5,685) lower the bill. A foreign employer without a Dutch establishment normally does not withhold Dutch wage tax, so you pay through your annual return or a provisional assessment, unless the employer opts to act as a Dutch withholding agent and runs a Dutch payroll. Wages for work physically done in the Netherlands count as Dutch income even for non-residents. Freelancers must register with the Chamber of Commerce (KVK), which passes the details to the Tax Administration for income tax and VAT; the KOR scheme waives VAT below €20,000 turnover a year. Freelancers who work at least 1,225 hours a year get a €1,200 self-employed deduction (plus €2,123 in early years), and 12.7% of the remaining profit is exempt. Everyone living in the Netherlands is covered by national insurance unless international rules keep them in another country's system, and anyone living or working there must take out Dutch basic health insurance. Foreign tax on the same income is relieved under treaties, capped at the Dutch tax.

On the nomad visa

Algemene wet inzake rijksbelastingen, artikel 4 · Overheid.nl, wetten.overheid.nl · read 2026-10-27
Where someone lives is judged by the circumstances (no day-count test)
Wet inkomstenbelasting 2001 (version from 1 January 2026) · Overheid.nl, wetten.overheid.nl · read 2026-10-27
Art. 2.1 (residents and non-residents), 2.2 (return within a year), 2.6 (partial non-resident option lapsed 1 January 2025), 2.10 (box 1 table, 8.10% tax in bracket 1, 49.50% above €78,426), 2.12 (box 2 24.5%/31%), 2.13 (box 3 36%), 3.6 (1,225 hours), 3.76 (€1,200 and €2,123 deductions), 3.79a (12.7% exemption), 5.5 (€59,357 allowance), 7.2 (Dutch-source wages of non-residents)
Voorlopige aanslag 2026: gebruikte tarieven en heffingskortingen · Belastingdienst · read 2026-10-27
2026 box 1 brackets (35.75%, 37.56%, 49.50%; 17.85% above state pension age), box 3 36%, allowance €59,357/€118,714, provisional deemed returns 1.28%, 6.00% and 2.70%, tax credit maxima
Immigration checklist - what do I need to know? · Belastingdienst · read 2026-10-27
You become a resident taxpayer as soon as you move to the Netherlands
Wonen in Nederland - buitenlands inkomen · Belastingdienst · read 2026-10-27
Residents report worldwide income; treaty or unilateral relief prevents double tax, capped at the Dutch tax
Wat is mijn werkelijk rendement? · Belastingdienst · read 2026-10-27
Actual return (income plus value changes, most costs not deductible) can be declared in the return from 2025 when lower than the deemed return; new box 3 law probably from 1 January 2028
Senaat houdt stemming box 3-wet aan (30 June 2026) · Eerste Kamer der Staten-Generaal · read 2026-10-27
Senate postponed its vote on the Wet werkelijk rendement box 3 pending a government amending bill; outline of the actual-return system. No later official status update was found
Can I apply for the Expat Scheme (30% facility)? · Belastingdienst · read 2026-10-27
Employment and withholding-agent condition, 2026 salary thresholds €48,013/€36,497, 150 km and 16-of-24-months rule, 5-year maximum, €78,600 cap at €262,000 salary, end of the partial non-resident option and transitional rule
Expatregeling hoogopgeleide buitenlandse werknemers · Rijksoverheid · read 2026-10-27
30% in 2025 and 2026, 27% from 2027 with a higher salary threshold, grandfathering by ruling date. The 2027 threshold amount was not stated on official pages read
You opt for withholding agent status · Belastingdienst · read 2026-10-27
A foreign employer without a Dutch establishment can opt to withhold Dutch wage tax and national insurance through a Dutch payroll
Social security for cross-border working and entrepreneurship · Belastingdienst · read 2026-10-27
National insurance is mandatory for everyone living in the Netherlands, subject to (inter)national rules; employee insurances for employees working there
Standard health insurance · Government of the Netherlands (government.nl) · read 2026-10-27
Everyone who lives or works in the Netherlands must take out standard health insurance
Get started as a freelancer or zzp'er in the Netherlands · Business.gov.nl (Netherlands Enterprise Agency) · read 2026-10-27
KVK registration, details passed to the Tax Administration for income tax and VAT, KOR below €20,000 turnover, 1,225-hour test
When should I register with the Personal Records Database as a resident? · Government of the Netherlands (government.nl) · read 2026-10-27
Registration as a resident in the BRP when staying more than 4 months
Successiewet 1956, artikelen 1 en 3 · Overheid.nl, wetten.overheid.nl · read 2026-10-27
Inheritance tax when the deceased lived in the Netherlands; Dutch nationals deemed resident for 10 years after emigrating; 1-year rule for gifts
Tarieven erfbelasting 2026 · Belastingdienst · read 2026-10-27
2026 rates 10%/20%, 18%/36%, 30%/40% with the €158,669 threshold
Hoeveel vrijstelling heb ik in 2026 voor de erfbelasting? · Belastingdienst · read 2026-10-27
2026 exemptions: partner €828,035, child and grandchild €26,230, parent €62,110, others €2,769
Het tarief van de overdrachtsbelasting · Belastingdienst · read 2026-10-27
Transfer tax 2026: 0% starters, 2% own home, 8% homes not used as main residence, 10.4% other property
Wanneer kunt u de startersvrijstelling krijgen (overdrachtsbelasting)? · Belastingdienst · read 2026-10-27
Starter exemption: buyer under 35, own main residence, home value up to €555,000 in 2026
Waar wordt de WOZ-waarde voor gebruikt? · Rijksoverheid · read 2026-10-27
Municipalities levy property tax (OZB) on the WOZ value
Residence permit self-employed person · Immigratie- en Naturalisatiedienst (IND) · read 2026-10-27
Points-scored self-employed permit valid up to 2 years; Dutch-American and Dutch-Japanese treaty route with €4,500 investment and KVK registration within 6 months
U.S. citizens and resident aliens abroad · Internal Revenue Service (IRS) · read 2026-10-27
US citizens abroad are taxed on worldwide income; foreign earned income exclusion and foreign tax credit

Not yet reviewed by a person · compiled from official pages read on 2026-10-27

General information, not tax advice. Tax treaties, your citizenship and your home country's exit rules can change the answer. US citizens are taxed by the US wherever they live.

Airports and nonstop flights

Leeuwarden is served by 2 airports; a destination reachable from more than one counts once in the total.

Airport	Nonstop destinations	International	From US airports
AMSAmsterdam Airport Schiphol	289	288	22
GRQGroningen Airport Eelde	12	12	0
All airports, unique destinations	291	290	22

Wikipedia airport pages as of 2026-11: seasonal routes included, charters and announced-but-not-started routes excluded.

What is the weather like through the year?

Comfortable months by our rule: Jun–Sep. Rank cities for Jun–Aug →

Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Mean °F	38	38	42	48	54	60	64	64	60	53	46	40
Rain in	3.1	2.5	2.1	1.6	2.3	2.6	3.2	3.5	2.7	3	2.9	3.1
Humidity %	91	89	86	82	80	80	80	80	82	86	90	91

Green temperatures mark months that meet the comfort rule (59–82°F, ≤5.9 in rain, ≤85% humidity). NASA POWER 2001–2020 climatology at the city coordinates.

Where can you stay in Leeuwarden?

Three ways to live here, and what each does to the monthly budget. Rents are the one-bedroom figures from the cost table; hotels and short lets are priced per night and cost more, most of all in high season.

Option	Rent per month	Monthly total	Notes
One-bedroom outside the centre	—	—	No city-level cost here; the total is a national estimate.
One-bedroom in the centre	—	—	No city-level rent figure for this city.
Hotel or short let	—	—	For the first weeks or a stay under a month. Compare hotels on Navoy →

Monthly rents assume an unfurnished lease of six months or more; furnished monthly lets usually cost 20 to 50 percent more.

Cities with a similar profile

's-Hertogenbosch Netherlands · 70.8
Compare with Leeuwarden →
Breda Netherlands · 70.6
Compare with Leeuwarden →
Tilburg Netherlands · 70.2
Compare with Leeuwarden →
Leiden Netherlands · 71.1
Compare with Leeuwarden →
Haarlem Netherlands · 70.9
Compare with Leeuwarden →

Also in Europe: A Coruña, Aachen, Aalborg, Aarhus, Aberdeen, Adana

Ready to see Leeuwarden for yourself?

Nostos tells you where. Navoy, the AI travel planner behind it, builds the trip: itineraries, places to stay and what to book before you land.

Plan a trip to Leeuwarden →

Opens on navoy.io.

The vibe

What people post about living in Leeuwarden, read for its mood. It is a reading of opinions, not a fact, and it is not part of the score.

Mixed · 55Thin evidence: visitors find Leeuwarden charming and cultured, but nothing covers long-term life, costs, internet, or remote-work conditions, so this stays near neutral.

People praise

historic charm
museums and culture
friendly locals
scenic train connections
Frisian heritage

People warn about

little long-term living info
no cost or internet details
few negatives mentioned

Visitors find it a beautiful, pleasant small city for a short trip.
Culture and history draw more praise than nightlife or daily-life details.
Nothing here shows what living there for months is actually like.
The Oldehove tower and Frisian traditions stand out to visitors.
Rail travel from the Randstad is described as scenic and easy.

Read from 5 videos, 40 comments and 0 posts on 2026-11-07; the summary is written by a language model and can misread sarcasm.

Watch what people say

Frequently asked

How much does it cost to live in Leeuwarden as a digital nomad?: A single person typically spends about $2,750 per month in Leeuwarden (a country-level estimate for Netherlands). That is a 25/100 cost score, where 100 is the cheapest city in the dataset.
Is Leeuwarden safe for digital nomads?: Leeuwarden scores 81/100 on safety. Netherlands records 0.66 homicides per 100,000 people per year (WHO, 2024) and a political-stability score of 75/100 (World Bank WGI). Both figures are national, so neighbourhood-level risk can differ.
Does Netherlands have a digital nomad visa?: No dedicated digital nomad visa was listed for Netherlands as of 2026-07. Visitors from the US can stay 90 days visa-free.
How fast is the internet in Leeuwarden?: Measured median download speed in Leeuwarden was 97.1 Mbps (upload 56.6 Mbps) across 3,228 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 Leeuwarden?: Yes. Starlink's availability map lists residential service as available in Netherlands (checked 2026-10), so a dish can serve as a backup line in Leeuwarden. Check the exact address on starlink.com before ordering, since capacity varies by area.
Which airports serve Leeuwarden and how many nonstop flights are there?: Leeuwarden is served by Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS) with 289 nonstop destinations and Groningen Airport Eelde (GRQ) with 12 nonstop destinations, 291 unique destinations across all of them, of which 290 are international. 22 US airports have a nonstop link. Source: Wikipedia, 2026-11.
When is the best time of year to be in Leeuwarden?: The most comfortable months are Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep. Mean temperatures range from 38°F (3°C) in Feb to 64°F (18°C) in Aug (NASA POWER 2001–2020 climatology).
Leeuwarden or 's-Hertogenbosch: which is better for digital nomads?: 's-Hertogenbosch is the city with the closest factor profile to Leeuwarden 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

Dataset 2026.11.2, published 2026-11-09. Download the full dataset or read the methodology.

1.City population (latest census or official estimate), Wikipedia (citing national statistics offices). CC BY-SA 4.0. Retrieved 2026-09-22. City-proper figures; the per-city source URL is stored with the seed row.
2.2026 Cost of Living Index (country level), WhereNext. CC BY 4.0. Retrieved 2026-09-22. Country-level monthly estimate used only where no city-level figure exists; cost_index kept for every city.
3.Cost of Living Global 2026 (city rows), WhereToEmigrate. CC BY 4.0. Retrieved 2026-09-22. monthly_cost_single_eur and rent_1br_center_eur, converted to USD at the ECB reference rate on the retrieval date (see ecb-frankfurter).
4.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. Retrieved 2026-10-12. Police- or statistics-office-recorded rates reported to UNODC's crime-trends survey, latest year per country (2024 for most), both sexes, all ages; the United Kingdom uses England and Wales. Replaces the WHO modelled estimate wherever UNODC has a figure from 2018 or later; WHO's 2021 estimates ran several times above recorded figures for El Salvador and Honduras. Workbook data_cts_intentional_homicide.xlsx (July 2026) reduced by scripts/build-dataset/inputs/convert-unodc-homicide.py.
5.Worldwide Governance Indicators — Political Stability and Absence of Violence (score 0–100), World Bank. CC BY 4.0. 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). Retrieved 2026-09-22.
7.Life expectancy at birth (years), both sexes, World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO data policy). Retrieved 2026-09-22.
8.M-Lab NDT statistics (city aggregates, 2024), Measurement Lab. CC0 1.0. Retrieved 2026-09-22. Median of daily median download/upload throughput over 2024 for the city aggregate; sample count is the number of tests. Speeds reflect user-initiated tests, not advertised plans.
9.Starlink availability map, SpaceX (Starlink). Factual status cited from starlink.com. Retrieved 2026-10-07. Residential service status per country from the file Starlink's map loads. Grouped as on the map: launched or available = available; coming soon, pending regulatory approval or test = coming soon; blacklisted = not offered; unknown or excluded = unknown. Shown on city pages and as a ranker filter; not part of any score. Roaming and maritime plans can work in more places.
10.Digital Nomad Visas 2026, WhereToEmigrate. CC BY 4.0. Retrieved 2026-09-22. Programme name, minimum monthly income (EUR, converted to USD) and whether it leads to permanent residence. Values are directional; verify with the issuing government.
11.Passport Index dataset (visa requirements, 199 passports × 199 destinations), Ilya Ilyankou (compiled from passportindex.org). MIT. Retrieved 2026-09-22. Days per visit where stated; 'visa free' without a limit is credited as unlimited; eTA, visa on arrival, e-visa and visa required are credited 0 days for scoring but shown by kind. The default US/EU/UK figures use the US, German and British passports.
12.Airport destinations (Wikipedia airline and destination tables), Wikipedia contributors; countries via Wikidata. CC BY-SA 4.0. Retrieved 2026-09-24. Distinct destination airports listed in each airport article's passenger table, resolved through Wikidata. Seasonal routes count; charters and routes announced but not yet flying are excluded. The as-of date is the newest article revision among the city's airports. Falls back to the OpenFlights snapshot when an airport has no article or table.
13.Walkability and transit ratings (editorial), Navoy. CC BY 4.0. Retrieved 2026-09-22. Judgment ratings, not measurements. Explained on /methodology.
14.NASA POWER climatology (2001–2020 monthly means), NASA Langley Research Center. Public domain (US Government). Retrieved 2026-09-22. T2M, PRECTOTCORR and RH2M at the city coordinates (0.5° grid). Monthly precipitation = mm/day × days in month.
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. Retrieved 2026-10-07. Annual 2023 PM2.5 for the 0.1° grid cell at the city centre, from satellite aerosol retrievals combined with a chemical transport model and ground monitors. Used only for cities with no WHO database row. Where the same country has WHO-measured cities, values are scaled by the median measured/satellite ratio there (corrects desert-dust overestimates in the Gulf). Across 811 cities with both, log-correlation with WHO values is 0.89 and the median difference 2 µg/m³.
16.OpenStreetMap restaurants (Overpass API), OpenStreetMap contributors. ODbL 1.0. Retrieved 2026-10-02. Count of OpenStreetMap elements tagged amenity=restaurant within 3 km of the city centre coordinate. Measures how many restaurants are mapped, which tracks real density well where OpenStreetMap is well maintained (Europe, the Americas, East and Southeast Asia) and under-counts where it is not (parts of Africa and Central Asia).
17.Human Development Index (HDR 2025, HDI 2023), United Nations Development Programme. CC BY 3.0 IGO. Retrieved 2026-09-22.
18.EF English Proficiency Index 2024 (band), EF Education First. Proprietary; band cited as a fact with attribution. Retrieved 2026-09-22. Only the proficiency band is stored, transcribed by hand from the public ranking.

🇺🇸For US nomads