---
title: "Living in Modena as a digital nomad: cost, safety, visa, internet"
url: https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/modena
description: "Motor Valley city of Ferrari, balsamic vinegar and a UNESCO cathedral"
dataset: 2026.10.7 (2026-10-13)
license: CC BY 4.0
---

# Modena, Italy

Modena scores 67.7/100 for digital nomads under balanced weights, ranking 260 of 1000 cities. Expect about $2,300 per month (country-level estimate), a nomad visa (Digital nomad and remote worker visa), and a measured median download speed of 45.8 Mbps.

Modena is a flat, wealthy city of the Emilian plain with the Ferrari and Enzo Ferrari museums, a Romanesque cathedral on the UNESCO list and some of Italy's most celebrated food, with Bologna 20 minutes away by train and its airport within an hour. It is quiet after dark for its size, winters are foggy and the Po Valley has some of the worst air quality in Western Europe.

Known for: Ferrari, Maserati and Pagani, Balsamic vinegar and Osteria Francescana, Romanesque cathedral and Piazza Grande, Bologna 20 min by train.

## Scores (balanced weights, 0–100)

| Factor | Score |
| --- | --- |
| Overall | 67.7 |
| Cost of living | 28 |
| Safety | 81 |
| Healthcare | 86 |
| Internet | 73 |
| Visa ease | 81 |
| Getting there & around | 71 |
| Climate | 42 |
| Air quality | 69 |
| Quality of life | 80 |

## The numbers behind the scores

| Metric | Value | Level | As of | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly cost, one person | $2,300 | country | 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) | 0.57 | country | 2024 | [^4] |
| Political stability (0–100) | 73.6 | country | 2025 | [^5] |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | 82 | country | 2023 | [^6] |
| Life expectancy (years) | 82.2 | country | 2021 | [^7] |
| Median download (Mbps) | 45.8 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Median upload (Mbps) | 17.5 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Starlink residential service | Available | country | 2026-10 | [^9] |
| Nomad visa | Digital nomad and remote worker visa (min $2,385/mo) | country | 2026-10-04 | [^10] |
| Visa guide | [Italy long-stay visa guide](https://nostos.navoy.io/visas/italy) | country | 2026-10-04 | [^10] |
| Entry for US / EU / UK passports | 90 days / unlimited / 90 days | country | 2026-02 | [^11] |
| Non-stop destinations (BLQ) | 99 | city | 2026-09 | [^12] |
| Restaurants within 3 km of the centre (OpenStreetMap) | 208 | city | 2026-10 | [^16] |
| Walkability / transit (1–5) | 4 / 3 | editorial | 2026-09 | [^13] |
| Comfortable months | 5 of 12 | city | 2001–2020 | [^14] |
| Annual mean PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 18.8 | city | 2024 | [^15] |
| Human Development Index | 0.915 | country | 2023 | [^17] |
| English proficiency band | moderate | country | 2024 | [^18] |

## Climate (2001–2020 normals)

| Month | Mean °C | Rain mm | Humidity % | Comfortable |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Jan | 2.7 | 44 | 87 | no |
| Feb | 3.7 | 57 | 83 | no |
| Mar | 7.6 | 55 | 77 | no |
| Apr | 11.9 | 54 | 73 | no |
| May | 16.6 | 60 | 67 | yes |
| Jun | 21.9 | 49 | 60 | yes |
| Jul | 24.8 | 39 | 53 | yes |
| Aug | 24.4 | 39 | 54 | yes |
| Sep | 18.8 | 59 | 65 | yes |
| Oct | 13.7 | 78 | 77 | no |
| Nov | 8 | 89 | 86 | no |
| Dec | 3.7 | 53 | 87 | no |

## Airports and nonstop flights

| Airport | IATA | Nonstop destinations | International | From US airports |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport | BLQ | 99 | 86 | 0 |

Unique destinations across all airports: 99, of which 86 international (Wikipedia, 2026-09).

## Similar cities

- [Verona](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/verona) (67.5) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/modena-vs-verona)
- [Bergamo](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/bergamo) (67.8) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/bergamo-vs-modena)
- [Turin](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/turin) (67.1) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/modena-vs-turin)
- [Parma](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/parma) (69.1) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/modena-vs-parma)
- [Bologna](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/bologna) (69.1) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/bologna-vs-modena)

## FAQ

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

A single person typically spends about $2,300 per month in Modena (a country-level estimate for Italy). That is a 28/100 cost score, where 100 is the cheapest city in the dataset.

### Is Modena safe for digital nomads?

Modena scores 81/100 on safety. Italy records 0.57 homicides per 100,000 people per year (WHO, 2024) and a political-stability score of 73.6/100 (World Bank WGI). Both figures are national, so neighbourhood-level risk can differ.

### Does Italy have a digital nomad visa?

Yes. Italy offers the Digital nomad and remote worker visa with a minimum income of about $2,385 per month, and it can lead to permanent residence. Verify current rules with the issuing authority before applying. Full guide: https://nostos.navoy.io/visas/italy

### How fast is the internet in Modena?

Measured median download speed in Modena was 45.8 Mbps (upload 17.5 Mbps) across 13,041 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 Modena?

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

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

Modena is served by Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport (BLQ) with 99 nonstop destinations, of which 86 are international. 0 US airports have a nonstop link. Source: Wikipedia, 2026-09.

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

The most comfortable months are May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep. Mean temperatures range from 37°F (3°C) in Jan to 77°F (25°C) in Jul (NASA POWER 2001–2020 climatology).

### Modena or Verona: which is better for digital nomads?

Verona is the city with the closest factor profile to Modena 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 Italy](https://navoy.io/hotels/italy) 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]: 2026 Cost of Living Index (country level), WhereNext. CC BY 4.0. https://getwherenext.com/data/cost-of-living-2026 (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]: 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)
[^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 (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)
[^8]: M-Lab NDT statistics (city aggregates, 2024), Measurement Lab. CC0 1.0. https://statistics.measurementlab.net/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^9]: Starlink availability map, SpaceX (Starlink). Factual status cited from starlink.com. https://www.starlink.com/map (retrieved 2026-10-07)
[^10]: Nostos long-stay visa guides, Navoy. CC BY 4.0. https://nostos.navoy.io/visas (retrieved 2026-10-04)
[^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]: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database, June 2026 update (V8), World Health Organization. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO data policy). https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/who-ambient-air-quality-database-(update-jun-2026) (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^16]: OpenStreetMap restaurants (Overpass API), OpenStreetMap contributors. ODbL 1.0. https://overpass-api.de/ (retrieved 2026-10-02)
[^17]: 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)
[^18]: 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/modena