---
title: "Living in Palermo as a digital nomad: cost, safety, visa, internet"
url: https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/palermo
description: "Sicilian capital with a raw, rich street life"
dataset: 2026.09.4 (2026-09-26)
license: CC BY 4.0
---

# Palermo, Italy

Palermo scores 66.9/100 for digital nomads under balanced weights, ranking 67 of 309 cities. Expect about $2,300 per month (country-level estimate), a nomad visa (Visto per nomadi digitali e lavoratori da remoto), and a measured median download speed of 37.1 Mbps.

Palermo is one of Europe's cheapest big cities, with extraordinary markets, architecture and beaches nearby. Infrastructure is rough and Italian is essential.

Known for: Street food and markets, Beaches nearby, Very cheap, Rough edges.

## Scores (balanced weights, 0–100)

| Factor | Score |
| --- | --- |
| Overall | 66.9 |
| Cost of living | 31 |
| Safety | 81 |
| Healthcare | 85 |
| Internet | 64 |
| Visa ease | 91 |
| Getting there & around | 30 |
| Climate | 58 |
| Air quality | 82 |
| 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) | 0.6 | country | 2021 | [^4] |
| Political stability (0–100) | 71.2 | country | 2024 | [^5] |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | 82 | country | 2023 | [^6] |
| Life expectancy (years) | 82.2 | country | 2021 | [^7] |
| Median download (Mbps) | 37.1 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Median upload (Mbps) | 13.5 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Nomad visa | Visto per nomadi digitali e lavoratori da remoto (min $2,436/mo) | country | 2026-07 | [^9] |
| Visa-free days US / EU / UK | 90 days / unlimited / 90 days | editorial | 2026-02 | [^10] |
| Non-stop destinations (PMO) | 105 | city | 2026-09 | [^11] |
| Walkability / transit (1–5) | 3 / 2 | editorial | 2026-09 | [^12] |
| Comfortable months | 7 of 12 | city | 2001–2020 | [^13] |
| Annual mean PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 13.2 | city | 2024 | [^14] |
| Human Development Index | 0.915 | country | 2023 | [^15] |
| English proficiency band | moderate | country | 2024 | [^16] |

## Climate (2001–2020 normals)

| Month | Mean °C | Rain mm | Humidity % | Comfortable |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Jan | 10.3 | 97 | 82 | no |
| Feb | 10.1 | 86 | 80 | no |
| Mar | 11.9 | 74 | 79 | no |
| Apr | 14.5 | 56 | 76 | no |
| May | 18.2 | 27 | 71 | yes |
| Jun | 22.7 | 18 | 65 | yes |
| Jul | 26 | 7 | 60 | yes |
| Aug | 26.4 | 13 | 60 | yes |
| Sep | 23 | 61 | 69 | yes |
| Oct | 19.6 | 91 | 75 | yes |
| Nov | 15.4 | 87 | 79 | yes |
| Dec | 11.8 | 95 | 81 | no |

## Airports and nonstop flights

| Airport | IATA | Nonstop destinations | International | From US airports |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Palermo Airport | PMO | 105 | 46 | 2 |

Unique destinations across all airports: 105, of which 46 international (Wikipedia, 2026-09).

## Similar cities

- [Naples](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/naples) (67.2) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/naples-vs-palermo)
- [Genoa](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/genoa) (66.3) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/genoa-vs-palermo)
- [Limassol](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/limassol) (66.8) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/limassol-vs-palermo)
- [Thessaloniki](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/thessaloniki) (65.9) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/palermo-vs-thessaloniki)
- [Rome](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/rome) (68.7) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/palermo-vs-rome)

## FAQ

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

A single person typically spends about $2,300 per month in Palermo (a country-level estimate for Italy). That is a 31/100 cost score, where 100 is the cheapest city in the dataset.

### Is Palermo safe for digital nomads?

Palermo scores 81/100 on safety. Italy records 0.6 homicides per 100,000 people per year (WHO, 2021) and a political-stability score of 71.2/100 (World Bank WGI). Both figures are national, so neighbourhood-level risk can differ.

### Does Italy have a digital nomad visa?

Yes. Italy offers the Visto per nomadi digitali e lavoratori da remoto with a minimum income of about $2,436 per month. Verify current rules with the issuing authority before applying.

### How fast is the internet in Palermo?

Measured median download speed in Palermo was 37.1 Mbps (upload 13.5 Mbps) across 50,496 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 Palermo and how many nonstop flights are there?

Palermo is served by Palermo Airport (PMO) with 105 nonstop destinations, of which 46 are international. 2 US airports have a nonstop link. Source: Wikipedia, 2026-09.

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

The most comfortable months are May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov. Mean temperatures range from 50°F (10°C) in Feb to 80°F (26°C) in Aug (NASA POWER 2001–2020 climatology).

### Palermo or Naples: which is better for digital nomads?

Naples is the city with the closest factor profile to Palermo 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]: 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]: 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)
[^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]: 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]: 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)
[^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/palermo