---
title: "Living in Penang (George Town) as a digital nomad: cost, safety, visa, internet"
url: https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/penang
description: "Street-food capital with heritage streets"
dataset: 2026.09.4 (2026-09-26)
license: CC BY 4.0
---

# Penang (George Town), Malaysia

Penang (George Town) scores 61.8/100 for digital nomads under balanced weights, ranking 135 of 309 cities. Expect about $974 per month, a nomad visa (DE Rantau Sarawak), and a measured median download speed of 93.6 Mbps.

Penang's George Town is a UNESCO heritage city with arguably Asia's best street food and a relaxed pace. It is smaller and quieter than KL, and rents are lower.

Known for: George Town heritage, Hawker food, Slower pace, Cheap rents.

## Scores (balanced weights, 0–100)

| Factor | Score |
| --- | --- |
| Overall | 61.8 |
| Cost of living | 68 |
| Safety | 70 |
| Healthcare | 69 |
| Internet | 86 |
| Visa ease | 74 |
| Getting there & around | 19 |
| Climate | 33 |
| Air quality | 64 |
| Quality of life | 72 |

## The numbers behind the scores

| Metric | Value | Level | As of | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly cost, one person | $974 | city | 2026-07 | [^2] |
| Central 1-bedroom rent | $450 | city | 2026-07 | [^2] |
| Outskirts 1-bedroom rent (basis of the monthly total) | $296 | city | 2026-07 | [^2] |
| Homicide rate (per 100k) | 2.6 | country | 2021 | [^4] |
| Political stability (0–100) | 72.5 | country | 2024 | [^5] |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | 80 | country | 2023 | [^6] |
| Life expectancy (years) | 72.8 | country | 2021 | [^7] |
| Median download (Mbps) | 93.6 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Median upload (Mbps) | 55.3 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Nomad visa | DE Rantau Sarawak (min $1,999/mo) | country | 2026-07 | [^9] |
| Visa-free days US / EU / UK | 90 days / 90 days / 90 days | editorial | 2026-02 | [^10] |
| Non-stop destinations (PEN) | 30 | city | 2026-09 | [^11] |
| Walkability / transit (1–5) | 3 / 2 | editorial | 2026-09 | [^12] |
| Comfortable months | 4 of 12 | city | 2001–2020 | [^13] |
| Annual mean PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 21.2 | city | 2019 | [^14] |
| Human Development Index | 0.819 | country | 2023 | [^15] |
| English proficiency band | high | country | 2024 | [^16] |

## Climate (2001–2020 normals)

| Month | Mean °C | Rain mm | Humidity % | Comfortable |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Jan | 25.3 | 118 | 84 | yes |
| Feb | 25.8 | 67 | 81 | yes |
| Mar | 26.6 | 138 | 81 | yes |
| Apr | 27.1 | 182 | 82 | no |
| May | 27 | 216 | 84 | no |
| Jun | 26.6 | 150 | 84 | yes |
| Jul | 26.3 | 174 | 84 | no |
| Aug | 26.3 | 200 | 84 | no |
| Sep | 26 | 249 | 85 | no |
| Oct | 25.9 | 311 | 86 | no |
| Nov | 25.9 | 317 | 86 | no |
| Dec | 25.4 | 233 | 86 | no |

## Airports and nonstop flights

| Airport | IATA | Nonstop destinations | International | From US airports |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Penang International Airport | PEN | 30 | 22 | 0 |

Unique destinations across all airports: 30, of which 22 international (Wikipedia, 2026-09).

## Similar cities

- [Kotor](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/kotor) (60.3) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/kotor-vs-penang)
- [Cluj-Napoca](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/cluj-napoca) (66) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/cluj-napoca-vs-penang)
- [Podgorica](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/podgorica) (59.1) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/penang-vs-podgorica)
- [Plovdiv](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/plovdiv) (65.5) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/penang-vs-plovdiv)
- [Kota Kinabalu](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/kota-kinabalu) (57) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/kota-kinabalu-vs-penang)

## FAQ

### How much does it cost to live in Penang (George Town) as a digital nomad?

A single person typically spends about $974 per month in Penang (George Town), renting a one-bedroom outside the centre (about $296). A central one-bedroom costs about $450, which brings the total to roughly $1,128. That is a 68/100 cost score, where 100 is the cheapest city in the dataset.

### Is Penang (George Town) safe for digital nomads?

Penang (George Town) scores 70/100 on safety. Malaysia records 2.6 homicides per 100,000 people per year (WHO, 2021) and a political-stability score of 72.5/100 (World Bank WGI). Both figures are national, so neighbourhood-level risk can differ.

### Does Malaysia have a digital nomad visa?

Yes. Malaysia offers the DE Rantau Sarawak with a minimum income of about $1,999 per month. Verify current rules with the issuing authority before applying.

### How fast is the internet in Penang (George Town)?

Measured median download speed in Penang (George Town) was 93.6 Mbps (upload 55.3 Mbps) across 3,878 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 Penang (George Town) and how many nonstop flights are there?

Penang (George Town) is served by Penang International Airport (PEN) with 30 nonstop destinations, of which 22 are international. 0 US airports have a nonstop link. Source: Wikipedia, 2026-09.

### When is the best time of year to be in Penang (George Town)?

The most comfortable months are Jan, Feb, Mar, Jun. Mean temperatures range from 78°F (25°C) in Jan to 81°F (27°C) in Apr (NASA POWER 2001–2020 climatology).

### Penang (George Town) or Kotor: which is better for digital nomads?

Kotor is the city with the closest factor profile to Penang (George Town) 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]: Cost of Living Global 2026 (city rows), WhereToEmigrate. CC BY 4.0. https://github.com/0brien18/global-emigration-dataset (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]: 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/penang