---
title: "Living in Saint-Louis (Senegal) as a digital nomad: cost, safety, visa, internet"
url: https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/saint-louis-senegal
description: "UNESCO colonial island city at the mouth of the Senegal River, with a famous jazz festival"
dataset: 2026.10.7 (2026-10-13)
license: CC BY 4.0
---

# Saint-Louis (Senegal), Senegal

Saint-Louis (Senegal) scores 37.2/100 for digital nomads under balanced weights, ranking 985 of 1000 cities. There is no open cost-of-living figure yet; expect no dedicated nomad visa, and a measured median download speed of 5.4 Mbps.

Saint-Louis was the capital of French West Africa, and its UNESCO-listed island of faded colonial houses sits between the Senegal River and the Langue de Barbarie sandbar, with a renowned spring jazz festival. It is cheap, francophone and walkable, but there are no scheduled flights, Dakar is about 4 hours by road, and the seafront quarter is losing ground to the ocean.

Known for: Colonial island old town, Saint-Louis Jazz festival, Faidherbe Bridge, Coastal erosion and heat.

## Scores (balanced weights, 0–100)

| Factor | Score |
| --- | --- |
| Overall | 37.2 |
| Cost of living | — |
| Safety | 49 |
| Healthcare | 44 |
| Internet | 34 |
| Visa ease | 46 |
| Getting there & around | 49 |
| Climate | 58 |
| Air quality | 0 |
| Quality of life | 17 |

## The numbers behind the scores

| Metric | Value | Level | As of | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly cost, one person | — | 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) | 7.9 | country | 2021 | [^4] |
| Political stability (0–100) | 62.7 | country | 2025 | [^5] |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | 48 | country | 2023 | [^6] |
| Life expectancy (years) | 67.8 | country | 2021 | [^7] |
| Median download (Mbps) | 5.4 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Median upload (Mbps) | 2.8 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Starlink residential service | Available | country | 2026-10 | [^9] |
| Nomad visa | none listed | country | 2026-07 | [^10] |
| Entry for US / EU / UK passports | 90 days / 90 days / 90 days | country | 2026-02 | [^11] |
| Non-stop destinations (DSS) | 31 | city | 2026-08 | [^12] |
| Restaurants within 3 km of the centre (OpenStreetMap) | 57 | city | 2026-10 | [^16] |
| Walkability / transit (1–5) | 4 / 1 | editorial | 2026-09 | [^13] |
| Comfortable months | 7 of 12 | city | 2001–2020 | [^14] |
| Annual mean PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 58.9 | city | 2023 | [^15] |
| Human Development Index | 0.53 | country | 2023 | [^17] |
| English proficiency band | low | country | 2024 | [^18] |

## Climate (2001–2020 normals)

| Month | Mean °C | Rain mm | Humidity % | Comfortable |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Jan | 22.4 | 3 | 34 | yes |
| Feb | 23.2 | 9 | 40 | yes |
| Mar | 24.9 | 38 | 46 | yes |
| Apr | 25.4 | 2 | 55 | yes |
| May | 26.7 | 0 | 57 | yes |
| Jun | 28.2 | 10 | 61 | no |
| Jul | 28.7 | 65 | 67 | no |
| Aug | 28.8 | 123 | 72 | no |
| Sep | 28.9 | 109 | 74 | no |
| Oct | 29.1 | 20 | 63 | no |
| Nov | 26.6 | 1 | 49 | yes |
| Dec | 23.7 | 0 | 39 | yes |

## Airports and nonstop flights

| Airport | IATA | Nonstop destinations | International | From US airports |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Blaise Diagne International Airport | DSS | 31 | 31 | 1 |

Unique destinations across all airports: 31, of which 31 international (Wikipedia, 2026-08).

## Similar cities

- [Dakar](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/dakar) (35.5) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/dakar-vs-saint-louis-senegal)
- [Kampala](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/kampala) (37.3) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/kampala-vs-saint-louis-senegal)
- [Dahab](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/dahab) (47.2) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/dahab-vs-saint-louis-senegal)
- [Karachi](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/karachi) (34.7) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/karachi-vs-saint-louis-senegal)
- [Hurghada](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/hurghada) (49.3) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/hurghada-vs-saint-louis-senegal)

## FAQ

### How much does it cost to live in Saint-Louis (Senegal) as a digital nomad?

We do not have a reliable monthly cost figure for Saint-Louis (Senegal) yet.

### Is Saint-Louis (Senegal) safe for digital nomads?

Saint-Louis (Senegal) scores 49/100 on safety. Senegal records 7.9 homicides per 100,000 people per year (WHO, 2021) and a political-stability score of 62.7/100 (World Bank WGI). Both figures are national, so neighbourhood-level risk can differ.

### Does Senegal have a digital nomad visa?

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

### How fast is the internet in Saint-Louis (Senegal)?

Measured median download speed in Saint-Louis (Senegal) was 5.4 Mbps (upload 2.8 Mbps) across 12,291 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 Saint-Louis (Senegal)?

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

### Which airports serve Saint-Louis (Senegal) and how many nonstop flights are there?

Saint-Louis (Senegal) is served by Blaise Diagne International Airport (DSS) with 31 nonstop destinations, of which 31 are international. 1 US airports have a nonstop link. Source: Wikipedia, 2026-08.

### When is the best time of year to be in Saint-Louis (Senegal)?

The most comfortable months are Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Nov, Dec. Mean temperatures range from 72°F (22°C) in Jan to 84°F (29°C) in Oct (NASA POWER 2001–2020 climatology).

### Saint-Louis (Senegal) or Dakar: which is better for digital nomads?

Dakar is the city with the closest factor profile to Saint-Louis (Senegal) 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

[Where to stay in Saint-Louis (Senegal)](https://navoy.io/hotels/senegal/saint-louis) 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]: 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]: Starlink availability map, SpaceX (Starlink). Factual status cited from starlink.com. https://www.starlink.com/map (retrieved 2026-10-07)
[^10]: Digital Nomad Visas 2026, WhereToEmigrate. CC BY 4.0. https://github.com/0brien18/global-emigration-dataset (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^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]: SatPM2.5 satellite-derived annual PM2.5 (V6.GL.02.04), Atmospheric Composition Analysis Group, Washington University in St. Louis. CC BY 4.0. https://sites.wustl.edu/acag/surface-pm2-5/ (retrieved 2026-10-07)
[^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/saint-louis-senegal