---
title: "Living in San Sebastián as a digital nomad: cost, safety, visa, internet"
url: https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/san-sebastian
description: "Pintxos, surf and the prettiest bay in Spain"
dataset: 2026.09.4 (2026-09-26)
license: CC BY 4.0
---

# San Sebastián, Spain

San Sebastián scores 70.9/100 for digital nomads under balanced weights, ranking 14 of 309 cities. Expect about $2,200 per month (country-level estimate), a nomad visa (International Telework Visa (Digital Nomad, Ley 14/2013 amended Dec 2022)), and a measured median download speed of 93.8 Mbps.

San Sebastián is small, wealthy and beautiful, with a city beach, surfable waves and more Michelin stars per head than almost anywhere. It is the most expensive city in the Basque Country and rain is frequent outside summer.

Known for: La Concha beach, Pintxos bars, Surf at Zurriola, Basque food scene.

## Scores (balanced weights, 0–100)

| Factor | Score |
| --- | --- |
| Overall | 70.9 |
| Cost of living | 33 |
| Safety | 77 |
| Healthcare | 87 |
| Internet | 88 |
| Visa ease | 90 |
| Getting there & around | 41 |
| Climate | 50 |
| Air quality | 92 |
| Quality of life | 80 |

## The numbers behind the scores

| Metric | Value | Level | As of | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly cost, one person | $2,200 | 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) | 0.5 | country | 2021 | [^4] |
| Political stability (0–100) | 65.8 | country | 2024 | [^5] |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | 84 | country | 2023 | [^6] |
| Life expectancy (years) | 82.7 | country | 2021 | [^7] |
| Median download (Mbps) | 93.8 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Median upload (Mbps) | 86 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Nomad visa | International Telework Visa (Digital Nomad, Ley 14/2013 amended Dec 2022) (min $2,714/mo) | country | 2026-07 | [^9] |
| Visa-free days US / EU / UK | 90 days / unlimited / 90 days | editorial | 2026-02 | [^10] |
| Non-stop destinations (EAS/BIO) | 75 | city | 2026-09 | [^11] |
| Walkability / transit (1–5) | 5 / 3 | editorial | 2026-09 | [^12] |
| Comfortable months | 6 of 12 | city | 2001–2020 | [^13] |
| Annual mean PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 8.6 | city | 2024 | [^14] |
| Human Development Index | 0.918 | country | 2023 | [^15] |
| English proficiency band | moderate | country | 2024 | [^16] |

## Climate (2001–2020 normals)

| Month | Mean °C | Rain mm | Humidity % | Comfortable |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Jan | 9.2 | 126 | 83 | no |
| Feb | 8.9 | 95 | 81 | no |
| Mar | 10.7 | 90 | 80 | no |
| Apr | 12.5 | 86 | 80 | no |
| May | 15 | 82 | 81 | yes |
| Jun | 18.3 | 68 | 80 | yes |
| Jul | 20.1 | 48 | 79 | yes |
| Aug | 20.8 | 51 | 77 | yes |
| Sep | 19.1 | 64 | 76 | yes |
| Oct | 16.5 | 94 | 77 | yes |
| Nov | 12.4 | 149 | 81 | no |
| Dec | 9.9 | 117 | 82 | no |

## Airports and nonstop flights

| Airport | IATA | Nonstop destinations | International | From US airports |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| San Sebastián Airport | EAS | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| Bilbao Airport | BIO | 73 | 28 | 1 |

Unique destinations across all airports: 75, of which 28 international (Wikipedia, 2026-09).

## Similar cities

- [Alicante](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/alicante) (70.8) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/alicante-vs-san-sebastian)
- [Bilbao](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/bilbao) (71) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/bilbao-vs-san-sebastian)
- [Nice](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/nice) (68.4) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/nice-vs-san-sebastian)
- [Montpellier](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/montpellier) (67.7) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/montpellier-vs-san-sebastian)
- [Toulouse](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/toulouse) (68.1) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/san-sebastian-vs-toulouse)

## FAQ

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

A single person typically spends about $2,200 per month in San Sebastián (a country-level estimate for Spain). That is a 33/100 cost score, where 100 is the cheapest city in the dataset.

### Is San Sebastián safe for digital nomads?

San Sebastián scores 77/100 on safety. Spain records 0.5 homicides per 100,000 people per year (WHO, 2021) and a political-stability score of 65.8/100 (World Bank WGI). Both figures are national, so neighbourhood-level risk can differ.

### Does Spain have a digital nomad visa?

Yes. Spain offers the International Telework Visa (Digital Nomad, Ley 14/2013 amended Dec 2022) with a minimum income of about $2,714 per month. Verify current rules with the issuing authority before applying.

### How fast is the internet in San Sebastián?

Measured median download speed in San Sebastián was 93.8 Mbps (upload 86 Mbps) across 5,959 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 San Sebastián and how many nonstop flights are there?

San Sebastián is served by San Sebastián Airport (EAS) with 11 nonstop destinations and Bilbao Airport (BIO) with 73 nonstop destinations, 75 unique destinations across all of them, of which 28 are international. 1 US airports have a nonstop link. Source: Wikipedia, 2026-09.

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

The most comfortable months are May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct. Mean temperatures range from 48°F (9°C) in Feb to 69°F (21°C) in Aug (NASA POWER 2001–2020 climatology).

### San Sebastián or Alicante: which is better for digital nomads?

Alicante is the city with the closest factor profile to San Sebastián 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/san-sebastian