---
title: "Living in Shiraz as a digital nomad: cost, safety, visa, internet"
url: https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/shiraz
description: "City of poets and gardens with Persepolis an hour away"
dataset: 2026.10.7 (2026-10-13)
license: CC BY 4.0
---

# Shiraz, Iran

Shiraz scores 45.8/100 for digital nomads under balanced weights, ranking 937 of 1000 cities. There is no open cost-of-living figure yet; expect no dedicated nomad visa, and a measured median download speed of 6.1 Mbps.

Shiraz is Iran's gentlest big city, known for its gardens, the tombs of the poets Hafez and Saadi, the stained-glass Nasir al-Mulk mosque and Persepolis about 60 km away. It shares Iran's barriers for foreign workers: sanctions block foreign bank cards, the internet is filtered and throttled, and US, UK and Canadian citizens must travel with a guide.

Known for: Hafez and Saadi tombs, Nasir al-Mulk mosque, Persepolis 60 km, Sanctions: no foreign cards.

## Scores (balanced weights, 0–100)

| Factor | Score |
| --- | --- |
| Overall | 45.8 |
| Cost of living | — |
| Safety | 41 |
| Healthcare | 74 |
| Internet | 30 |
| Visa ease | 15 |
| Getting there & around | 56 |
| Climate | 50 |
| Air quality | 45 |
| Quality of life | 56 |

## 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) | 2.9 | country | 2021 | [^4] |
| Political stability (0–100) | 36 | country | 2025 | [^5] |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | 81 | country | 2023 | [^6] |
| Life expectancy (years) | 74.7 | country | 2021 | [^7] |
| Median download (Mbps) | 6.1 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Median upload (Mbps) | 0.6 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Starlink residential service | Coming soon | country | 2026-10 | [^9] |
| Nomad visa | none listed | country | 2026-07 | [^10] |
| Entry for US / EU / UK passports | visa required / visa on arrival / visa required | country | 2026-02 | [^11] |
| Non-stop destinations (SYZ) | 36 | city | 2026-09 | [^12] |
| Restaurants within 3 km of the centre (OpenStreetMap) | 113 | city | 2026-10 | [^16] |
| Walkability / transit (1–5) | 3 / 3 | editorial | 2026-09 | [^13] |
| Comfortable months | 6 of 12 | city | 2001–2020 | [^14] |
| Annual mean PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 29.8 | city | 2023 | [^15] |
| Human Development Index | 0.799 | country | 2023 | [^17] |
| English proficiency band | low | country | 2024 | [^18] |

## Climate (2001–2020 normals)

| Month | Mean °C | Rain mm | Humidity % | Comfortable |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Jan | 4.4 | 53 | 60 | no |
| Feb | 6.2 | 41 | 58 | no |
| Mar | 10.2 | 41 | 52 | no |
| Apr | 15.2 | 25 | 47 | yes |
| May | 21.2 | 7 | 33 | yes |
| Jun | 26.6 | 4 | 17 | yes |
| Jul | 28.9 | 5 | 16 | no |
| Aug | 27.6 | 4 | 18 | yes |
| Sep | 23.9 | 1 | 19 | yes |
| Oct | 18.4 | 4 | 28 | yes |
| Nov | 10.8 | 40 | 47 | no |
| Dec | 6.3 | 49 | 57 | no |

## Airports and nonstop flights

| Airport | IATA | Nonstop destinations | International | From US airports |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Shiraz Shahid Dastgheib International Airport | SYZ | 36 | 10 | 0 |

Unique destinations across all airports: 36, of which 10 international (Wikipedia, 2026-09).

## Similar cities

- [Tehran](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/tehran) (45.2) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/shiraz-vs-tehran)
- [Tabriz](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/tabriz) (41.7) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/shiraz-vs-tabriz)
- [Mashhad](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/mashhad) (43.7) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/mashhad-vs-shiraz)
- [Ninh Binh](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/ninh-binh) (56) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/ninh-binh-vs-shiraz)
- [Isfahan](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/isfahan) (38.9) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/isfahan-vs-shiraz)

## FAQ

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

We do not have a reliable monthly cost figure for Shiraz yet.

### Is Shiraz safe for digital nomads?

Shiraz scores 41/100 on safety. Iran records 2.9 homicides per 100,000 people per year (WHO, 2021) and a political-stability score of 36/100 (World Bank WGI). Both figures are national, so neighbourhood-level risk can differ.

### Does Iran have a digital nomad visa?

No dedicated digital nomad visa was listed for Iran as of 2026-07. Visitors from the US need a visa from a consulate.

### How fast is the internet in Shiraz?

Measured median download speed in Shiraz was 6.1 Mbps (upload 0.6 Mbps) across 7,948 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 Shiraz?

Not yet. Starlink's availability map lists Iran as coming soon as of 2026-10. Roaming plans may work for short stays, but local rules on using them vary.

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

Shiraz is served by Shiraz Shahid Dastgheib International Airport (SYZ) with 36 nonstop destinations, of which 10 are international. 0 US airports have a nonstop link. Source: Wikipedia, 2026-09.

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

The most comfortable months are Apr, May, Jun, Aug, Sep, Oct. Mean temperatures range from 40°F (4°C) in Jan to 84°F (29°C) in Jul (NASA POWER 2001–2020 climatology).

### Shiraz or Tehran: which is better for digital nomads?

Tehran is the city with the closest factor profile to Shiraz 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 Iran](https://navoy.io/hotels/iran) 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/shiraz