---
title: "Living in Siem Reap as a digital nomad: cost, safety, visa, internet"
url: https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/siem-reap
description: "Angkor's town, with a friendly expat community"
dataset: 2026.09.4 (2026-09-26)
license: CC BY 4.0
---

# Siem Reap, Cambodia

Siem Reap scores 35.6/100 for digital nomads under balanced weights, ranking 302 of 309 cities. Expect about $1,094 per month, no dedicated nomad visa, and no reliable internet measurement.

Siem Reap is the base for Angkor and has grown a real expat and NGO community around its cafés and cheap villas. Costs are very low, the dry season is glorious and April is punishing.

Known for: Angkor Wat, Very low costs, Café and NGO scene, Hot season.

## Scores (balanced weights, 0–100)

| Factor | Score |
| --- | --- |
| Overall | 35.6 |
| Cost of living | 63 |
| Safety | 70 |
| Healthcare | 51 |
| Internet | — |
| Visa ease | 6 |
| Getting there & around | 12 |
| Climate | 33 |
| Air quality | 29 |
| Quality of life | 21 |

## The numbers behind the scores

| Metric | Value | Level | As of | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly cost, one person | $1,094 | city | 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) | 1.8 | country | 2021 | [^5] |
| Political stability (0–100) | 68.1 | country | 2024 | [^6] |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | 62 | country | 2023 | [^7] |
| Life expectancy (years) | 68.9 | country | 2021 | [^8] |
| Median download (Mbps) | — | city | 2024 | [^9] |
| Median upload (Mbps) | — | city | 2024 | [^9] |
| Nomad visa | none listed | country | 2026-07 | [^10] |
| Visa-free days US / EU / UK | visa or e-visa required / visa or e-visa required / visa or e-visa required | editorial | 2026-02 | [^11] |
| Non-stop destinations (SAI) | 13 | city | 2026-09 | [^12] |
| Walkability / transit (1–5) | 3 / 1 | editorial | 2026-09 | [^13] |
| Comfortable months | 4 of 12 | city | 2001–2020 | [^14] |
| Annual mean PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 37 | city | 2021 | [^15] |
| Human Development Index | 0.606 | country | 2023 | [^16] |
| English proficiency band | very-low | country | 2024 | [^17] |

## Climate (2001–2020 normals)

| Month | Mean °C | Rain mm | Humidity % | Comfortable |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Jan | 27 | 12 | 57 | yes |
| Feb | 29.1 | 16 | 53 | no |
| Mar | 30.6 | 46 | 57 | no |
| Apr | 30.6 | 75 | 64 | no |
| May | 29.4 | 140 | 75 | no |
| Jun | 28 | 168 | 82 | no |
| Jul | 27.2 | 197 | 85 | no |
| Aug | 27.1 | 195 | 86 | no |
| Sep | 27 | 231 | 87 | no |
| Oct | 26.9 | 138 | 84 | yes |
| Nov | 26.4 | 37 | 78 | yes |
| Dec | 26 | 7 | 65 | yes |

## Airports and nonstop flights

| Airport | IATA | Nonstop destinations | International | From US airports |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Siem Reap–Angkor International Airport | SAI | 13 | 11 | 0 |

Unique destinations across all airports: 13, of which 11 international (Wikipedia, 2026-09).

## Similar cities

- [Pokhara](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/pokhara) (38.9) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/pokhara-vs-siem-reap)
- [Kathmandu](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/kathmandu) (40.2) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/kathmandu-vs-siem-reap)
- [Vientiane](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/vientiane) (41.4) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/siem-reap-vs-vientiane)
- [Kumasi](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/kumasi) (33.9) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/kumasi-vs-siem-reap)
- [Hyderabad](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/hyderabad) (41.9) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/hyderabad-vs-siem-reap)

## FAQ

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

A single person typically spends about $1,094 per month in Siem Reap. That is a 63/100 cost score, where 100 is the cheapest city in the dataset.

### Is Siem Reap safe for digital nomads?

Siem Reap scores 70/100 on safety. Cambodia records 1.8 homicides per 100,000 people per year (WHO, 2021) and a political-stability score of 68.1/100 (World Bank WGI). Both figures are national, so neighbourhood-level risk can differ.

### Does Cambodia have a digital nomad visa?

No dedicated digital nomad visa was listed for Cambodia as of 2026-07. Visitors from the US can stay only with a visa, e-visa, eTA or visa on arrival days.

### How fast is the internet in Siem Reap?

M-Lab did not record enough speed tests in Siem Reap in 2024 to publish a median.

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

Siem Reap is served by Siem Reap–Angkor International Airport (SAI) with 13 nonstop destinations, of which 11 are international. 0 US airports have a nonstop link. Source: Wikipedia, 2026-09.

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

The most comfortable months are Jan, Oct, Nov, Dec. Mean temperatures range from 79°F (26°C) in Dec to 87°F (31°C) in Mar (NASA POWER 2001–2020 climatology).

### Siem Reap or Pokhara: which is better for digital nomads?

Pokhara is the city with the closest factor profile to Siem Reap 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]: WhereNext city cost estimates 2026 (city pages), WhereNext. CC BY 4.0. https://getwherenext.com/cities (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]: 2026 Cost of Living Index (country level), WhereNext. CC BY 4.0. https://getwherenext.com/data/cost-of-living-2026 (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^5]: 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)
[^6]: 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)
[^7]: 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)
[^8]: 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)
[^9]: M-Lab NDT statistics (city aggregates, 2024), Measurement Lab. CC0 1.0. https://statistics.measurementlab.net/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^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]: 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)
[^16]: 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)
[^17]: 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/siem-reap