---
title: "Living in Siena as a digital nomad: cost, safety, visa, internet"
url: https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/siena
description: "Gothic hill town of the Palio, with Chianti at the door"
dataset: 2026.10.7 (2026-10-13)
license: CC BY 4.0
---

# Siena, Italy

Siena scores 67.5/100 for digital nomads under balanced weights, ranking 273 of 1000 cities. Expect about $2,300 per month (country-level estimate), a nomad visa (Digital nomad and remote worker visa), and a measured median download speed of 25.5 Mbps.

Siena is a compact Gothic city on three hills around the shell-shaped Piazza del Campo, with a university that keeps it alive off-season and the Chianti and Val d'Orcia within an hour's drive. Central rents are high for a town this size, everything is uphill and there is no airport or fast train: Florence is about 1.5 hours by bus, and the Palio days of 2 July and 16 August are packed.

Known for: Piazza del Campo, Palio horse race in July and August, University town, Chianti and Val d'Orcia.

## Scores (balanced weights, 0–100)

| Factor | Score |
| --- | --- |
| Overall | 67.5 |
| Cost of living | 28 |
| Safety | 81 |
| Healthcare | 86 |
| Internet | 62 |
| Visa ease | 81 |
| Getting there & around | 66 |
| Climate | 42 |
| Air quality | 84 |
| Quality of life | 80 |

## The numbers behind the scores

| Metric | Value | Level | As of | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly cost, one person | $2,300 | 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) | 0.57 | country | 2024 | [^4] |
| Political stability (0–100) | 73.6 | country | 2025 | [^5] |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | 82 | country | 2023 | [^6] |
| Life expectancy (years) | 82.2 | country | 2021 | [^7] |
| Median download (Mbps) | 25.5 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Median upload (Mbps) | 9.2 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Starlink residential service | Available | country | 2026-10 | [^9] |
| Nomad visa | Digital nomad and remote worker visa (min $2,385/mo) | country | 2026-10-04 | [^10] |
| Visa guide | [Italy long-stay visa guide](https://nostos.navoy.io/visas/italy) | country | 2026-10-04 | [^10] |
| Entry for US / EU / UK passports | 90 days / unlimited / 90 days | country | 2026-02 | [^11] |
| Non-stop destinations (FLR/PSA) | 99 | city | 2026-09 | [^12] |
| Restaurants within 3 km of the centre (OpenStreetMap) | 222 | city | 2026-10 | [^16] |
| Walkability / transit (1–5) | 4 / 2 | editorial | 2026-09 | [^13] |
| Comfortable months | 5 of 12 | city | 2001–2020 | [^14] |
| Annual mean PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 12.4 | city | 2023 | [^15] |
| Human Development Index | 0.915 | country | 2023 | [^17] |
| English proficiency band | moderate | country | 2024 | [^18] |

## Climate (2001–2020 normals)

| Month | Mean °C | Rain mm | Humidity % | Comfortable |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Jan | 4.1 | 58 | 89 | no |
| Feb | 4.9 | 64 | 85 | no |
| Mar | 8.1 | 62 | 81 | no |
| Apr | 11.9 | 54 | 77 | no |
| May | 16.3 | 58 | 71 | yes |
| Jun | 21.7 | 37 | 61 | yes |
| Jul | 24.9 | 30 | 54 | yes |
| Aug | 24.5 | 36 | 57 | yes |
| Sep | 19.4 | 66 | 66 | yes |
| Oct | 14.6 | 82 | 78 | no |
| Nov | 9.4 | 102 | 87 | no |
| Dec | 5.2 | 78 | 89 | no |

## Airports and nonstop flights

| Airport | IATA | Nonstop destinations | International | From US airports |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Florence Airport | FLR | 40 | 33 | 0 |
| Pisa International Airport | PSA | 82 | 70 | 0 |

Unique destinations across all airports: 99, of which 86 international (Wikipedia, 2026-09).

## Similar cities

- [Perugia](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/perugia) (68.8) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/perugia-vs-siena)
- [Lucca](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/lucca) (66.3) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/lucca-vs-siena)
- [Trieste](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/trieste) (67.8) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/siena-vs-trieste)
- [Olbia](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/olbia) (67.7) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/olbia-vs-siena)
- [Catania](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/catania) (68.8) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/catania-vs-siena)

## FAQ

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

A single person typically spends about $2,300 per month in Siena (a country-level estimate for Italy). That is a 28/100 cost score, where 100 is the cheapest city in the dataset.

### Is Siena safe for digital nomads?

Siena scores 81/100 on safety. Italy records 0.57 homicides per 100,000 people per year (WHO, 2024) and a political-stability score of 73.6/100 (World Bank WGI). Both figures are national, so neighbourhood-level risk can differ.

### Does Italy have a digital nomad visa?

Yes. Italy offers the Digital nomad and remote worker visa with a minimum income of about $2,385 per month, and it can lead to permanent residence. Verify current rules with the issuing authority before applying. Full guide: https://nostos.navoy.io/visas/italy

### How fast is the internet in Siena?

Measured median download speed in Siena was 25.5 Mbps (upload 9.2 Mbps) across 4,331 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 Siena?

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

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

Siena is served by Florence Airport (FLR) with 40 nonstop destinations and Pisa International Airport (PSA) with 82 nonstop destinations, 99 unique destinations across all of them, of which 86 are international. 0 US airports have a nonstop link. Source: Wikipedia, 2026-09.

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

The most comfortable months are May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep. Mean temperatures range from 39°F (4°C) in Jan to 77°F (25°C) in Jul (NASA POWER 2001–2020 climatology).

### Siena or Perugia: which is better for digital nomads?

Perugia is the city with the closest factor profile to Siena 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 Siena](https://navoy.io/hotels/italy/siena) 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]: Victims of intentional homicide per 100,000 population (national data, latest year), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, dataUNODC. UNODC data, free to reuse with attribution. https://data.unodc.org/datareport/hom-victim (retrieved 2026-10-12)
[^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]: Nostos long-stay visa guides, Navoy. CC BY 4.0. https://nostos.navoy.io/visas (retrieved 2026-10-04)
[^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/siena