---
title: "Living in Stara Zagora as a digital nomad: cost, safety, visa, internet"
url: https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/stara-zagora
description: "Leafy, planned Bulgarian city of lindens and Roman ruins"
dataset: 2026.11.2 (2026-11-09)
license: CC BY 4.0
---

# Stara Zagora, Bulgaria

Stara Zagora scores 63.5/100 for digital nomads under balanced weights, ranking 545 of 1501 cities. Expect about $1,150 per month (country-level estimate), no dedicated nomad visa, and a measured median download speed of 41 Mbps.

Stara Zagora is a green, grid-planned city in central Bulgaria with linden-lined streets, a Roman forum and theatre, and the Kazanlak rose valley and Thracian tombs about 40 minutes away. It is cheap, safe and easy to walk, but few foreigners live here, English is limited outside younger people, and the nearest airports with regular flights are Plovdiv and Sofia.

Known for: Linden-lined streets, Roman forum and theatre, Neolithic dwellings museum, Kazanlak rose valley nearby.

## Scores (balanced weights, 0–100)

| Factor | Score |
| --- | --- |
| Overall | 63.5 |
| Cost of living | 67 |
| Safety | 73 |
| Healthcare | 72 |
| Internet | 72 |
| Visa ease | 61 |
| Getting there & around | 34 |
| Climate | 42 |
| Air quality | 73 |
| Quality of life | 77 |

## The numbers behind the scores

| Metric | Value | Level | As of | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly cost, one person | $1,150 | 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) | 1.17 | country | 2024 | [^4] |
| Political stability (0–100) | 69.9 | country | 2025 | [^5] |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | 73 | country | 2023 | [^6] |
| Life expectancy (years) | 75.6 | country | 2023 | [^7] |
| Median download (Mbps) | 41 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Median upload (Mbps) | 21.8 | 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 / unlimited / 90 days | country | 2026-02 | [^11] |
| Non-stop destinations (PDV/SOF) | 96 | city | 2026-11 | [^12] |
| Restaurants within 3 km of the centre (OpenStreetMap) | 62 | city | 2026-11 | [^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) | 17 | city | 2024 | [^15] |
| Human Development Index | 0.845 | country | 2023 | [^17] |
| English proficiency band | high | country | 2024 | [^18] |

## Tax on income from abroad

**Residents pay a flat 10% on worldwide income and 5% on dividends; the 2025 nomad permit brings no tax break.** Tax residents (more than 183 days in any 12 months, or a centre of vital interests in Bulgaria) pay a flat 10% on worldwide income, including salary from a foreign employer and fees from foreign clients. Dividends pay 5% and bank interest 8%; gains on shares sold on EU/EEA regulated markets are exempt. There is no wealth tax. The new digital nomad permit is an immigration status only and changes none of this.

| Question | Answer |
| --- | --- |
| How residents are taxed | worldwide income |
| Remote work for foreign clients or employers | taxed (10% flat; freelancers pay it on 75% of their fees after a 25% statutory deduction) |
| Investments and pensions from abroad | taxed (5% on dividends; 8% on bank interest; 10% on other interest, taxable gains and rent) |
| Wealth | no wealth tax; inheritance tax applies |
| Tax resident after | 183 days a year |
| Top income tax rate | 10% |

Residency: Under the Personal Income Tax Act you are resident if you stay in Bulgaria more than 183 days in any 12-month period, or if your centre of vital interests (family, property, place of work or business) is in Bulgaria. A permanent address in Bulgaria also makes you resident unless your centre of vital interests is elsewhere. So a nomad who rents a flat and lives in Bulgaria for most of the year will be resident, and someone who moves with family and work can be resident before reaching 183 days. A tourist stay under 183 days with your life based abroad normally keeps you non-resident. Where another country also treats you as resident, the tie-breaker in its tax treaty with Bulgaria decides. We could not load the Act's official text on 27 October 2026, so check the exact wording before relying on a borderline day count.

Remote work: Residents pay 10% on salary from a foreign employer and on fees from foreign clients, with no tax-free allowance and no brackets. A foreign employer without a Bulgarian presence does not withhold, so you pay quarterly advance tax yourself and settle in the annual return due by 30 April. Freelancers register their activity (a liberal profession, such as IT or consulting) and must declare its start to the revenue agency within 7 days. They deduct 25% of fees as deemed expenses without receipts, so the tax is effectively 7.5% of gross fees before contributions. Self-employed people must insure for pensions, disability and death, and sickness and maternity cover is optional. They pay contributions monthly on an income they choose: from 1 August 2026 between €620.20 and €2,300 a month (€550.66–€2,111.64 before then), trued up to actual income after the annual return. Health insurance is 8% of that base. Summaries put the full rate at about 27.8% (31.3% with sickness cover), but we could not load the Social Insurance Code to confirm the pension share. Employees of a foreign employer usually owe contributions where they work, subject to EU rules (form A1) or a social security agreement; that case is not covered here. The catch for short stays: if you stay non-resident, Bulgaria taxes only Bulgarian-source income, and we could not confirm from the Act whether pay for work physically done in Bulgaria counts as Bulgarian-source, so do not assume a short stay is tax-free. Bulgaria's tax treaties give credit for tax paid abroad.

Investments: Dividends, including foreign ones, are taxed at a final 5%. The government's November 2025 budget bill proposed raising this to 10%, but the bill was withdrawn in December 2025 and the budget adopted in July 2026 did not bring the rise back. Interest on bank accounts pays a final 8%. Gains on shares and fund units sold on a regulated market in the EU or EEA are exempt, and since 2026 so are gains on EU growth markets. Other share and crypto gains are added up for the year and taxed at 10%. Rent is taxed at 10% after a 10% deemed-expense deduction. Some property sales are exempt (for example one home held for more than three years); check the Act's holding-period rules for others. Pensions under compulsory social insurance are not taxed; we could not confirm whether every foreign pension, especially private or occupational ones, qualifies, so check with the revenue agency. Foreign income is declared in the annual return, and foreign tax is credited up to the Bulgarian tax on the same income, limited by treaty.

On the nomad visa: Bulgaria created a long-stay residence permit for digital nomads by amending the Foreigners in the Republic of Bulgaria Act (State Gazette no. 52 of 27 June 2025; Art. 24(1)(23), Art. 24s and §1(36) of the Act). It is for non-EU/EEA/Swiss nationals who work remotely through information technology for employers or clients abroad and do not take jobs in Bulgaria; the Council of Ministers then amended the implementing rules on the documents required. The permit carries no tax regime of its own, and we found no special rule for nomads in the income tax law. Holders who live in Bulgaria more than 183 days in any 12 months, or whose centre of vital interests moves there, become resident and pay 10% on worldwide income, 5% on dividends, and social contributions where they apply. Your home country may still tax your salary too.

Schemes for newcomers:

- **Liberal profession (свободна професия) with statutory deemed expenses** (no fixed end): 25% of gross fees is deducted as expenses without receipts, and social contributions also reduce the taxable amount, so income tax is at most 7.5% of gross fees. You pay quarterly advance tax and file one annual return by 30 April. Who qualifies: Resident freelancers who register a self-employed activity such as IT, consulting, design or translation with the revenue agency, without forming a company. Most remote freelancers with foreign clients use it.

Official sources: [Income Taxes on Natural Persons Act (English translation)](https://www.minfin.bg/upload/51248/Income_Taxes_on_Natural_Persons_Act.pdf) (Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Bulgaria (minfin.bg), read 2026-10-27); [Законопроект за държавния бюджет на Република България за 2026 г., № 51-502-01-65](https://www.parliament.bg/bills/51/51-502-01-65.rtf) (Народно събрание (National Assembly, parliament.bg), read 2026-10-27); [Решение за даване на съгласие за оттегляне на законопроекти (3 December 2025)](https://www.parliament.bg/bg/desision/ID/166749) (Народно събрание (National Assembly, parliament.bg), read 2026-10-27); [Законопроект за държавния бюджет на Република България за 2026 г., № 52-602-01-19](https://www.parliament.bg/bills/52/52-602-01-19.docx) (Народно събрание (National Assembly, parliament.bg), read 2026-10-27); [Закон за държавния бюджет на Република България за 2026 г. (ДВ, бр. 69 от 2026 г.)](https://www.parliament.bg/bg/laws/ID/167157) (Народно събрание (National Assembly, parliament.bg), read 2026-10-27); [Закон за събирането на приходи и извършването на разходи през 2026 г. до приемането на бюджета (ДВ, бр. 113 от 2025 г.)](https://www.parliament.bg/bg/laws/ID/166772) (Народно събрание (National Assembly, parliament.bg), read 2026-10-27); [Закон за бюджета на държавното обществено осигуряване за 2026 г. (ДВ, бр. 68 от 2026 г.)](https://www.parliament.bg/bg/laws/ID/167156) (Народно събрание (National Assembly, parliament.bg), read 2026-10-27); [Закон за бюджета на Националната здравноосигурителна каса за 2026 г. (ДВ, бр. 68 от 2026 г.)](https://www.parliament.bg/bg/laws/ID/167155) (Народно събрание (National Assembly, parliament.bg), read 2026-10-27); [Осигуряване на самоосигуряващите се лица](https://nssi.bg/samoosiguryavashti-se-lica/osiguriavane-samoosiguriavashti-lica/) (Национален осигурителен институт (National Social Security Institute, nssi.bg), read 2026-10-27); [Частична предварителна оценка на въздействието: проект на ПМС за изменение на ППЗЧРБ (дигитални номади)](https://www.mvr.bg/upload/286632/%D0%BE%D1%86%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BA%D0%B0-%D0%BD%D0%B0-%D0%B2%D1%8A%D0%B7%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%B9%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B5%D1%82%D0%BE-%D0%BF%D0%BF%D0%B7%D1%87%D1%80%D0%B1-%D0%B8-%D0%BF%D0%B8%D0%B1%D0%BB%D0%B4.pdf) (Министерство на вътрешните работи (Ministry of Interior, mvr.bg), read 2026-10-27); [Inheritance Tax](https://minfin.bg/en/780) (Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Bulgaria (minfin.bg), read 2026-10-27); [Local Taxes and Fees Act (English translation)](https://minfin.bg/upload/60568/Local_Taxes_and_Fees_Act.pdf) (Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Bulgaria (minfin.bg), read 2026-10-27); [Въпроси и отговори за въвеждането на еврото](https://www.bnb.bg/AboutUs/AUEurosystem/AUAccessionToTheEuroArea/AUAEFIQuestionsAndAnswers/index.htm) (Българска народна банка (Bulgarian National Bank, bnb.bg), read 2026-10-27).

Not yet reviewed by a person. General information, not tax advice. US citizens are taxed by the US wherever they live.

## Climate (2001–2020 normals)

| Month | Mean °C | Rain mm | Humidity % | Comfortable |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Jan | -0.5 | 54 | 88 | no |
| Feb | 1.5 | 44 | 84 | no |
| Mar | 5.9 | 51 | 78 | no |
| Apr | 10.6 | 44 | 73 | no |
| May | 16.3 | 74 | 70 | yes |
| Jun | 20.8 | 75 | 64 | yes |
| Jul | 23.5 | 64 | 57 | yes |
| Aug | 23.7 | 42 | 54 | yes |
| Sep | 18.5 | 54 | 61 | yes |
| Oct | 12.2 | 55 | 75 | no |
| Nov | 6.7 | 43 | 83 | no |
| Dec | 1.1 | 58 | 87 | no |

## Airports and nonstop flights

| Airport | IATA | Nonstop destinations | International | From US airports |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Plovdiv Airport | PDV | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| Sofia Airport | SOF | 96 | 94 | 0 |

Unique destinations across all airports: 96, of which 94 international (Wikipedia, 2026-11).

## Similar cities

- [Veliko Tarnovo](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/veliko-tarnovo) (65.1) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/stara-zagora-vs-veliko-tarnovo)
- [Plovdiv](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/plovdiv) (65) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/plovdiv-vs-stara-zagora)
- [Burgas](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/burgas) (65) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/burgas-vs-stara-zagora)
- [Ruse](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/ruse) (65.3) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/ruse-vs-stara-zagora)
- [Ploiești](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/ploiesti) (66.1) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/ploiesti-vs-stara-zagora)

## FAQ

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

A single person typically spends about $1,150 per month in Stara Zagora (a country-level estimate for Bulgaria). That is a 67/100 cost score, where 100 is the cheapest city in the dataset.

### Is Stara Zagora safe for digital nomads?

Stara Zagora scores 73/100 on safety. Bulgaria records 1.17 homicides per 100,000 people per year (WHO, 2024) and a political-stability score of 69.9/100 (World Bank WGI). Both figures are national, so neighbourhood-level risk can differ.

### Does Bulgaria have a digital nomad visa?

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

### How fast is the internet in Stara Zagora?

Measured median download speed in Stara Zagora was 41 Mbps (upload 21.8 Mbps) across 830 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 Stara Zagora?

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

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

Stara Zagora is served by Plovdiv Airport (PDV) with 5 nonstop destinations and Sofia Airport (SOF) with 96 nonstop destinations, 96 unique destinations across all of them, of which 94 are international. 0 US airports have a nonstop link. Source: Wikipedia, 2026-11.

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

The most comfortable months are May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep. Mean temperatures range from 31°F (0°C) in Jan to 75°F (24°C) in Aug (NASA POWER 2001–2020 climatology).

### Stara Zagora or Veliko Tarnovo: which is better for digital nomads?

Veliko Tarnovo is the city with the closest factor profile to Stara Zagora 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

[Plan a trip to Stara Zagora](https://dashboard.navoy.io/trip/new?utm_source=nostos&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=plan_trip&utm_content=stara-zagora&destination=Stara+Zagora%2C+Bulgaria) 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]: 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]: 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)

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