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Yazd, Iran
Photo: Ninara from Helsinki, Finland · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Yazd

Iran · Asia · 529,673 people · Asia/Tehran · IRR

Yazd scores 39.2/100 for digital nomads under balanced weights, ranking 1443 of 1501 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.

Yazd is a desert city at 1,216 m whose UNESCO-listed old town of mud-brick lanes, windcatchers and qanat water channels is one of the best preserved in Iran, with a Zoroastrian fire temple and Towers of Silence on its edge. It is calm and safe, with courtyard guesthouses, but conservative and very hot in summer. Sanctions block foreign cards, the internet is filtered and US, UK and Canadian citizens need a guide.

  • UNESCO adobe old town
  • Windcatchers and qanats
  • Zoroastrian heritage
  • Sanctions: no foreign cards
Safety: 5.1 of 39 points (scores 41/100)Healthcare: 10.0 of 39 points (scores 80/100)Internet: 3.8 of 39 points (scores 30/100)Visa ease: 1.9 of 39 points (scores 15/100)Getting there & around: 2.1 of 39 points (scores 17/100)Climate: 6.3 of 39 points (scores 50/100)Air quality: 2.9 of 39 points (scores 23/100)Quality of life: 7.2 of 39 points (scores 58/100)39
Balanced score
out of 100
Vibe check
  • Safety5.1
  • Health10.0
  • Internet3.8
  • Visa1.9
  • Mobility2.1
  • Climate6.3
  • Air2.9
  • QoL7.2

Rank 1,443 of 1,501 · missing: Cost of living

For US nomads

  • US passport entry
    visa required
    check the consulate before booking
  • Time vs New York
    8.5 hours ahead of New York
    0.5h of a 9–6 day overlap with Eastern time
  • Time vs Los Angeles
    11.5 hours ahead of Los Angeles
    0h of a 9–6 day overlap with Pacific time
  • Non-stop from the US
    0 US airports
    Wikipedia, 2026-09

Prices are in US dollars. US citizens are taxed on worldwide income; the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion and state residency rules are worth a look before a long stay.

Eating out

OpenStreetMap, 2026-1116

22restaurants within 3 km

Mapped around the centre of Yazd: few restaurants mapped, which can also mean thin map coverage. A count of what is on the map, not a rating, and it does not affect the score.

How Yazd scores, factor by factor

Superscripts link to the source list at the bottom. Country-level figures apply to all of Iran.

Cost of living

Monthly cost for one person (log-scaled, cheaper is better).
—
  • Monthly cost, one person: no data2 · country-level, 2026-09 — no WhereNext row for IR
  • Central one-bedroom rent: no data3 · city-level, 2026-09 — no city-level rent row in the WhereToEmigrate dataset

Safety

Homicide rate and political stability (country-level).
41
  • Homicide rate: 2.9 per 100k4 · country-level, 2021
  • Political stability: 36/1005 · country-level, 2025

Healthcare

WHO universal-health-coverage index and life expectancy (country-level).
80
  • UHC service coverage: 81/1006 · country-level, 2023
  • Life expectancy: 77.7 years7 · country-level, 2023

Internet

Median measured download and upload speed (M-Lab, city-level; the province or country aggregate where the city has too few tests).
30
  • Median download: 6.1 Mbps8 · country-level, 2024
  • Median upload: 0.6 Mbps8 · country-level, 2024
  • Tests measured: 7,9488 · country-level, 2024
  • Starlink: Coming soon9 · country-level, 2026-10, not scored

Visa ease

How easily your passport gets in and stays: visa-free days, eTA, visa on arrival, e-visa or consular visa, plus a nomad visa and how affordable its income threshold is. Averages US, EU and UK passports until you pick yours.
15
  • Nomad visa: none listed10
  • Entry, US passport: visa required11 · country-level, 2026-02
  • Entry, EU passport: visa on arrival11 · country-level, 2026-02
  • Entry, UK passport: visa required11 · country-level, 2026-02

Getting there & around

Non-stop airport destinations (hub size) plus editorial walkability and transit ratings.
17
  • Non-stop destinations from AZD: 1112 · city-level, 2026-09
  • Walkability: 3/513 · editorial, 2026-09
  • Public transit: 2/513 · editorial, 2026-09

Climate

Share of months that are comfortable: 59–82°F (15–28 °C) mean, at most 5.9 in (150 mm) rain, at most 85% humidity.
50
  • Comfortable months: 6 of 1214 · city-level, 2001–2020 normals

Air quality

Annual mean PM2.5 on a fixed scale: 5 µg/m³ (WHO guideline) scores 100, 50 µg/m³ or worse scores 0.
23
  • Annual mean PM2.5: 39.5 µg/m³15 · city-level, 2023

Quality of life

Human Development Index and English proficiency (country-level).
58
  • Human Development Index: 0.79917 · country-level, 2023
  • English proficiency: low18 · country-level, 2024

What does Yazd cost per month?

Total, one personno datacountry estimate
One-bedroom rent, centreno datacity-level rent unavailable
Country cost index (US = 100)no datacountry

Can you stay legally?

Nomad visanone listed
Minimum income—
US passportvisa required
EU passportvisa on arrival
UK passportvisa required

Visa rules change often. Verify with the issuing government before you book.

Do you pay tax here on income from abroad?

Tax status · Iran

Foreigners are taxed only on Iranian-source income, but work done while living in Iran counts as Iranian income

Territorial

Iran taxes foreign nationals only on income earned in Iran, however long they stay, so dividends, interest, rent and pensions from abroad are not taxed. A salary for work done in Iran is taxed even if the employer is abroad: 10%–30% progressive in 2026-27 after a yearly exemption. Iranian citizens living in Iran are taxed on worldwide income. Sanctions mean foreign bank cards do not work in Iran.

  • Remote work income

    Salary from a foreign employer or fees from foreign clients

    Taxed

    10%–30% progressive (2026-27 salary bands)

  • Investments and pensions

    Dividends, interest, gains, rent and pensions from abroad

    Not taxed

  • Wealth

    Net wealth and inheritance

    No wealth tax

    Inheritance tax applies

Tax resident after
home or ties test
Top income tax rate
30%

On the nomad visa

Iran has no digital nomad or remote-work visa. Foreigners usually come on a tourist visa, and British nationals must travel on an organised tour or have a sponsor in Iran. The tax rules do not depend on the visa. Work done while in Iran is Iranian-source income from the first day, and foreign investment income stays untaxed. The UK FCDO advises against all travel to Iran, citing a very high risk of arbitrary detention of British and dual nationals. Non-Iranian bank cards do not work there and getting cash is hard. US persons are also bound by US sanctions (31 CFR part 560). Iran's foreign-ministry e-visa site could not be loaded.

Not yet reviewed by a person · compiled from official pages read on 2026-10-27

General information, not tax advice. Tax treaties, your citizenship and your home country's exit rules can change the answer. US citizens are taxed by the US wherever they live.

Airports and nonstop flights

Yazd is served by one airport.

AirportNonstop destinationsInternationalFrom US airports
AZDShahid Sadooghi Airport1130

Wikipedia airport pages as of 2026-09: seasonal routes included, charters and announced-but-not-started routes excluded.

What is the weather like through the year?

Comfortable months by our rule: Apr–Jun, Aug–Oct. Rank cities for Mar–May →

MonthJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Mean °F404454637482858175655143
Rain in0.40.20.30.30.1000.10.10.10.30.3
Humidity %494435332517161618264048

Green temperatures mark months that meet the comfort rule (59–82°F, ≤5.9 in rain, ≤85% humidity). NASA POWER 2001–2020 climatology at the city coordinates.

Where can you stay in Yazd?

Three ways to live here, and what each does to the monthly budget. Rents are the one-bedroom figures from the cost table; hotels and short lets are priced per night and cost more, most of all in high season.

OptionRent per monthMonthly totalNotes
One-bedroom outside the centre——No city-level cost here; the total is a national estimate.
One-bedroom in the centre——No city-level rent figure for this city.
Hotel or short let——For the first weeks or a stay under a month. Compare hotels on Navoy →

Monthly rents assume an unfurnished lease of six months or more; furnished monthly lets usually cost 20 to 50 percent more.

Cities with a similar profile

Also in Asia: Abbottabad, Agra, Ahmedabad, Ahvaz, Akita, Almaty

Ready to see Yazd for yourself?

Nostos tells you where. Navoy, the AI travel planner behind it, builds the trip: itineraries, places to stay and what to book before you land.

Opens on navoy.io.

The vibe

What people post about living in Yazd, read for its mood. It is a reading of opinions, not a fact, and it is not part of the score.

Liked · 72Commenters, many from Yazd or Iranian diaspora, describe Yazd as beautiful, hospitable and deeply cultured, with few concrete complaints about living there.

People praise
  • friendliness
  • history and culture
  • architecture
  • nature and desert scenery
  • food
  • calm atmosphere
People warn about
  • political situation
  • limited practical info on daily life
  • sparse comments about cost or internet
  • Locals are welcoming and warm toward visitors
  • Yazd's ancient desert architecture is widely admired
  • Commenters express hope for future visits when conditions improve
  • Overall impressions are romantic and emotional rather than practical
  • Most content is tourism-focused, so daily-life evidence is thin

Read from 8 videos, 40 comments and 0 posts on 2026-11-08; the summary is written by a language model and can misread sarcasm.

Frequently asked

How much does it cost to live in Yazd as a digital nomad?
We do not have a reliable monthly cost figure for Yazd yet.
Is Yazd safe for digital nomads?
Yazd 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 Yazd?
Measured median download speed in Yazd 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 Yazd?
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 Yazd and how many nonstop flights are there?
Yazd is served by Shahid Sadooghi Airport (AZD) with 11 nonstop destinations, of which 3 are international. 0 US airports have a nonstop link. Source: Wikipedia, 2026-09.
When is the best time of year to be in Yazd?
The most comfortable months are Apr, May, Jun, Aug, Sep, Oct. Mean temperatures range from 40°F (5°C) in Jan to 85°F (29°C) in Jul (NASA POWER 2001–2020 climatology).
Yazd or Kermanshah: which is better for digital nomads?
Kermanshah is the city with the closest factor profile to Yazd 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

Dataset 2026.11.2, published 2026-11-09. Download the full dataset or read the methodology.

  1. 1.City population (latest census or official estimate), Wikipedia (citing national statistics offices). CC BY-SA 4.0. Retrieved 2026-09-22. City-proper figures; the per-city source URL is stored with the seed row.
  2. 2.2026 Cost of Living Index (country level), WhereNext. CC BY 4.0. Retrieved 2026-09-22. Country-level monthly estimate used only where no city-level figure exists; cost_index kept for every city.
  3. 3.Cost of Living Global 2026 (city rows), WhereToEmigrate. CC BY 4.0. Retrieved 2026-09-22. monthly_cost_single_eur and rent_1br_center_eur, converted to USD at the ECB reference rate on the retrieval date (see ecb-frankfurter).
  4. 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). Retrieved 2026-09-22. WHO GHO modelled estimate, used only where UNODC has no national figure from 2018 or later (seven countries in this dataset). May be reused with attribution under WHO's data policy.
  5. 5.Worldwide Governance Indicators — Political Stability and Absence of Violence (score 0–100), World Bank. CC BY 4.0. Retrieved 2026-09-22.
  6. 6.UHC service coverage index, World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO data policy). Retrieved 2026-09-22.
  7. 7.Life expectancy at birth (years), both sexes, World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO data policy). Retrieved 2026-09-22.
  8. 8.M-Lab NDT statistics (city aggregates, 2024), Measurement Lab. CC0 1.0. Retrieved 2026-09-22. Median of daily median download/upload throughput over 2024 for the city aggregate; sample count is the number of tests. Speeds reflect user-initiated tests, not advertised plans.
  9. 9.Starlink availability map, SpaceX (Starlink). Factual status cited from starlink.com. Retrieved 2026-10-07. Residential service status per country from the file Starlink's map loads. Grouped as on the map: launched or available = available; coming soon, pending regulatory approval or test = coming soon; blacklisted = not offered; unknown or excluded = unknown. Shown on city pages and as a ranker filter; not part of any score. Roaming and maritime plans can work in more places.
  10. 10.Digital Nomad Visas 2026, WhereToEmigrate. CC BY 4.0. Retrieved 2026-09-22. Programme name, minimum monthly income (EUR, converted to USD) and whether it leads to permanent residence. Values are directional; verify with the issuing government.
  11. 11.Passport Index dataset (visa requirements, 199 passports × 199 destinations), Ilya Ilyankou (compiled from passportindex.org). MIT. Retrieved 2026-09-22. Days per visit where stated; 'visa free' without a limit is credited as unlimited; eTA, visa on arrival, e-visa and visa required are credited 0 days for scoring but shown by kind. The default US/EU/UK figures use the US, German and British passports.
  12. 12.Airport destinations (Wikipedia airline and destination tables), Wikipedia contributors; countries via Wikidata. CC BY-SA 4.0. Retrieved 2026-09-24. Distinct destination airports listed in each airport article's passenger table, resolved through Wikidata. Seasonal routes count; charters and routes announced but not yet flying are excluded. The as-of date is the newest article revision among the city's airports. Falls back to the OpenFlights snapshot when an airport has no article or table.
  13. 13.Walkability and transit ratings (editorial), Navoy. CC BY 4.0. Retrieved 2026-09-22. Judgment ratings, not measurements. Explained on /methodology.
  14. 14.NASA POWER climatology (2001–2020 monthly means), NASA Langley Research Center. Public domain (US Government). Retrieved 2026-09-22. T2M, PRECTOTCORR and RH2M at the city coordinates (0.5° grid). Monthly precipitation = mm/day × days in month.
  15. 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. Retrieved 2026-10-07. Annual 2023 PM2.5 for the 0.1° grid cell at the city centre, from satellite aerosol retrievals combined with a chemical transport model and ground monitors. Used only for cities with no WHO database row. Where the same country has WHO-measured cities, values are scaled by the median measured/satellite ratio there (corrects desert-dust overestimates in the Gulf). Across 811 cities with both, log-correlation with WHO values is 0.89 and the median difference 2 µg/m³.
  16. 16.OpenStreetMap restaurants (Overpass API), OpenStreetMap contributors. ODbL 1.0. Retrieved 2026-10-02. Count of OpenStreetMap elements tagged amenity=restaurant within 3 km of the city centre coordinate. Measures how many restaurants are mapped, which tracks real density well where OpenStreetMap is well maintained (Europe, the Americas, East and Southeast Asia) and under-counts where it is not (parts of Africa and Central Asia).
  17. 17.Human Development Index (HDR 2025, HDI 2023), United Nations Development Programme. CC BY 3.0 IGO. Retrieved 2026-09-22.
  18. 18.EF English Proficiency Index 2024 (band), EF Education First. Proprietary; band cited as a fact with attribution. Retrieved 2026-09-22. Only the proficiency band is stored, transcribed by hand from the public ranking.