---
title: "Living in Zihuatanejo as a digital nomad: cost, safety, visa, internet"
url: https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/zihuatanejo
description: "Fishing-town bay beside the Ixtapa resort strip"
dataset: 2026.10.7 (2026-10-13)
license: CC BY 4.0
---

# Zihuatanejo, Mexico

Zihuatanejo scores 60.8/100 for digital nomads under balanced weights, ranking 584 of 1000 cities. Expect about $1,400 per month (country-level estimate), no dedicated nomad visa, and a measured median download speed of 32.1 Mbps.

Zihuatanejo is a Pacific fishing town on a horseshoe bay, with Playa La Ropa and a small walkable centre, 10 minutes from the purpose-built resort of Ixtapa and its airport. It is cheaper and calmer than Puerto Vallarta, but the nomad scene is thin and the state of Guerrero carries heavy travel advisories.

Known for: Playa La Ropa, Fresh seafood, Ixtapa resort next door, Guerrero travel advisories.

## Scores (balanced weights, 0–100)

| Factor | Score |
| --- | --- |
| Overall | 60.8 |
| Cost of living | 47 |
| Safety | 28 |
| Healthcare | 67 |
| Internet | 65 |
| Visa ease | 90 |
| Getting there & around | 43 |
| Climate | 67 |
| Air quality | 86 |
| Quality of life | 54 |

## The numbers behind the scores

| Metric | Value | Level | As of | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly cost, one person | $1,400 | 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) | 25.64 | country | 2024 | [^4] |
| Political stability (0–100) | 55 | country | 2025 | [^5] |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | 79 | country | 2023 | [^6] |
| Life expectancy (years) | 70.8 | country | 2021 | [^7] |
| Median download (Mbps) | 32.1 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Median upload (Mbps) | 7.9 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Starlink residential service | Available | country | 2026-10 | [^9] |
| Nomad visa | none listed | country | 2026-10-04 | [^10] |
| Visa guide | [Mexico long-stay visa guide](https://nostos.navoy.io/visas/mexico) | country | 2026-10-04 | [^10] |
| Entry for US / EU / UK passports | 180 days / 180 days / 180 days | country | 2026-02 | [^11] |
| Non-stop destinations (ZIH) | 17 | city | 2026-08 | [^12] |
| Restaurants within 3 km of the centre (OpenStreetMap) | 53 | city | 2026-10 | [^16] |
| Walkability / transit (1–5) | 3 / 2 | editorial | 2026-09 | [^13] |
| Comfortable months | 8 of 12 | city | 2001–2020 | [^14] |
| Annual mean PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 11.4 | city | 2023 | [^15] |
| Human Development Index | 0.789 | country | 2023 | [^17] |
| English proficiency band | low | country | 2024 | [^18] |

## Climate (2001–2020 normals)

| Month | Mean °C | Rain mm | Humidity % | Comfortable |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Jan | 24.7 | 9 | 67 | yes |
| Feb | 24.9 | 13 | 64 | yes |
| Mar | 25.3 | 6 | 61 | yes |
| Apr | 26.2 | 1 | 59 | yes |
| May | 26.9 | 33 | 65 | yes |
| Jun | 26.3 | 182 | 76 | no |
| Jul | 26.2 | 173 | 78 | no |
| Aug | 26.1 | 252 | 80 | no |
| Sep | 25.6 | 289 | 83 | no |
| Oct | 25.7 | 140 | 81 | yes |
| Nov | 25.3 | 32 | 75 | yes |
| Dec | 24.8 | 6 | 71 | yes |

## Airports and nonstop flights

| Airport | IATA | Nonstop destinations | International | From US airports |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo International Airport | ZIH | 17 | 11 | 7 |

Unique destinations across all airports: 17, of which 11 international (Wikipedia, 2026-08).

## Similar cities

- [Mazatlán](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/mazatlan) (62.2) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/mazatlan-vs-zihuatanejo)
- [Ensenada](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/ensenada) (62.4) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/ensenada-vs-zihuatanejo)
- [San Miguel de Allende](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/san-miguel-de-allende) (60.5) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/san-miguel-de-allende-vs-zihuatanejo)
- [Querétaro](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/queretaro) (60.1) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/queretaro-vs-zihuatanejo)
- [Todos Santos](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/todos-santos) (62.8) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/todos-santos-vs-zihuatanejo)

## FAQ

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

A single person typically spends about $1,400 per month in Zihuatanejo (a country-level estimate for Mexico). That is a 47/100 cost score, where 100 is the cheapest city in the dataset.

### Is Zihuatanejo safe for digital nomads?

Zihuatanejo scores 28/100 on safety. Mexico records 25.64 homicides per 100,000 people per year (WHO, 2024) and a political-stability score of 55/100 (World Bank WGI). Both figures are national, so neighbourhood-level risk can differ.

### Does Mexico have a digital nomad visa?

No dedicated digital nomad visa was listed for Mexico as of 2026-10-04. Visitors from the US can stay 180 days visa-free. The long-stay routes that do exist are in the Mexico visa guide: https://nostos.navoy.io/visas/mexico

### How fast is the internet in Zihuatanejo?

Measured median download speed in Zihuatanejo was 32.1 Mbps (upload 7.9 Mbps) across 1,585 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 Zihuatanejo?

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

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

Zihuatanejo is served by Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo International Airport (ZIH) with 17 nonstop destinations, of which 11 are international. 7 US airports have a nonstop link. Source: Wikipedia, 2026-08.

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

The most comfortable months are Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Oct, Nov, Dec. Mean temperatures range from 76°F (25°C) in Jan to 80°F (27°C) in May (NASA POWER 2001–2020 climatology).

### Zihuatanejo or Mazatlán: which is better for digital nomads?

Mazatlán is the city with the closest factor profile to Zihuatanejo 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 Zihuatanejo](https://navoy.io/hotels/mexico/zihuatanejo) 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/zihuatanejo