---
title: "Living in Zürich as a digital nomad: cost, safety, visa, internet"
url: https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/zurich
description: "Immaculate, efficient, and eye-wateringly expensive"
dataset: 2026.09.4 (2026-09-26)
license: CC BY 4.0
---

# Zürich, Switzerland

Zürich scores 67/100 for digital nomads under balanced weights, ranking 65 of 309 cities. Expect about $4,665 per month, no dedicated nomad visa, and a measured median download speed of 64.3 Mbps.

Zürich is orderly, safe and stunning, with lake swimming in summer and skiing an hour away. Prices are the highest in this dataset; it works for people paid in francs.

Known for: Highest salaries, Lake swimming, Trains everywhere, Highest prices.

## Scores (balanced weights, 0–100)

| Factor | Score |
| --- | --- |
| Overall | 67 |
| Cost of living | 0 |
| Safety | 93 |
| Healthcare | 90 |
| Internet | 76 |
| Visa ease | 90 |
| Getting there & around | 40 |
| Climate | 25 |
| Air quality | 94 |
| Quality of life | 94 |

## The numbers behind the scores

| Metric | Value | Level | As of | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly cost, one person | $4,665 | city | 2026-07 | [^2] |
| Central 1-bedroom rent | $2,786 | city | 2026-07 | [^2] |
| Outskirts 1-bedroom rent (basis of the monthly total) | $2,125 | city | 2026-07 | [^2] |
| Homicide rate (per 100k) | 0.4 | country | 2021 | [^4] |
| Political stability (0–100) | 82.6 | country | 2024 | [^5] |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | 87 | country | 2023 | [^6] |
| Life expectancy (years) | 83.3 | country | 2021 | [^7] |
| Median download (Mbps) | 64.3 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Median upload (Mbps) | 25.8 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Nomad visa | none listed | country | 2026-07 | [^9] |
| Visa-free days US / EU / UK | 90 days / unlimited / 90 days | editorial | 2026-02 | [^10] |
| Non-stop destinations (ZRH) | 3 | city | 2026-09 | [^11] |
| Walkability / transit (1–5) | 5 / 5 | editorial | 2026-09 | [^12] |
| Comfortable months | 3 of 12 | city | 2001–2020 | [^13] |
| Annual mean PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 7.6 | city | 2024 | [^14] |
| Human Development Index | 0.97 | country | 2023 | [^15] |
| English proficiency band | high | country | 2024 | [^16] |

## Climate (2001–2020 normals)

| Month | Mean °C | Rain mm | Humidity % | Comfortable |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Jan | -0.7 | 94 | 88 | no |
| Feb | 0.1 | 73 | 86 | no |
| Mar | 4.4 | 91 | 82 | no |
| Apr | 8.9 | 91 | 79 | no |
| May | 13.1 | 141 | 79 | no |
| Jun | 17.1 | 139 | 78 | yes |
| Jul | 18.7 | 144 | 77 | yes |
| Aug | 18.2 | 146 | 79 | yes |
| Sep | 14.1 | 103 | 82 | no |
| Oct | 9.8 | 100 | 85 | no |
| Nov | 4.3 | 87 | 88 | no |
| Dec | 0.2 | 102 | 88 | no |

## Airports and nonstop flights

| Airport | IATA | Nonstop destinations | International | From US airports |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Zurich Airport | ZRH | 3 | 3 | 0 |

Unique destinations across all airports: 3, of which 3 international (Wikipedia, 2026-09).

## Similar cities

- [Basel](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/basel) (70.1) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/basel-vs-zurich)
- [Amsterdam](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/amsterdam) (67.2) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/amsterdam-vs-zurich)
- [Geneva](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/geneva) (70.4) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/geneva-vs-zurich)
- [Oslo](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/oslo) (68) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/oslo-vs-zurich)
- [Utrecht](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/utrecht) (69) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/utrecht-vs-zurich)

## FAQ

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

A single person typically spends about $4,665 per month in Zürich, renting a one-bedroom outside the centre (about $2,125). A central one-bedroom costs about $2,786, which brings the total to roughly $5,326. That is a 0/100 cost score, where 100 is the cheapest city in the dataset.

### Is Zürich safe for digital nomads?

Zürich scores 93/100 on safety. Switzerland records 0.4 homicides per 100,000 people per year (WHO, 2021) and a political-stability score of 82.6/100 (World Bank WGI). Both figures are national, so neighbourhood-level risk can differ.

### Does Switzerland have a digital nomad visa?

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

### How fast is the internet in Zürich?

Measured median download speed in Zürich was 64.3 Mbps (upload 25.8 Mbps) across 49,819 M-Lab tests in 2024. Measured speeds run below advertised plan speeds everywhere, so compare cities rather than reading the number as a plan.

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

Zürich is served by Zurich Airport (ZRH) with 3 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 Zürich?

The most comfortable months are Jun, Jul, Aug. Mean temperatures range from 31°F (-1°C) in Jan to 66°F (19°C) in Jul (NASA POWER 2001–2020 climatology).

### Zürich or Basel: which is better for digital nomads?

Basel is the city with the closest factor profile to Zürich 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]: Cost of Living Global 2026 (city rows), WhereToEmigrate. CC BY 4.0. https://github.com/0brien18/global-emigration-dataset (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^3]: 2026 Cost of Living Index (country level), WhereNext. CC BY 4.0. https://getwherenext.com/data/cost-of-living-2026 (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^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). https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/indicators/indicator-details/GHO/estimates-of-rates-of-homicides-per-100-000-population (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^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]: Digital Nomad Visas 2026, WhereToEmigrate. CC BY 4.0. https://github.com/0brien18/global-emigration-dataset (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^10]: 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)
[^11]: 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)
[^12]: Walkability and transit ratings (editorial), Navoy. CC BY 4.0. https://nostos.navoy.io/methodology (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^13]: NASA POWER climatology (2001–2020 monthly means), NASA Langley Research Center. Public domain (US Government). https://power.larc.nasa.gov/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^14]: 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)
[^15]: 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)
[^16]: 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/zurich