Baños vs Pachuca
for digital nomads
Under balanced weights Pachuca edges it, 57 to 53, winning 5 of the 9 factors. Baños is stronger on nothing outright; Pachuca on visa ease, air quality. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.
Adventure town under a volcano, with hot springs and waterfalls
Full Baños profile →Plan a trip to Baños →Windy mining capital of Hidalgo, 1.5 hours from Mexico City
Full Pachuca profile →Plan a trip to Pachuca →Where they differ
- Visa ease. Pachuca leads on visa ease, 90 to 78, against Baños.
- Air quality. Pachuca leads on air quality, 81 to 70, against Baños. PM2.5: 18.3 µg/m³ vs 13.7 µg/m³.
- Getting there & around. Pachuca leads on getting there & around, 32 to 23, against Baños. Non-stop airport destinations: 24 vs 115.
Where they are close. Within five points on healthcare, internet, cost of living, quality of life, climate.
Pick Baños if you want
- to spend about $50 less a month
- a dedicated digital-nomad visa
Pick Pachuca if you want
- the safer country figures
- cleaner air
Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)
| Metric | Baños | Pachuca |
|---|---|---|
| Cost of living | 60 ✓ | 58 |
| Safety | 23 | 28 ✓ |
| Healthcare | 78 ✓ | 75 |
| Internet | 66 ✓ | 63 |
| Visa ease | 78 | 90 ✓ |
| Getting there & around | 23 | 32 ✓ |
| Climate | 25 | 25 |
| Air quality | 70 | 81 ✓ |
| Quality of life | 55 | 57 ✓ |
Cost
| Metric | Baños | Pachuca |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one city | $1,350 ✓ | $1,400 |
| Central one-bedroom rent | no data | no data |
Safety and health (country-level)
| Metric | Baños | Pachuca |
|---|---|---|
| Homicides per 100k | 38.94 | 25.64 ✓ |
| Political stability (0–100) | 54.4 | 55 ✓ |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | 78 | 79 ✓ |
| Life expectancy | 77.6 yrs ✓ | 75.3 yrs |
Internet (M-Lab measured medians)
| Metric | Baños | Pachuca |
|---|---|---|
| Download | 26.2 Mbps | 27.5 Mbps ✓ |
| Upload | 23.4 Mbps ✓ | 10.2 Mbps |
Visa
| Metric | Baños | Pachuca |
|---|---|---|
| Nomad visa | Digital nomad temporary residence visa (rentista for remote work) ✓ | none listed |
| Minimum income for the visa | $1,446/mo | no data |
| Entry, US passport | 90 days | 180 days ✓ |
| Entry, EU passport | 90 days | 180 days ✓ |
| Entry, UK passport | 90 days | 180 days ✓ |
Getting there and around
| Metric | Baños | Pachuca |
|---|---|---|
| Non-stop airport destinations | 24 | 115 ✓ |
| Walkability (1–5, editorial) | 4 ✓ | 3 |
| Transit (1–5, editorial) | 2 | 2 |
Climate and air
| Metric | Baños | Pachuca |
|---|---|---|
| Comfortable months per year | 3 | 3 |
| Annual mean PM2.5 | 18.3 µg/m³ | 13.7 µg/m³ ✓ |
✓ marks the better value in each row; ties and missing data are left unmarked.
Frequently asked
- Which is cheaper, Baños or Pachuca?
- Baños is cheaper: about $1,350 per month versus $1,400 for one person.
- Is Baños or Pachuca safer?
- Pachuca scores higher on safety (28 vs 23), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
- Where is the internet faster, Baños or Pachuca?
- Pachuca: a measured median of 27.5 Mbps versus 26.2 Mbps (M-Lab, 2024).
More comparisons
Sources: Cost of Living Global 2026 (city rows); 2026 Cost of Living Index (country level); Worldwide Governance Indicators — Political Stability and Absence of Violence (score 0–100); Victims of intentional homicide per 100,000 population (national data, latest year); UHC service coverage index; Life expectancy at birth (years), both sexes; M-Lab NDT statistics (city aggregates, 2024); Airport destinations (Wikipedia airline and destination tables); NASA POWER climatology (2001–2020 monthly means); WHO Ambient Air Quality Database, June 2026 update (V8); SatPM2.5 satellite-derived annual PM2.5 (V6.GL.02.04); Human Development Index (HDR 2025, HDI 2023); EF English Proficiency Index 2024 (band); Walkability and transit ratings (editorial); Passport Index dataset (visa requirements, 199 passports × 199 destinations); OpenStreetMap restaurants (Overpass API); Nostos long-stay visa guides; Starlink availability map. Dataset 2026.11.2. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.