NavoyNostos

Cedar Rapids vs Lexington

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Cedar Rapids edges it, 61 to 60, winning 2 of the 9 factors. Neither leads on any factor by 10 points or more. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Cost of living: 2.9 of 61 points (scores 26/100)Safety: 5.7 of 61 points (scores 51/100)Healthcare: 9.5 of 61 points (scores 85/100)Internet: 9.1 of 61 points (scores 82/100)Visa ease: 6.8 of 61 points (scores 61/100)Getting there & around: 0.8 of 61 points (scores 8/100)Climate: 4.6 of 61 points (scores 42/100)Air quality: 10.6 of 61 points (scores 95/100)Quality of life: 10.6 of 61 points (scores 96/100)61
Cedar Rapids
out of 100

Iowa's second city of oat mills, aerospace and a rebuilt riverfront

Full Cedar Rapids profile →Plan a trip to Cedar Rapids →
Cost of living: 2.7 of 60 points (scores 24/100)Safety: 5.7 of 60 points (scores 51/100)Healthcare: 9.5 of 60 points (scores 85/100)Internet: 9.3 of 60 points (scores 84/100)Visa ease: 6.8 of 60 points (scores 61/100)Getting there & around: 0.8 of 60 points (scores 8/100)Climate: 4.6 of 60 points (scores 42/100)Air quality: 10.0 of 60 points (scores 90/100)Quality of life: 10.6 of 60 points (scores 96/100)60
Lexington
out of 100

Bluegrass horse-country city with bourbon distilleries and a big university

Full Lexington profile →Plan a trip to Lexington →

Where they differ

  • Air quality. Cedar Rapids leads on air quality, 95 to 90, against Lexington. PM2.5: 7.1 µg/m³ vs 9.6 µg/m³.

Where they are close. Within five points on cost of living, internet, safety, healthcare, visa ease, getting there & around, climate, quality of life.

Pick Cedar Rapids if you want

  • to spend about $118 less a month

Pick Lexington if you want

  • no clear edge over Cedar Rapids in the data

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricCedar RapidsLexington
Cost of living26 ✓24
Safety5151
Healthcare8585
Internet8284 ✓
Visa ease6161
Getting there & around88
Climate4242
Air quality95 ✓90
Quality of life9696

Cost

MetricCedar RapidsLexington
Monthly cost, one person$2,669 ✓$2,787
Central one-bedroom rentno datano data

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricCedar RapidsLexington
Homicides per 100k5.765.76
Political stability (0–100)60.360.3
UHC service coverage (0–100)8888
Life expectancy78.5 yrs78.5 yrs

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricCedar RapidsLexington
Download84 Mbps93.6 Mbps ✓
Upload16.5 Mbps17.2 Mbps ✓

Visa

MetricCedar RapidsLexington
Nomad visanone listednone listed
Minimum income for the visano datano data
Entry, US passporthome countryhome country
Entry, EU passporteTA required (online, before travel)eTA required (online, before travel)
Entry, UK passporteTA required (online, before travel)eTA required (online, before travel)

Getting there and around

MetricCedar RapidsLexington
Non-stop airport destinations1818
Walkability (1–5, editorial)22
Transit (1–5, editorial)11

Climate and air

MetricCedar RapidsLexington
Comfortable months per year55
Annual mean PM2.57.1 µg/m³ ✓9.6 µg/m³

✓ marks the better value in each row; ties and missing data are left unmarked.

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Cedar Rapids or Lexington?
Cedar Rapids is cheaper: about $2,669 per month versus $2,787 for one person.
Is Cedar Rapids or Lexington safer?
Cedar Rapids and Lexington score the same on safety (51), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Cedar Rapids or Lexington?
Lexington: a measured median of 93.6 Mbps versus 84 Mbps (M-Lab, 2024).

More comparisons

Sources: Cost of Living Global 2026 (city rows); 2026 Cost of Living Index (country level); Digital Nomad Visas 2026; 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); 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); Regional Price Parities by metropolitan area, 2024 (all items); OpenStreetMap restaurants (Overpass API); Starlink availability map. Dataset 2026.11.2. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.