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Culiacán vs San Andrés (Colombia)

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights the two cities tie at 59. Culiacán is stronger on visa ease; San Andrés (Colombia) on cost of living. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Cost of living: 6.4 of 59 points (scores 58/100)Safety: 3.2 of 59 points (scores 28/100)Healthcare: 8.4 of 59 points (scores 75/100)Internet: 6.8 of 59 points (scores 61/100)Visa ease: 10.0 of 59 points (scores 90/100)Getting there & around: 1.3 of 59 points (scores 12/100)Climate: 6.5 of 59 points (scores 58/100)Air quality: 10.0 of 59 points (scores 90/100)Quality of life: 6.3 of 59 points (scores 57/100)59
Culiacán
out of 100

Sinaloa's capital, a farming city hit hard by a cartel war since 2024

Full Culiacán profile →Plan a trip to Culiacán →
Cost of living: 8.2 of 59 points (scores 74/100)Safety: 2.7 of 59 points (scores 25/100)Healthcare: 9.0 of 59 points (scores 81/100)Internet: 6.6 of 59 points (scores 60/100)Visa ease: 8.6 of 59 points (scores 77/100)Getting there & around: 1.8 of 59 points (scores 16/100)Climate: 5.6 of 59 points (scores 50/100)Air quality: 10.6 of 59 points (scores 95/100)Quality of life: 6.3 of 59 points (scores 56/100)59
San Andrés (Colombia)
out of 100

Colombian Caribbean island with a seven-colour sea and Raizal English heritage

Full San Andrés (Colombia) profile →Plan a trip to San Andrés (Colombia) →

Where they differ

  • Cost of living. San Andrés (Colombia) leads on cost of living, 74 to 58, against Culiacán. Monthly cost, one person: $1,400 vs $1,000.
  • Visa ease. Culiacán leads on visa ease, 90 to 77, against San Andrés (Colombia).
  • Climate. Culiacán leads on climate, 58 to 50, against San Andrés (Colombia). Comfortable months: 7 vs 6.

Where they are close. Within five points on air quality, getting there & around, safety, internet, quality of life.

Pick Culiacán if you want

  • faster internet (24.3 Mbps measured)

Pick San Andrés (Colombia) if you want

  • to spend about $400 less a month
  • stronger healthcare
  • a dedicated digital-nomad visa

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricCuliacánSan Andrés (Colombia)
Cost of living5874 ✓
Safety28 ✓25
Healthcare7581 ✓
Internet61 ✓60
Visa ease90 ✓77
Getting there & around1216 ✓
Climate58 ✓50
Air quality9095 ✓
Quality of life57 ✓56

Cost

MetricCuliacánSan Andrés (Colombia)
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one city$1,400$1,000 ✓
Central one-bedroom rentno datano data

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricCuliacánSan Andrés (Colombia)
Homicides per 100k25.6424.35 ✓
Political stability (0–100)55 ✓48.9
UHC service coverage (0–100)7982 ✓
Life expectancy75.3 yrs78.2 yrs ✓

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricCuliacánSan Andrés (Colombia)
Download24.3 Mbps ✓20.9 Mbps
Upload9.9 Mbps12.1 Mbps ✓

Visa

MetricCuliacánSan Andrés (Colombia)
Nomad visanone listedDigital nomad visitor visa (Visa V) ✓
Minimum income for the visano data$1,605/mo
Entry, US passport180 days ✓90 days
Entry, EU passport180 days ✓90 days
Entry, UK passport180 days ✓90 days

Getting there and around

MetricCuliacánSan Andrés (Colombia)
Non-stop airport destinations11 ✓9
Walkability (1–5, editorial)23 ✓
Transit (1–5, editorial)22

Climate and air

MetricCuliacánSan Andrés (Colombia)
Comfortable months per year7 ✓6
Annual mean PM2.59.3 µg/m³7.1 µg/m³ ✓

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Culiacán or San Andrés (Colombia)?
San Andrés (Colombia) is cheaper: about $1,000 per month versus $1,400 for one person.
Is Culiacán or San Andrés (Colombia) safer?
Culiacán scores higher on safety (28 vs 25), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Culiacán or San Andrés (Colombia)?
Culiacán: a measured median of 24.3 Mbps versus 20.9 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); 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.