NavoyNostos

Dakar vs Saint-Louis (Senegal)

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Saint-Louis (Senegal) edges it, 37 to 36, winning 2 of the 9 factors. Dakar is stronger on nothing outright; Saint-Louis (Senegal) on nothing outright. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Safety: 6.1 of 36 points (scores 49/100)Healthcare: 5.5 of 36 points (scores 44/100)Internet: 4.3 of 36 points (scores 35/100)Visa ease: 5.8 of 36 points (scores 46/100)Getting there & around: 5.5 of 36 points (scores 44/100)Climate: 6.3 of 36 points (scores 50/100)Air quality: 0.0 of 36 points (scores 0/100)Quality of life: 2.1 of 36 points (scores 17/100)36
Dakar
out of 100

West Africa's cultural capital on the Atlantic

Full Dakar profile →Where to stay in Dakar →
Safety: 6.1 of 37 points (scores 49/100)Healthcare: 5.5 of 37 points (scores 44/100)Internet: 4.3 of 37 points (scores 34/100)Visa ease: 5.8 of 37 points (scores 46/100)Getting there & around: 6.1 of 37 points (scores 49/100)Climate: 7.3 of 37 points (scores 58/100)Air quality: 0.0 of 37 points (scores 0/100)Quality of life: 2.1 of 37 points (scores 17/100)37
Saint-Louis (Senegal)
out of 100

UNESCO colonial island city at the mouth of the Senegal River, with a famous jazz festival

Full Saint-Louis (Senegal) profile →Where to stay in Saint-Louis (Senegal) →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricDakarSaint-Louis (Senegal)
Cost of livingno datano data
Safety4949
Healthcare4444
Internet35 ✓34
Visa ease4646
Getting there & around4449 ✓
Climate5058 ✓
Air quality00
Quality of life1717

Cost

MetricDakarSaint-Louis (Senegal)
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one cityno datano data
Central one-bedroom rentno datano data

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricDakarSaint-Louis (Senegal)
Homicides per 100k7.97.9
Political stability (0–100)62.762.7
UHC service coverage (0–100)4848
Life expectancy67.8 yrs67.8 yrs

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricDakarSaint-Louis (Senegal)
Download5.5 Mbps ✓5.4 Mbps
Upload2.8 Mbps2.8 Mbps

Visa

MetricDakarSaint-Louis (Senegal)
Nomad visanone listednone listed
Minimum income for the visano datano data
Entry, US passport90 days90 days
Entry, EU passport90 days90 days
Entry, UK passport90 days90 days

Getting there and around

MetricDakarSaint-Louis (Senegal)
Non-stop airport destinations3131
Walkability (1–5, editorial)24 ✓
Transit (1–5, editorial)2 ✓1

Climate and air

MetricDakarSaint-Louis (Senegal)
Comfortable months per year67 ✓
Annual mean PM2.553.1 µg/m³ ✓58.9 µg/m³

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Dakar or Saint-Louis (Senegal)?
We lack a monthly cost figure for one of the two cities.
Is Dakar or Saint-Louis (Senegal) safer?
Dakar scores higher on safety (49 vs 49), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Dakar or Saint-Louis (Senegal)?
Dakar: a measured median of 5.5 Mbps versus 5.4 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); Estimates of rates of homicides per 100 000 population; 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); Starlink availability map. Dataset 2026.10.7. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.