Darjeeling vs Madurai
for digital nomads
Under balanced weights the two cities tie at 49. Neither leads on any factor by 10 points or more. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.
Tea-estate hill town with Kanchenjunga views and a steam toy train
Full Darjeeling profile →Plan a trip to Darjeeling →Temple city of Tamil Nadu, busy around Meenakshi day and night
Full Madurai profile →Plan a trip to Madurai →Where they differ
- Climate. Darjeeling leads on climate, 42 to 33, against Madurai. Comfortable months: 5 vs 4.
- Air quality. Madurai leads on air quality, 56 to 48, against Darjeeling. PM2.5: 28.3 µg/m³ vs 25 µg/m³.
- Getting there & around. Madurai leads on getting there & around, 16 to 11, against Darjeeling. Non-stop airport destinations: 5 vs 9.
Where they are close. Within five points on internet, cost of living, safety, healthcare, visa ease, quality of life.
Pick Darjeeling if you want
- no clear edge over Madurai in the data
Pick Madurai if you want
- no clear edge over Darjeeling in the data
Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)
| Metric | Darjeeling | Madurai |
|---|---|---|
| Cost of living | 88 | 88 |
| Safety | 55 | 55 |
| Healthcare | 63 | 63 |
| Internet | 55 ✓ | 51 |
| Visa ease | 32 | 32 |
| Getting there & around | 11 | 16 ✓ |
| Climate | 42 ✓ | 33 |
| Air quality | 48 | 56 ✓ |
| Quality of life | 43 | 43 |
Cost
| Metric | Darjeeling | Madurai |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one city | $750 | $750 |
| Central one-bedroom rent | no data | no data |
Safety and health (country-level)
| Metric | Darjeeling | Madurai |
|---|---|---|
| Homicides per 100k | 2.72 | 2.72 |
| Political stability (0–100) | 55 | 55 |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | 69 | 69 |
| Life expectancy | 71 yrs | 71 yrs |
Internet (M-Lab measured medians)
| Metric | Darjeeling | Madurai |
|---|---|---|
| Download | 15.2 Mbps | 16.2 Mbps ✓ |
| Upload | 10.5 Mbps ✓ | 3.4 Mbps |
Visa
| Metric | Darjeeling | Madurai |
|---|---|---|
| Nomad visa | none listed | none listed |
| Minimum income for the visa | no data | no data |
| Entry, US passport | e-visa required | e-visa required |
| Entry, EU passport | e-visa required | e-visa required |
| Entry, UK passport | e-visa required | e-visa required |
Getting there and around
| Metric | Darjeeling | Madurai |
|---|---|---|
| Non-stop airport destinations | 5 | 9 ✓ |
| Walkability (1–5, editorial) | 3 | 3 |
| Transit (1–5, editorial) | 1 | 2 ✓ |
Climate and air
| Metric | Darjeeling | Madurai |
|---|---|---|
| Comfortable months per year | 5 ✓ | 4 |
| Annual mean PM2.5 | 28.3 µg/m³ | 25 µg/m³ ✓ |
✓ marks the better value in each row; ties and missing data are left unmarked.
Frequently asked
- Which is cheaper, Darjeeling or Madurai?
- Darjeeling and Madurai cost about the same: roughly $750 per month for one person.
- Is Darjeeling or Madurai safer?
- Darjeeling and Madurai score the same on safety (55), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
- Where is the internet faster, Darjeeling or Madurai?
- Madurai: a measured median of 16.2 Mbps versus 15.2 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); OpenFlights airports and routes; 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 2026.11.2. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.