NavoyNostos

Daytona Beach vs Durham

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Daytona Beach edges it, 65 to 64, 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: 2.3 of 65 points (scores 21/100)Safety: 5.7 of 65 points (scores 51/100)Healthcare: 9.5 of 65 points (scores 85/100)Internet: 9.7 of 65 points (scores 87/100)Visa ease: 6.8 of 65 points (scores 61/100)Getting there & around: 3.3 of 65 points (scores 30/100)Climate: 6.5 of 65 points (scores 58/100)Air quality: 10.2 of 65 points (scores 92/100)Quality of life: 10.6 of 65 points (scores 96/100)65
Daytona Beach
out of 100

Race city with a drivable beach and a quieter off-season

Full Daytona Beach profile →Plan a trip to Daytona Beach →
Cost of living: 2.4 of 64 points (scores 22/100)Safety: 5.7 of 64 points (scores 51/100)Healthcare: 9.5 of 64 points (scores 85/100)Internet: 9.3 of 64 points (scores 84/100)Visa ease: 6.8 of 64 points (scores 61/100)Getting there & around: 3.1 of 64 points (scores 28/100)Climate: 6.5 of 64 points (scores 58/100)Air quality: 10.4 of 64 points (scores 93/100)Quality of life: 10.6 of 64 points (scores 96/100)64
Durham
out of 100

Research Triangle city of Duke, biotech labs and a tobacco-warehouse downtown

Full Durham profile →Plan a trip to Durham →

Where they differ

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

Pick Daytona Beach if you want

  • faster internet (120.3 Mbps measured)

Pick Durham if you want

  • to spend about $54 less a month

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricDaytona BeachDurham
Cost of living2122 ✓
Safety5151
Healthcare8585
Internet87 ✓84
Visa ease6161
Getting there & around30 ✓28
Climate5858
Air quality9293 ✓
Quality of life9696

Cost

MetricDaytona BeachDurham
Monthly cost, one person$2,981$2,927 ✓
Central one-bedroom rentno datano data

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricDaytona BeachDurham
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)

MetricDaytona BeachDurham
Download120.3 Mbps ✓94.3 Mbps
Upload14.7 Mbps17.6 Mbps ✓

Visa

MetricDaytona BeachDurham
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

MetricDaytona BeachDurham
Non-stop airport destinations171 ✓90
Walkability (1–5, editorial)23 ✓
Transit (1–5, editorial)12 ✓

Climate and air

MetricDaytona BeachDurham
Comfortable months per year77
Annual mean PM2.58.5 µg/m³8 µg/m³ ✓

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Daytona Beach or Durham?
Durham is cheaper: about $2,927 per month versus $2,981 for one person.
Is Daytona Beach or Durham safer?
Daytona Beach and Durham score the same on safety (51), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Daytona Beach or Durham?
Daytona Beach: a measured median of 120.3 Mbps versus 94.3 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.