Dortmund vs Linz
for digital nomads
Under balanced weights Dortmund edges it, 66 to 65, winning 6 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.
Football-mad Ruhr city of former mines, breweries and steelworks
Full Dortmund profile →Plan a trip to Dortmund →Austria's industrial third city reinvented around media arts on the Danube
Full Linz profile →Plan a trip to Linz →Where they differ
- Getting there & around. Linz leads on getting there & around, 59 to 53, against Dortmund. Non-stop airport destinations: 198 vs 203.
Where they are close. Within five points on internet, quality of life, safety, visa ease, cost of living, air quality, healthcare, climate.
Pick Dortmund if you want
- to spend about $150 less a month
- faster internet (49.7 Mbps measured)
Pick Linz if you want
- no clear edge over Dortmund in the data
Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)
| Metric | Dortmund | Linz |
|---|---|---|
| Cost of living | 30 ✓ | 27 |
| Safety | 75 | 78 ✓ |
| Healthcare | 88 ✓ | 88 |
| Internet | 73 ✓ | 68 |
| Visa ease | 64 ✓ | 61 |
| Getting there & around | 53 | 59 ✓ |
| Climate | 25 | 25 |
| Air quality | 89 ✓ | 87 |
| Quality of life | 97 ✓ | 93 |
Cost
| Metric | Dortmund | Linz |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one city | $2,500 ✓ | $2,650 |
| Central one-bedroom rent | no data | no data |
Safety and health (country-level)
| Metric | Dortmund | Linz |
|---|---|---|
| Homicides per 100k | 0.92 ✓ | 0.99 |
| Political stability (0–100) | 69.3 | 74.9 ✓ |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | 87 ✓ | 84 |
| Life expectancy | 81 yrs | 81.8 yrs ✓ |
Internet (M-Lab measured medians)
| Metric | Dortmund | Linz |
|---|---|---|
| Download | 49.7 Mbps ✓ | 38.4 Mbps |
| Upload | 10.9 Mbps ✓ | 9.9 Mbps |
Visa
| Metric | Dortmund | Linz |
|---|---|---|
| Nomad visa | none listed | none listed |
| Minimum income for the visa | no data | no data |
| Entry, US passport | 90 days | 90 days |
| Entry, EU passport | home country | unlimited |
| Entry, UK passport | 90 days | 90 days |
Getting there and around
| Metric | Dortmund | Linz |
|---|---|---|
| Non-stop airport destinations | 198 | 203 ✓ |
| Walkability (1–5, editorial) | 3 | 4 ✓ |
| Transit (1–5, editorial) | 4 | 4 |
Climate and air
| Metric | Dortmund | Linz |
|---|---|---|
| Comfortable months per year | 3 | 3 |
| Annual mean PM2.5 | 9.8 µg/m³ ✓ | 10.8 µg/m³ |
✓ marks the better value in each row; ties and missing data are left unmarked.
Frequently asked
- Which is cheaper, Dortmund or Linz?
- Dortmund is cheaper: about $2,500 per month versus $2,650 for one person.
- Is Dortmund or Linz safer?
- Linz scores higher on safety (78 vs 75), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
- Where is the internet faster, Dortmund or Linz?
- Dortmund: a measured median of 49.7 Mbps versus 38.4 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); 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); 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.