NavoyNostos

Dubuque vs Terre Haute

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Terre Haute edges it, 61 to 60, 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: 3.0 of 60 points (scores 27/100)Safety: 5.7 of 60 points (scores 51/100)Healthcare: 9.5 of 60 points (scores 85/100)Internet: 8.9 of 60 points (scores 80/100)Visa ease: 6.8 of 60 points (scores 61/100)Getting there & around: 1.3 of 60 points (scores 12/100)Climate: 3.7 of 60 points (scores 33/100)Air quality: 10.3 of 60 points (scores 93/100)Quality of life: 10.6 of 60 points (scores 96/100)60
Dubuque
out of 100

Iowa's oldest city, on Mississippi bluffs where three states meet

Full Dubuque profile →Plan a trip to Dubuque →
Cost of living: 3.0 of 61 points (scores 27/100)Safety: 5.7 of 61 points (scores 51/100)Healthcare: 9.5 of 61 points (scores 85/100)Internet: 8.9 of 61 points (scores 80/100)Visa ease: 6.8 of 61 points (scores 61/100)Getting there & around: 1.4 of 61 points (scores 13/100)Climate: 4.6 of 61 points (scores 42/100)Air quality: 10.0 of 61 points (scores 90/100)Quality of life: 10.6 of 61 points (scores 96/100)61
Terre Haute
out of 100

Small, low-cost university city on the Wabash River

Full Terre Haute profile →Plan a trip to Terre Haute →

Where they differ

  • Climate. Terre Haute leads on climate, 42 to 33, against Dubuque. Comfortable months: 4 vs 5.

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

Pick Dubuque if you want

  • to spend about $14 less a month

Pick Terre Haute if you want

  • faster internet (81.7 Mbps measured)

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricDubuqueTerre Haute
Cost of living27 ✓27
Safety5151
Healthcare8585
Internet80 ✓80
Visa ease6161
Getting there & around1213 ✓
Climate3342 ✓
Air quality93 ✓90
Quality of life9696

Cost

MetricDubuqueTerre Haute
Monthly cost, one person$2,620 ✓$2,634
Central one-bedroom rentno datano data

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricDubuqueTerre Haute
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)

MetricDubuqueTerre Haute
Download67.2 Mbps81.7 Mbps ✓
Upload25.9 Mbps ✓11 Mbps

Visa

MetricDubuqueTerre Haute
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

MetricDubuqueTerre Haute
Non-stop airport destinations1156 ✓
Walkability (1–5, editorial)3 ✓2
Transit (1–5, editorial)11

Climate and air

MetricDubuqueTerre Haute
Comfortable months per year45 ✓
Annual mean PM2.58.2 µg/m³ ✓9.6 µg/m³

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Dubuque or Terre Haute?
Dubuque is cheaper: about $2,620 per month versus $2,634 for one person.
Is Dubuque or Terre Haute safer?
Dubuque and Terre Haute score the same on safety (51), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Dubuque or Terre Haute?
Terre Haute: a measured median of 81.7 Mbps versus 67.2 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); 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.