Dumaguete vs Placencia
for digital nomads
Under balanced weights Placencia edges it, 57 to 55, 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.
Quiet university city with a long-standing expat scene
Full Dumaguete profile →Plan a trip to Dumaguete →Sandy peninsula village with whale sharks and a sidewalk for a main street
Full Placencia profile →Plan a trip to Placencia →Where they differ
- Air quality. Placencia leads on air quality, 89 to 82, against Dumaguete. PM2.5: 13 µg/m³ vs 10 µg/m³.
- Quality of life. Placencia leads on quality of life, 67 to 61, against Dumaguete.
Where they are close. Within five points on getting there & around, internet, healthcare, visa ease, safety, climate.
Pick Dumaguete if you want
- a dedicated digital-nomad visa
Pick Placencia if you want
- no clear edge over Dumaguete in the data
Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)
| Metric | Dumaguete | Placencia |
|---|---|---|
| Cost of living | 67 | no data |
| Safety | 47 ✓ | 46 |
| Healthcare | 63 | 65 ✓ |
| Internet | 61 | 64 ✓ |
| Visa ease | 58 | 61 ✓ |
| Getting there & around | 15 | 20 ✓ |
| Climate | 42 | 42 |
| Air quality | 82 | 89 ✓ |
| Quality of life | 61 | 67 ✓ |
Cost
| Metric | Dumaguete | Placencia |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one city | $1,150 | no data |
| Central one-bedroom rent | no data | no data |
Safety and health (country-level)
| Metric | Dumaguete | Placencia |
|---|---|---|
| Homicides per 100k | 4.31 ✓ | 28.06 |
| Political stability (0–100) | 51 | 79.8 ✓ |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | 69 | 70 ✓ |
| Life expectancy | 70.4 yrs | 71.9 yrs ✓ |
Internet (M-Lab measured medians)
| Metric | Dumaguete | Placencia |
|---|---|---|
| Download | 23.9 Mbps | 26.8 Mbps ✓ |
| Upload | 10.3 Mbps | 14 Mbps ✓ |
Visa
| Metric | Dumaguete | Placencia |
|---|---|---|
| Nomad visa | Digital nomad visa (DNV) ✓ | none listed |
| Minimum income for the visa | no data | no data |
| Entry, US passport | 30 days | 180 days ✓ |
| Entry, EU passport | 30 days | 90 days ✓ |
| Entry, UK passport | 30 days | 90 days ✓ |
Getting there and around
| Metric | Dumaguete | Placencia |
|---|---|---|
| Non-stop airport destinations | 2 | 32 ✓ |
| Walkability (1–5, editorial) | 3 | 4 ✓ |
| Transit (1–5, editorial) | 2 ✓ | 1 |
Climate and air
| Metric | Dumaguete | Placencia |
|---|---|---|
| Comfortable months per year | 5 | 5 |
| Annual mean PM2.5 | 13 µg/m³ | 10 µg/m³ ✓ |
✓ marks the better value in each row; ties and missing data are left unmarked.
Frequently asked
- Which is cheaper, Dumaguete or Placencia?
- We lack a monthly cost figure for one of the two cities.
- Is Dumaguete or Placencia safer?
- Dumaguete scores higher on safety (47 vs 46), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
- Where is the internet faster, Dumaguete or Placencia?
- Placencia: a measured median of 26.8 Mbps versus 23.9 Mbps (M-Lab, 2024).
More comparisons
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- All 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); 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); Nostos long-stay visa guides; Starlink availability map. Dataset 2026.11.2. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.