---
title: "Incheon vs Suwon for digital nomads"
url: https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/incheon-vs-suwon
description: "Under balanced weights Incheon edges it, 67 to 64, winning 2 of the 9 factors. Incheon is stronger on cost of living; Suwon on nothing outright. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you."
dataset: 2026.11.2 (2026-11-09)
license: CC BY 4.0
---

# Incheon vs Suwon for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Incheon edges it, 67 to 64, winning 2 of the 9 factors. Incheon is stronger on cost of living; Suwon on nothing outright. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

## Where they differ

- **Cost of living.** Incheon leads on cost of living, 52 to 35, against Suwon. Monthly cost, one person: $1,577 vs $2,250.
- **Air quality.** Incheon leads on air quality, 61 to 54, against Suwon. PM2.5: 22.7 µg/m³ vs 25.7 µg/m³.

Where they are close: within five points on internet, safety, healthcare, visa ease, getting there & around, climate, quality of life.

**Pick Incheon if you want** to spend about $673 less a month.

**Pick Suwon if you want** no clear edge over Incheon in the data.

## Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

| Metric | Incheon | Suwon | Better |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Cost of living | 52 | 35 | Incheon |
| Safety | 87 | 87 | tie |
| Healthcare | 92 | 92 | tie |
| Internet | 88 | 89 | Suwon |
| Visa ease | 61 | 61 | tie |
| Getting there & around | 49 | 49 | tie |
| Climate | 25 | 25 | tie |
| Air quality | 61 | 54 | Incheon |
| Quality of life | 83 | 83 | tie |

## Cost

| Metric | Incheon | Suwon | Better |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly cost, one person | $1,577 | $2,250 | Incheon |
| Central one-bedroom rent | $715 | no data | — |

## Safety and health (country-level)

| Metric | Incheon | Suwon | Better |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Homicides per 100k | 0.49 | 0.49 | tie |
| Political stability (0–100) | 81.7 | 81.7 | tie |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | 88 | 88 | tie |
| Life expectancy | 83.6 yrs | 83.6 yrs | tie |

## Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

| Metric | Incheon | Suwon | Better |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Download | 84 Mbps | 91.3 Mbps | Suwon |
| Upload | 87.4 Mbps | 91.1 Mbps | Suwon |

## Visa

| Metric | Incheon | Suwon | Better |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Nomad visa | Workcation (digital nomad) visa (F-1-D) | Workcation (digital nomad) visa (F-1-D) | tie |
| Minimum income for the visa | $6,512/mo | $6,512/mo | tie |
| Entry, US passport | 90 days | 90 days | tie |
| Entry, EU passport | 90 days | 90 days | tie |
| Entry, UK passport | 90 days | 90 days | tie |

## Getting there and around

| Metric | Incheon | Suwon | Better |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Non-stop airport destinations | 169 | 169 | tie |
| Walkability (1–5, editorial) | 3 | 3 | tie |
| Transit (1–5, editorial) | 4 | 4 | tie |

## Climate and air

| Metric | Incheon | Suwon | Better |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Comfortable months per year | 3 | 3 | tie |
| Annual mean PM2.5 | 22.7 µg/m³ | 25.7 µg/m³ | Incheon |

## FAQ

### Which is cheaper, Incheon or Suwon?

Incheon is cheaper: about $1,577 per month versus $2,250 for one person.

### Is Incheon or Suwon safer?

Incheon and Suwon score the same on safety (87), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.

### Where is the internet faster, Incheon or Suwon?

Suwon: a measured median of 91.3 Mbps versus 84 Mbps (M-Lab, 2024).

City pages: [Incheon](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/incheon) · [Suwon](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/suwon). Sources: Cost of Living Global 2026 (city rows); 2026 Cost of Living Index (country level); 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.

HTML page: https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/incheon-vs-suwon