NavoyNostos

Kingston vs Lima

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Lima edges it, 63 to 58, winning 6 of the 9 factors. Kingston is stronger on nothing outright; Lima on climate, visa ease, cost of living. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Cost of living: 4.5 of 58 points (scores 41/100)Safety: 4.1 of 58 points (scores 37/100)Healthcare: 7.0 of 58 points (scores 63/100)Internet: 7.0 of 58 points (scores 63/100)Visa ease: 6.7 of 58 points (scores 61/100)Getting there & around: 4.4 of 58 points (scores 39/100)Climate: 9.3 of 58 points (scores 83/100)Air quality: 8.0 of 58 points (scores 72/100)Quality of life: 7.1 of 58 points (scores 64/100)58
Kingston
out of 100

Reggae capital with the Blue Mountains on the doorstep

Full Kingston profile →Where to stay in Kingston →
Cost of living: 6.0 of 63 points (scores 54/100)Safety: 4.9 of 63 points (scores 44/100)Healthcare: 6.9 of 63 points (scores 62/100)Internet: 7.4 of 63 points (scores 67/100)Visa ease: 8.4 of 63 points (scores 75/100)Getting there & around: 5.8 of 63 points (scores 52/100)Climate: 11.1 of 63 points (scores 100/100)Air quality: 6.9 of 63 points (scores 62/100)Quality of life: 6.1 of 63 points (scores 55/100)63
Lima
out of 100

Coastal capital with a world-famous food scene

Full Lima profile →Where to stay in Lima →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricKingstonLima
Cost of living4154 ✓
Safety3744 ✓
Healthcare63 ✓62
Internet6367 ✓
Visa ease6175 ✓
Getting there & around3952 ✓
Climate83100 ✓
Air quality72 ✓62
Quality of life64 ✓55

Cost

MetricKingstonLima
Monthly cost, one person$1,639$1,178 ✓
Central one-bedroom rentno datano data

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricKingstonLima
Homicides per 100k40.368.6 ✓
Political stability (0–100)75.1 ✓56.9
UHC service coverage (0–100)74 ✓68
Life expectancy70.1 yrs71.7 yrs ✓

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricKingstonLima
Download26.1 Mbps29.4 Mbps ✓
Upload12.3 Mbps20 Mbps ✓

Visa

MetricKingstonLima
Nomad visanone listednone listed
Minimum income for the visano datano data
Entry, US passport180 days180 days
Entry, EU passport90 days90 days
Entry, UK passport90 days180 days ✓

Getting there and around

MetricKingstonLima
Non-stop airport destinations1968 ✓
Walkability (1–5, editorial)22
Transit (1–5, editorial)22

Climate and air

MetricKingstonLima
Comfortable months per year1012 ✓
Annual mean PM2.517.8 µg/m³ ✓22.2 µg/m³

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Kingston or Lima?
Lima is cheaper: about $1,178 per month versus $1,639 for one person.
Is Kingston or Lima safer?
Lima scores higher on safety (44 vs 37), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Kingston or Lima?
Lima: a measured median of 29.4 Mbps versus 26.1 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); 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); WhereNext city cost estimates 2026 (city pages); OpenStreetMap restaurants (Overpass API); Nostos long-stay visa guides; Starlink availability map. Dataset 2026.10.7. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.