Which is cheaper, London or York?

York is cheaper: about $2,900 per month versus $4,559 for one person.

Is London or York safer?

London scores higher on safety (76 vs 76), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.

Where is the internet faster, London or York?

London: a measured median of 50.9 Mbps versus 45.6 Mbps (M-Lab, 2024).

London vs York

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights York edges it, 69 to 68, winning 3 of the 9 factors. London is stronger on getting there & around; York on cost of living. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

London

out of 100

Global hub with the deepest job market in Europe

Full London profile →Where to stay in London →

York

out of 100

Walled medieval city with fast trains to London and Edinburgh

Full York profile →Where to stay in York →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

Metric	London	York
Cost of living	1	19 ✓
Safety	76	76
Healthcare	86	86
Internet	72	73 ✓
Visa ease	77	77
Getting there & around	95 ✓	83
Climate	25 ✓	17
Air quality	86	93 ✓
Quality of life	96	96

Cost

Metric	London	York
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one city	$4,559	$2,900 ✓
Central one-bedroom rent	$3,134	no data

Safety and health (country-level)

Metric	London	York
Homicides per 100k	0.93	0.93
Political stability (0–100)	70.7	70.7
UHC service coverage (0–100)	88	88
Life expectancy	80.1 yrs	80.1 yrs

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

Metric	London	York
Download	50.9 Mbps ✓	45.6 Mbps
Upload	8.9 Mbps	14.5 Mbps ✓

Visa

Metric	London	York
Nomad visa	none listed	none listed
Minimum income for the visa	no data	no data
Entry, US passport	eTA required (online, before travel)	eTA required (online, before travel)
Entry, EU passport	180 days	180 days
Entry, UK passport	home country	home country

Getting there and around

Metric	London	York
Non-stop airport destinations	423 ✓	214
Walkability (1–5, editorial)	4	5 ✓
Transit (1–5, editorial)	5 ✓	3

Climate and air

Metric	London	York
Comfortable months per year	3 ✓	2
Annual mean PM2.5	11.2 µg/m³	8.1 µg/m³ ✓

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, London or York?: York is cheaper: about $2,900 per month versus $4,559 for one person.
Is London or York safer?: London scores higher on safety (76 vs 76), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, London or York?: London: a measured median of 50.9 Mbps versus 45.6 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); Starlink availability map. Dataset 2026.10.7. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.