NavoyNostos

Maracaibo vs Utila

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Utila edges it, 45 to 41, winning 4 of the 9 factors. Maracaibo is stronger on internet; Utila on air quality, getting there & around. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Safety: 3.1 of 41 points (scores 25/100)Healthcare: 8.6 of 41 points (scores 69/100)Internet: 7.8 of 41 points (scores 62/100)Visa ease: 4.1 of 41 points (scores 33/100)Getting there & around: 0.1 of 41 points (scores 1/100)Climate: 3.1 of 41 points (scores 25/100)Air quality: 7.9 of 41 points (scores 63/100)Quality of life: 6.7 of 41 points (scores 54/100)41
Maracaibo
out of 100

Venezuela's hot oil capital on Lake Maracaibo, with deep power problems

Full Maracaibo profile →Plan a trip to Maracaibo →
Safety: 3.9 of 45 points (scores 32/100)Healthcare: 7.8 of 45 points (scores 62/100)Internet: 6.5 of 45 points (scores 52/100)Visa ease: 4.1 of 45 points (scores 33/100)Getting there & around: 2.0 of 45 points (scores 16/100)Climate: 4.2 of 45 points (scores 33/100)Air quality: 11.3 of 45 points (scores 90/100)Quality of life: 5.6 of 45 points (scores 45/100)45
Utila
out of 100

Tiny Bay Island where dive certifications are among the world's cheapest

Full Utila profile →Plan a trip to Utila →

Where they differ

  • Air quality. Utila leads on air quality, 90 to 63, against Maracaibo. PM2.5: 21.5 µg/m³ vs 9.4 µg/m³.
  • Getting there & around. Utila leads on getting there & around, 16 to 1, against Maracaibo. Non-stop airport destinations: 8 vs 7.
  • Internet. Maracaibo leads on internet, 62 to 52, against Utila. Measured download: 21.1 Mbps vs 14.2 Mbps.

Where they are close. Within five points on visa ease.

Pick Maracaibo if you want

  • faster internet (21.1 Mbps measured)
  • stronger healthcare

Pick Utila if you want

  • the safer country figures
  • cleaner air
  • more flights and easier getting around

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricMaracaiboUtila
Cost of livingno datano data
Safety2532 ✓
Healthcare69 ✓62
Internet62 ✓52
Visa ease3333
Getting there & around116 ✓
Climate2533 ✓
Air quality6390 ✓
Quality of life54 ✓45

Cost

MetricMaracaiboUtila
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one cityno datano data
Central one-bedroom rentno datano data

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricMaracaiboUtila
Homicides per 100k13.81 ✓23.92
Political stability (0–100)39.258 ✓
UHC service coverage (0–100)75 ✓64
Life expectancy72.2 yrs72.3 yrs ✓

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricMaracaiboUtila
Download21.1 Mbps ✓14.2 Mbps
Upload23.7 Mbps ✓7.2 Mbps

Visa

MetricMaracaiboUtila
Nomad visanone listednone listed
Minimum income for the visano datano data
Entry, US passportvisa required90 days ✓
Entry, EU passport90 days90 days
Entry, UK passport90 days ✓visa required

Getting there and around

MetricMaracaiboUtila
Non-stop airport destinations8 ✓7
Walkability (1–5, editorial)14 ✓
Transit (1–5, editorial)11

Climate and air

MetricMaracaiboUtila
Comfortable months per year34 ✓
Annual mean PM2.521.5 µg/m³9.4 µg/m³ ✓

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Maracaibo or Utila?
We lack a monthly cost figure for one of the two cities.
Is Maracaibo or Utila safer?
Utila scores higher on safety (32 vs 25), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Maracaibo or Utila?
Maracaibo: a measured median of 21.1 Mbps versus 14.2 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); 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); Starlink availability map. Dataset 2026.11.2. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.