Which is cheaper, Minneapolis or Philadelphia?

Philadelphia is cheaper: about $3,077 per month versus $3,145 for one person.

Is Minneapolis or Philadelphia safer?

Minneapolis scores higher on safety (54 vs 54), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.

Where is the internet faster, Minneapolis or Philadelphia?

Minneapolis: a measured median of 71.3 Mbps versus 59.1 Mbps (M-Lab, 2024).

Minneapolis vs Philadelphia

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Philadelphia edges it, 62 to 61, winning 2 of the 9 factors. Minneapolis is stronger on nothing outright; Philadelphia on nothing outright. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Minneapolis

out of 100

Lakes, bikes and a strong job market

Full Minneapolis profile →

Philadelphia

out of 100

Walkable history at East Coast prices minus New York

Full Philadelphia profile →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

Metric	Minneapolis	Philadelphia
Cost of living	17	18 ✓
Safety	54	54
Healthcare	79	79
Internet	75 ✓	72
Visa ease	53	53
Getting there & around	48 ✓	47
Climate	33	42 ✓
Air quality	97 ✓	95
Quality of life	95	95

Cost

Metric	Minneapolis	Philadelphia
Monthly cost, one person	$3,145	$3,077 ✓
Central one-bedroom rent	no data	no data

Safety and health (country-level)

Metric	Minneapolis	Philadelphia
Homicides per 100k	5.8	5.8
Political stability (0–100)	64.3	64.3
UHC service coverage (0–100)	88	88
Life expectancy	76.4 yrs	76.4 yrs

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

Metric	Minneapolis	Philadelphia
Download	71.3 Mbps ✓	59.1 Mbps
Upload	11.8 Mbps	13.6 Mbps ✓

Visa

Metric	Minneapolis	Philadelphia
Nomad visa	none listed	none listed
Minimum income for the visa	no data	no data
Visa-free days, US passport	unlimited	unlimited
Visa-free days, EU passport	visa or e-visa required	visa or e-visa required
Visa-free days, UK passport	visa or e-visa required	visa or e-visa required

Getting there and around

Metric	Minneapolis	Philadelphia
Non-stop airport destinations	164 ✓	87
Walkability (1–5, editorial)	3	5 ✓
Transit (1–5, editorial)	4	4

Climate and air

Metric	Minneapolis	Philadelphia
Comfortable months per year	4	5 ✓
Annual mean PM2.5	6.4 µg/m³ ✓	7.2 µg/m³

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Minneapolis or Philadelphia?: Philadelphia is cheaper: about $3,077 per month versus $3,145 for one person.
Is Minneapolis or Philadelphia safer?: Minneapolis scores higher on safety (54 vs 54), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Minneapolis or Philadelphia?: Minneapolis: a measured median of 71.3 Mbps versus 59.1 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); Estimates of rates of homicides per 100 000 population; 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); Regional Price Parities by metropolitan area, 2024 (all items). Dataset 2026.09.4. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.