NavoyNostos

Nanjing vs Suzhou

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Suzhou edges it, 53 to 53, winning 2 of the 9 factors. Nanjing is stronger on air quality; Suzhou on nothing outright. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Cost of living: 4.0 of 53 points (scores 36/100)Safety: 8.4 of 53 points (scores 76/100)Healthcare: 9.0 of 53 points (scores 81/100)Internet: 6.3 of 53 points (scores 57/100)Visa ease: 1.7 of 53 points (scores 15/100)Getting there & around: 8.0 of 53 points (scores 72/100)Climate: 3.7 of 53 points (scores 33/100)Air quality: 5.3 of 53 points (scores 48/100)Quality of life: 6.1 of 53 points (scores 55/100)53
Nanjing
out of 100

Former capital with a Ming wall, plane-tree avenues and a big metro

Full Nanjing profile →Where to stay in Nanjing →
Cost of living: 4.0 of 53 points (scores 36/100)Safety: 8.4 of 53 points (scores 76/100)Healthcare: 9.0 of 53 points (scores 81/100)Internet: 6.6 of 53 points (scores 60/100)Visa ease: 1.7 of 53 points (scores 15/100)Getting there & around: 9.1 of 53 points (scores 82/100)Climate: 3.7 of 53 points (scores 33/100)Air quality: 4.1 of 53 points (scores 37/100)Quality of life: 6.1 of 53 points (scores 55/100)53
Suzhou
out of 100

Canals and classical gardens, 25 minutes from Shanghai

Full Suzhou profile →Where to stay in Suzhou →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricNanjingSuzhou
Cost of living3636
Safety7676
Healthcare8181
Internet5760 ✓
Visa ease1515
Getting there & around7282 ✓
Climate3333
Air quality48 ✓37
Quality of life5555

Cost

MetricNanjingSuzhou
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one city$1,850$1,850
Central one-bedroom rentno datano data

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricNanjingSuzhou
Homicides per 100k0.50.5
Political stability (0–100)6666
UHC service coverage (0–100)8585
Life expectancy77.6 yrs77.6 yrs

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricNanjingSuzhou
Download16.7 Mbps18.9 Mbps ✓
Upload12.5 Mbps16.3 Mbps ✓

Visa

MetricNanjingSuzhou
Nomad visanone listednone listed
Minimum income for the visano datano data
Entry, US passportvisa requiredvisa required
Entry, EU passport30 days30 days
Entry, UK passportvisa requiredvisa required

Getting there and around

MetricNanjingSuzhou
Non-stop airport destinations71109 ✓
Walkability (1–5, editorial)34 ✓
Transit (1–5, editorial)55

Climate and air

MetricNanjingSuzhou
Comfortable months per year44
Annual mean PM2.528.5 µg/m³ ✓33.2 µg/m³

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Nanjing or Suzhou?
Suzhou is cheaper: about $1,850 per month versus $1,850 for one person.
Is Nanjing or Suzhou safer?
Nanjing scores higher on safety (76 vs 76), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Nanjing or Suzhou?
Suzhou: a measured median of 18.9 Mbps versus 16.7 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); Official entry rules that changed after the Passport Index snapshot; OpenStreetMap restaurants (Overpass API); Starlink availability map. Dataset 2026.10.7. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.