Papeete vs Townsville
for digital nomads
Under balanced weights Townsville edges it, 69 to 67, winning 3 of the 9 factors. Papeete is stronger on visa ease; Townsville on internet. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.
Tahiti's small, pricey capital, the hub for every other island
Full Papeete profile →Where to stay in Papeete →North Queensland's dry-tropics city with Magnetic Island offshore
Full Townsville profile →Where to stay in Townsville →Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)
| Metric | Papeete | Townsville |
|---|---|---|
| Cost of living | no data | 13 |
| Safety | 75 | 82 ✓ |
| Healthcare | no data | 91 |
| Internet | 39 | 68 ✓ |
| Visa ease | 61 ✓ | 42 |
| Getting there & around | 51 ✓ | 41 |
| Climate | 75 | 83 ✓ |
| Air quality | 100 ✓ | 99 |
| Quality of life | no data | 98 |
Cost
| Metric | Papeete | Townsville |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one city | no data | $3,350 |
| Central one-bedroom rent | no data | no data |
Safety and health (country-level)
| Metric | Papeete | Townsville |
|---|---|---|
| Homicides per 100k | no data | 0.94 |
| Political stability (0–100) | 75.7 | 79.3 ✓ |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | no data | 89 |
| Life expectancy | no data | 83.1 yrs |
Internet (M-Lab measured medians)
| Metric | Papeete | Townsville |
|---|---|---|
| Download | 7.5 Mbps | 38.7 Mbps ✓ |
| Upload | 2.4 Mbps | 9.1 Mbps ✓ |
Visa
| Metric | Papeete | Townsville |
|---|---|---|
| Nomad visa | none listed | none listed |
| Minimum income for the visa | no data | no data |
| Entry, US passport | 90 days ✓ | eTA required (online, before travel) |
| Entry, EU passport | unlimited ✓ | eTA required (online, before travel) |
| Entry, UK passport | 90 days ✓ | eTA required (online, before travel) |
Getting there and around
| Metric | Papeete | Townsville |
|---|---|---|
| Non-stop airport destinations | 38 ✓ | 14 |
| Walkability (1–5, editorial) | 3 | 3 |
| Transit (1–5, editorial) | 2 | 2 |
Climate and air
| Metric | Papeete | Townsville |
|---|---|---|
| Comfortable months per year | 9 | 10 ✓ |
| Annual mean PM2.5 | 2.9 µg/m³ ✓ | 5.6 µg/m³ |
✓ marks the better value in each row; ties and missing data are left unmarked.
Frequently asked
- Which is cheaper, Papeete or Townsville?
- We lack a monthly cost figure for one of the two cities.
- Is Papeete or Townsville safer?
- Townsville scores higher on safety (82 vs 75), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
- Where is the internet faster, Papeete or Townsville?
- Townsville: a measured median of 38.7 Mbps versus 7.5 Mbps (M-Lab, 2024).
More comparisons
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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; 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); OpenStreetMap restaurants (Overpass API); Starlink availability map. Dataset 2026.10.7. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.