NavoyNostos

San Salvador vs Uvita

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Uvita edges it, 61 to 58, winning 5 of the 9 factors. San Salvador is stronger on nothing outright; Uvita on quality of life, healthcare, air quality. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Safety: 7.8 of 58 points (scores 62/100)Healthcare: 8.5 of 58 points (scores 68/100)Internet: 7.2 of 58 points (scores 58/100)Visa ease: 11.3 of 58 points (scores 90/100)Getting there & around: 5.6 of 58 points (scores 45/100)Climate: 5.2 of 58 points (scores 42/100)Air quality: 7.0 of 58 points (scores 56/100)Quality of life: 5.7 of 58 points (scores 46/100)58
San Salvador
out of 100

Central America's fast-changing capital near the surf coast

Full San Salvador profile →Where to stay in San Salvador →
Cost of living: 4.4 of 61 points (scores 39/100)Safety: 6.4 of 61 points (scores 57/100)Healthcare: 9.1 of 61 points (scores 82/100)Internet: 7.5 of 61 points (scores 68/100)Visa ease: 10.2 of 61 points (scores 92/100)Getting there & around: 4.9 of 61 points (scores 44/100)Climate: 3.7 of 61 points (scores 33/100)Air quality: 7.6 of 61 points (scores 69/100)Quality of life: 7.5 of 61 points (scores 68/100)61
Uvita
out of 100

Costa Ballena surf-and-whale village on Costa Rica's quiet south Pacific

Full Uvita profile →Where to stay in Uvita →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricSan SalvadorUvita
Cost of livingno data39
Safety62 ✓57
Healthcare6882 ✓
Internet5868 ✓
Visa ease9092 ✓
Getting there & around45 ✓44
Climate42 ✓33
Air quality5669 ✓
Quality of life4668 ✓

Cost

MetricSan SalvadorUvita
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one cityno data$1,700
Central one-bedroom rentno datano data

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricSan SalvadorUvita
Homicides per 100k3.3 ✓17.12
Political stability (0–100)67.687 ✓
UHC service coverage (0–100)7984 ✓
Life expectancy71.7 yrs78.6 yrs ✓

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricSan SalvadorUvita
Download21.7 Mbps36.5 Mbps ✓
Upload5.8 Mbps10 Mbps ✓

Visa

MetricSan SalvadorUvita
Nomad visanone listedRemote worker and service provider stay (digital nomad permit) ✓
Minimum income for the visano data$3,000/mo
Entry, US passport180 days180 days
Entry, EU passport180 days180 days
Entry, UK passport180 days180 days

Getting there and around

MetricSan SalvadorUvita
Non-stop airport destinations3353 ✓
Walkability (1–5, editorial)22
Transit (1–5, editorial)2 ✓1

Climate and air

MetricSan SalvadorUvita
Comfortable months per year5 ✓4
Annual mean PM2.524.7 µg/m³19.1 µg/m³ ✓

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, San Salvador or Uvita?
We lack a monthly cost figure for one of the two cities.
Is San Salvador or Uvita safer?
San Salvador scores higher on safety (62 vs 57), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, San Salvador or Uvita?
Uvita: a measured median of 36.5 Mbps versus 21.7 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); 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); Nostos long-stay visa guides; Starlink availability map. Dataset 2026.10.7. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.