NavoyNostos

Stavanger vs Tromsø

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Stavanger edges it, 67 to 66, winning 1 of the 9 factors. Stavanger is stronger on climate; Tromsø on nothing outright. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Cost of living: 1.1 of 67 points (scores 10/100)Safety: 9.7 of 67 points (scores 88/100)Healthcare: 10.1 of 67 points (scores 91/100)Internet: 9.7 of 67 points (scores 87/100)Visa ease: 6.7 of 67 points (scores 61/100)Getting there & around: 6.5 of 67 points (scores 58/100)Climate: 1.9 of 67 points (scores 17/100)Air quality: 10.5 of 67 points (scores 95/100)Quality of life: 10.9 of 67 points (scores 98/100)67
Stavanger
out of 100

Oil capital with fjord hikes and a wooden old town

Full Stavanger profile →Where to stay in Stavanger →
Cost of living: 1.2 of 66 points (scores 11/100)Safety: 9.7 of 66 points (scores 88/100)Healthcare: 10.1 of 66 points (scores 91/100)Internet: 9.9 of 66 points (scores 89/100)Visa ease: 6.7 of 66 points (scores 61/100)Getting there & around: 6.5 of 66 points (scores 58/100)Climate: 0.0 of 66 points (scores 0/100)Air quality: 10.8 of 66 points (scores 97/100)Quality of life: 10.9 of 66 points (scores 98/100)66
Tromsø
out of 100

Arctic city of northern lights, polar night and midnight sun

Full Tromsø profile →Where to stay in Tromsø →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricStavangerTromsø
Cost of living1011 ✓
Safety8888
Healthcare9191
Internet8789 ✓
Visa ease6161
Getting there & around5858
Climate17 ✓0
Air quality9597 ✓
Quality of life9898

Cost

MetricStavangerTromsø
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one city$3,586$3,500 ✓
Central one-bedroom rentno datano data

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricStavangerTromsø
Homicides per 100k0.70.7
Political stability (0–100)84.584.5
UHC service coverage (0–100)8989
Life expectancy82.9 yrs82.9 yrs

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricStavangerTromsø
Download83 Mbps91.5 Mbps ✓
Upload64.1 Mbps68.4 Mbps ✓

Visa

MetricStavangerTromsø
Nomad visanone listednone listed
Minimum income for the visano datano data
Entry, US passport90 days90 days
Entry, EU passportunlimitedunlimited
Entry, UK passport90 days90 days

Getting there and around

MetricStavangerTromsø
Non-stop airport destinations2948 ✓
Walkability (1–5, editorial)44
Transit (1–5, editorial)3 ✓2

Climate and air

MetricStavangerTromsø
Comfortable months per year2 ✓0
Annual mean PM2.57.3 µg/m³6.2 µg/m³ ✓

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Stavanger or Tromsø?
Tromsø is cheaper: about $3,500 per month versus $3,586 for one person.
Is Stavanger or Tromsø safer?
Stavanger scores higher on safety (88 vs 88), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Stavanger or Tromsø?
Tromsø: a measured median of 91.5 Mbps versus 83 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); WhereNext city cost estimates 2026 (city pages); OpenStreetMap restaurants (Overpass API); Starlink availability map. Dataset 2026.10.7. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.