Which is cheaper, Tampico or Zihuatanejo?

Tampico and Zihuatanejo cost about the same: roughly $1,400 per month for one person.

Is Tampico or Zihuatanejo safer?

Tampico and Zihuatanejo score the same on safety (28), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.

Where is the internet faster, Tampico or Zihuatanejo?

Tampico: a measured median of 37.4 Mbps versus 32.1 Mbps (M-Lab, 2024).

Tampico vs Zihuatanejo

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights the two cities tie at 60. Neither leads on any factor by 10 points or more. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Tampico

out of 100

Gulf oil port with iron-balconied plazas and a long beach next door

Full Tampico profile →Plan a trip to Tampico →

Zihuatanejo

out of 100

Fishing-town bay beside the Ixtapa resort strip

Full Zihuatanejo profile →Plan a trip to Zihuatanejo →

Where they differ

Air quality. Zihuatanejo leads on air quality, 86 to 80, against Tampico. PM2.5: 14 µg/m³ vs 11.4 µg/m³.

Where they are close. Within five points on internet, getting there & around, cost of living, safety, healthcare, visa ease, climate, quality of life.

Pick Tampico if you want

faster internet (37.4 Mbps measured)

Pick Zihuatanejo if you want

no clear edge over Tampico in the data

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

Metric	Tampico	Zihuatanejo
Cost of living	58	58
Safety	28	28
Healthcare	75	75
Internet	69 ✓	65
Visa ease	90	90
Getting there & around	16	17 ✓
Climate	67	67
Air quality	80	86 ✓
Quality of life	57	57

Cost

Metric	Tampico	Zihuatanejo
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one city	$1,400	$1,400
Central one-bedroom rent	no data	no data

Safety and health (country-level)

Metric	Tampico	Zihuatanejo
Homicides per 100k	25.64	25.64
Political stability (0–100)	55	55
UHC service coverage (0–100)	79	79
Life expectancy	75.3 yrs	75.3 yrs

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

Metric	Tampico	Zihuatanejo
Download	37.4 Mbps ✓	32.1 Mbps
Upload	15.1 Mbps ✓	7.9 Mbps

Visa

Metric	Tampico	Zihuatanejo
Nomad visa	none listed	none listed
Minimum income for the visa	no data	no data
Entry, US passport	180 days	180 days
Entry, EU passport	180 days	180 days
Entry, UK passport	180 days	180 days

Getting there and around

Metric	Tampico	Zihuatanejo
Non-stop airport destinations	8	17 ✓
Walkability (1–5, editorial)	3	3
Transit (1–5, editorial)	2	2

Climate and air

Metric	Tampico	Zihuatanejo
Comfortable months per year	8	8
Annual mean PM2.5	14 µg/m³	11.4 µg/m³ ✓

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Tampico or Zihuatanejo?: Tampico and Zihuatanejo cost about the same: roughly $1,400 per month for one person.
Is Tampico or Zihuatanejo safer?: Tampico and Zihuatanejo score the same on safety (28), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Tampico or Zihuatanejo?: Tampico: a measured median of 37.4 Mbps versus 32.1 Mbps (M-Lab, 2024).

More comparisons

Sources: Cost of Living Global 2026 (city rows); 2026 Cost of Living Index (country level); 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 2026.11.2. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.