---
title: "Top 10 cities for digital nomads"
url: https://nostos.navoy.io/top-10/cities-for-digital-nomads
description: "The ten highest balanced scores in the dataset, blending cost, safety, healthcare, internet, visas, mobility, climate, air and quality of life equally, with every number sourced."
dataset: 2026.09.4 (2026-09-26)
license: CC BY 4.0
---

# Top 10 cities for digital nomads

Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Funchal (Madeira) score highest of 309 cities under balanced weights. No city wins everything: the columns show where each one gives something up.

All cities, sorted by the balanced score (equal weight on all nine factors).

| # | City | Country | Score | Monthly cost | Safety | Internet | Climate | Nomad visa |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | [Santa Cruz de Tenerife](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/santa-cruz-de-tenerife) | Spain | 75 | $2,200* | 77 | 81 | 100 | yes |
| 2 | [Las Palmas de Gran Canaria](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/las-palmas) | Spain | 75 | $2,200* | 77 | 78 | 100 | yes |
| 3 | [Funchal (Madeira)](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/funchal) | Portugal | 75 | $2,000* | 83 | 77 | 100 | yes |
| 4 | [Palma de Mallorca](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/palma) | Spain | 74 | $2,200* | 77 | 88 | 67 | yes |
| 5 | [Valletta](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/valletta) | Malta | 73 | $2,136 | 86 | 80 | 75 | yes |
| 6 | [Malmö](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/malmo) | Sweden | 73 | $1,957 | 82 | 83 | 25 | no |
| 7 | [Faro (Algarve)](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/faro) | Portugal | 72 | $1,719 | 83 | 70 | 67 | yes |
| 8 | [Málaga](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/malaga) | Spain | 72 | $2,200* | 77 | 69 | 67 | yes |
| 9 | [Barcelona](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/barcelona) | Spain | 72 | $2,694 | 77 | 77 | 50 | yes |
| 10 | [Lisbon](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/lisbon) | Portugal | 72 | $2,499 | 83 | 66 | 67 | yes |

## FAQ

### What is the best city for digital nomads?

Santa Cruz de Tenerife under balanced weights (75/100), ahead of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Funchal (Madeira). The answer depends on your weights: the ranker lets you set them.

### How is the overall score calculated?

Each city gets nine factor scores from 0 to 100 using the same open data and formulas. The balanced score is their average; the methodology page lists every formula and threshold.

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; 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).

HTML page: https://nostos.navoy.io/top-10/cities-for-digital-nomads