What are the best small cities for digital nomads?

Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Funchal (Madeira), Palma de Mallorca, Valletta: each has fewer than 500,000 residents and a strong balanced score.

Top 10 · By situation

Top 10 small cities for digital nomads

Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Funchal (Madeira) score best of the 116 cities under 500,000 people. Small does not mean disconnected: every one is checked for internet speed and airport links.

City-proper population < 500,000; sorted by balanced score. 116 cities qualify; the ten best are shown. Dataset 2026.09.4. How the scores work.

Torn between the top two? Compare Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria side by side →

The full Top 10

#	City	Population	Score	Monthly cost	Internet	Safety
1	Santa Cruz de Tenerife Spain	209k	75	$2,200*	81	77
2	Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Spain	378k	75	$2,200*	78	77
3	Funchal (Madeira) Portugal	106k	75	$2,000*	77	83
4	Palma de Mallorca Spain	423k	74	$2,200*	88	77
5	Valletta Malta	5k	73	$2,136	80	86
6	Malmö Sweden	362k	73	$1,957	83	82
7	Faro (Algarve) Portugal	68k	72	$1,719	70	83
8	Bilbao Spain	347k	71	$2,200*	78	77
9	San Sebastián Spain	188k	71	$2,200*	88	77
10	Alicante Spain	359k	71	$2,200*	83	77

* country-level cost estimate. Scores are 0–100 under balanced weights; open a city for every number and its source.

Frequently asked

What are the best small cities for digital nomads?: Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Funchal (Madeira), Palma de Mallorca, Valletta: each has fewer than 500,000 residents and a strong balanced score.

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