Best of
Best cities for digital nomads (2026)
Editorial ranking optimized for remote workers: low cost (35%), fast internet (25%), safety (20%), healthcare (20%).
Why this list matters
The digital nomad score is designed for the canonical remote-worker profile: foreign income, multi-month stays, optimizing for runway × bandwidth × livability. It's deliberately cost-weighted (35%) because nomads typically gain more from cheap rent than from premium amenities.
Pair the score with the city's visa landscape — high-scoring cities without a usable long-stay visa for your nationality remain operationally hard.
Editorial composite: cost-affordability (35%), internet speed normalized to 250 Mbps (25%), safety (20%), healthcare (20%). Internet caps at 250 Mbps — beyond that doesn't materially affect remote work.
| # | City | Nomad score | Internet |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  TaipeiTaiwan | 74 | 300 Mbps |
| 2 |  TallinnEstonia | 72 | 290 Mbps |
| 3 |  BudapestHungary | 69 | 210 Mbps |
| 4 |  WarsawPoland | 68 | 200 Mbps |
| 5 |  OsakaJapan | 67 | 250 Mbps |
| 6 |  SeoulSouth Korea | 67 | 280 Mbps |
| 7 |  ValenciaSpain | 67 | 220 Mbps |
| 8 |  BangkokThailand | 67 | 200 Mbps |
| 9 |  PortoPortugal | 66 | 190 Mbps |
| 10 | TokyoJapan | 64 | 280 Mbps |
| 11 | MadridSpain | 64 | 220 Mbps |
| 12 | LisbonPortugal | 64 | 200 Mbps |
| 13 |  AmsterdamNetherlands | 63 | 260 Mbps |
| 14 | RotterdamNetherlands | 63 | 240 Mbps |
| 15 | BarcelonaSpain | 62 | 240 Mbps |
| 16 |  DubaiUnited Arab Emirates | 62 | 250 Mbps |
| 17 |  LyonFrance | 61 | 220 Mbps |
| 18 |  SingaporeSingapore | 60 | 260 Mbps |
| 19 |  Kuala LumpurMalaysia | 59 | 100 Mbps |
| 20 |  BangaloreIndia | 59 | 100 Mbps |
| 21 |  AustinUnited States | 59 | 280 Mbps |
| 22 | ParisFrance | 59 | 250 Mbps |
| 23 |  Hong KongHong Kong | 58 | 220 Mbps |
| 24 |  MontrealCanada | 58 | 180 Mbps |
| 25 |  HamburgGermany | 58 | 200 Mbps |
| 26 |  ZurichSwitzerland | 58 | 250 Mbps |
| 27 | MunichGermany | 58 | 200 Mbps |
| 28 | BerlinGermany | 57 | 180 Mbps |
| 29 |  PragueCzech Republic | 56 | 120 Mbps |
| 30 | ChicagoUnited States | 56 | 250 Mbps |
| 31 |  CopenhagenDenmark | 56 | 200 Mbps |
| 32 | MiamiUnited States | 56 | 240 Mbps |
| 33 | FrankfurtGermany | 55 | 200 Mbps |
| 34 | VancouverCanada | 55 | 200 Mbps |
| 35 |  ViennaAustria | 54 | 100 Mbps |
| 36 | SeattleUnited States | 54 | 300 Mbps |
| 37 |  EdinburghUnited Kingdom | 54 | 170 Mbps |
| 38 |  MedellinColombia | 54 | 90 Mbps |
| 39 |  Ho Chi Minh CityVietnam | 53 | 75 Mbps |
| 40 |  StockholmSweden | 53 | 150 Mbps |
| 41 | ManchesterUnited Kingdom | 53 | 180 Mbps |
| 42 |  São PauloBrazil | 53 | 120 Mbps |
| 43 | TorontoCanada | 52 | 150 Mbps |
| 44 |  OsloNorway | 52 | 180 Mbps |
| 45 |  Tel AvivIsrael | 51 | 180 Mbps |
| 46 |  Buenos AiresArgentina | 50 | 50 Mbps |
| 47 | New YorkUnited States | 50 | 280 Mbps |
| 48 |  DublinIreland | 49 | 170 Mbps |
| 49 |  AthensGreece | 48 | 70 Mbps |
| 50 | San FranciscoUnited States | 48 | 280 Mbps |
| 51 |  RomeItaly | 47 | 120 Mbps |
| 52 |  BrisbaneAustralia | 47 | 90 Mbps |
| 53 |  Mexico CityMexico | 46 | 50 Mbps |
| 54 | MilanItaly | 46 | 130 Mbps |
| 55 | MelbourneAustralia | 46 | 90 Mbps |
| 56 | LondonUnited Kingdom | 46 | 170 Mbps |
| 57 | SydneyAustralia | 44 | 90 Mbps |
The top three, in context
Tallinn is the digital nomad sweet spot. Low cost, blazing-fast internet, EU + Schengen base, and Estonia's Digital Nomad Visa formalizes the long-stay route. Hard to beat on this axis.
The score weights aren't universal. If you have kids or a chronic health condition, weight healthcare and safety higher; if you're optimizing pure runway, cost matters more. Use the per-axis breakdowns to re-weight to your situation.
Related rankings
Want a different angle? Browse the full /best directory. Or run the numbers for your own city + lifestyle in the salary calculator.