Most surveys give one income figure for all digital nomads and leave out a regional split. The closest data comes from a survey of nomads by city visited and a report of freelancer rates by home region. The entries below use both, with the year and sample beside each figure.
How this list is built
Earnings follow the worker’s clients and employer more than the city on the map, so each entry shows two views. One is the median income of nomads who visit the region, from Nomads.com. The other is the average hourly rate that freelancers based in the region report, from Payoneer. Regions are ordered by the highest city median listed for them, and ties are ordered by the Payoneer rate.
The worldwide numbers first
Three surveys set the background for the regional entries.
- Nomads.com, 2026: a median self-reported income of $85,000 a year and an average of $125,712, from 6,025 nomads. About 35% report $100,000 to $250,000, and 7% report under $25,000.
- Holafly, March 2026: a median of $57,692 a year across nine markets, adjusted for purchasing power.
- MBO Partners, 2025: 18.5 million American workers are digital nomads, and 11.2 million of them hold traditional jobs. The other 7.3 million are independent workers.
The Nomads.com median is higher than the Holafly median. The two surveys use different samples and different dollars, so their numbers should not be merged or averaged.
1. North America
Visiting nomads in the United States and Canada report the highest incomes in the Nomads.com data. Freelancers based in North America report the highest hourly rates.
- Higher-income visitors: Austin and Vancouver at a $150,000 median, and New York City, Boston, Chicago, Las Vegas, and Miami at $100,000 (Nomads.com, 2026, 48,656 nomads).
- Lower-income visitors: No North American city appears in the lowest-earning list (Nomads.com, 2026).
- Freelancer hourly rate: $56 on average (Payoneer 2023 Freelancer Report, more than 2,000 freelancers in 122 countries).
Locals are left out of the city medians, so the figures describe nomads who travel to these cities. Many may be Americans or Canadians working for home-country clients. Nomads who earn this income abroad may still owe US tax. A guide on how US citizens file taxes while working remotely abroad covers the basics.
What this means: The numbers mostly show who visits, so moving to one of these cities may not raise income by itself.
2. Europe
European cities appear in both lists, with Madeira and London near the top and Bansko and the Balkan cities near the bottom.
- Higher-income visitors: Madeira, London, Copenhagen, Ljubljana, Helsinki, and Edinburgh at $100,000 (Nomads.com, 2026).
- Lower-income visitors: Luxembourg, Tenerife, Belgrade, Sarajevo, and Skopje at $80,000, and Bansko at $75,000 (Nomads.com, 2026).
- Freelancer hourly rate: $27 in Western Europe and $23 in Central and Eastern Europe (Payoneer 2023 Freelancer Report).
Madeira runs a village program for remote workers, and its digital nomad village guide explains how it works. Tenerife is another island base, and its visitors report a lower median of $80,000. Visa income rules differ by country. The list of digital nomad visa income requirements by country shows the thresholds side by side.
What this means: Visitors to the cheaper European cities report $75,000 to $80,000, close to the $85,000 overall median.
3. Latin America
Seven Latin American cities appear in the top list, and Asuncion is the only one in the lowest list.
- Higher-income visitors: Mexico City, São Paulo, Buenos Aires, Bogota, Antigua in Guatemala, Oaxaca, and Florianopolis at $100,000 (Nomads.com, 2026).
- Lower-income visitors: Asuncion at $80,000 (Nomads.com, 2026).
- Freelancer hourly rate: $24 in South America and $18 in Central America (Payoneer 2023 Freelancer Report). Payoneer names Central America as the lowest region in that report.
Freelancers based in Central America report $18 an hour, while visitors to Antigua report a $100,000 median. The two groups work for different clients, so the numbers describe different working lives. Nomads paid in dollars and spending in pesos or reais also face exchange-rate swings. The guide on managing currency exchange risk explains them. A nomad on a company payroll can read about negotiating a remote salary when moving to a lower cost-of-living country before a move.
What this means: Where a nomad’s clients live may matter more than where the nomad lives.
4. Africa
Only two African cities appear in the Nomads.com lists, so the regional picture rests on thin data.
- Higher-income visitors: Cape Town and Marrakesh at $100,000 (Nomads.com, 2026).
- Lower-income visitors: No African city appears in the lowest-earning list (Nomads.com, 2026).
- Freelancer hourly rate: $22 on average (Payoneer 2023 Freelancer Report).
The $22 rate describes freelancers based in Africa, who are a different group from the visitors in these two cities. Freelancers paid by overseas clients often need a way to receive foreign currency. The guide to international payment platforms for overseas clients compares the options. The Marrakech digital nomad guide covers costs in one of the two listed cities.
What this means: The $100,000 figures describe two cities only, so they say little about the rest of the continent.
5. East and South Asia
Japan, China, Taiwan, and India supply the top-list cities, while Busan, Fukuoka, and Colombo sit in the lowest list.
- Higher-income visitors: Tokyo, Kyoto, Beijing, Taipei, Mumbai, and Delhi at $100,000 (Nomads.com, 2026).
- Lower-income visitors: Busan at $75,000, and Fukuoka and Colombo at $80,000 (Nomads.com, 2026).
- Freelancer hourly rate: $20 for Asia as a whole, because Payoneer reports one Asian region (Payoneer 2023 Freelancer Report).
Japan has Tokyo and Kyoto in the top list at $100,000. Fukuoka sits in the lowest list at $80,000. The Japan digital nomad visa is one option for longer stays.
What this means: Asia holds cities at both ends of the list. One Asian figure would hide the spread from $70,000 in Cebu to $100,000 in Tokyo.
6. Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia is one of the best-known nomad regions, and none of its cities reach the top list.
- Higher-income visitors: No Southeast Asian city appears in the top list (Nomads.com, 2026).
- Lower-income visitors: Cebu at $70,000; Pattaya, Hoi An, Penang, Da Nang, and Phnom Penh at $75,000; and Phuket, Hanoi, Jakarta, and Siem Reap at $80,000, among others (Nomads.com, 2026).
- Freelancer hourly rate: $20 for Asia as a whole (Payoneer 2023 Freelancer Report).
Low-cost cities draw visitors who report $70,000 to $80,000, within $15,000 of the $85,000 worldwide median. Guides to Da Nang and Hoi An cover monthly costs in two of the listed cities.
What this means: A low-cost base changes how far the same income goes more than it changes the income itself.
7. Caucasus and Central Asia
Four cities in Georgia, Armenia, and Kazakhstan sit near the low end of the Nomads.com list.
- Higher-income visitors: No city in this region appears in the top list (Nomads.com, 2026).
- Lower-income visitors: Almaty and Yerevan at $70,000, and Tbilisi and Batumi at $75,000 (Nomads.com, 2026).
- Freelancer hourly rate: Payoneer does not report this region on its own (Payoneer 2023 Freelancer Report).
Georgia lets many nationalities stay without a visa, and the visa-free stay rules explain how it works. A Tbilisi digital nomad guide adds costs for the capital.
What this means: Even the lowest city medians in the data are $70,000, which suggests the survey reaches established earners.
Where the data disagrees or runs out
The Nomads.com figures are self-reported by platform users. The page describes the average nomad as a 37-year-old software developer. The page lists only the 30 highest and 30 lowest cities, so cities between the two lists are not shown. The page also updates live, and the figures here were read on November 5, 2026.
The regional hourly rates come from Success.com and Clockify, which repeat Payoneer’s 2023 table. Payoneer’s own page on top freelancing countries prints $44 for North America and $31 for Western Europe from an older edition. The 2022 edition reported a worldwide average of $28, and the 2023 edition reported $23. The regional rates work best as rough guides.
Payoneer also surveys freelancers only, and 70% of them find most work through online marketplaces. The overview of freelance platforms for digital nomads compares Upwork, Fiverr, and Toptal. People with traditional jobs, who make up most American nomads in the MBO Partners data, are outside the Payoneer sample.
How to use these numbers
An hourly rate turns into yearly income with simple arithmetic. Take a freelancer who bills $25 an hour for 30 hours a week over 48 weeks. The total is 30 × 48 = 1,440 hours, and 1,440 × $25 = $36,000 before costs and taxes. The same steps work with any rate, so a nomad can swap in a personal rate and compare the result with the medians above. The guide on setting freelance rates as a location-independent worker covers pricing. Another guide on budgeting with a variable income covers the months when income swings.
This article offers general information and is not legal, tax, or financial advice. A qualified professional can advise on individual circumstances.
Plan your next base
The surveys show that income depends on clients and employers more than on the city. A good base still helps, and real flight prices make it easier to compare options such as Tbilisi, Da Nang, or Madeira. When one of those regions fits the work and the budget, search flights to your next base on FlyBibe. A short list of two or three regions and a rough monthly budget keeps the search quick.