Cheapest safe cities to live
Affordable cities that also have low natural-disaster risk.
Cheapest cities
- Kotor, Montenegro — cost score 57/100
- Playa del Carmen, Mexico — cost score 57/100
- Tivat, Montenegro — cost score 56/100
- Boquete, Panama — cost score 56/100
- Puerto Vallarta, Mexico — cost score 56/100
- Atenas, Costa Rica — cost score 56/100
- Valletta, Malta — cost score 56/100
- Quepos, Costa Rica — cost score 56/100
- Tamarindo, Costa Rica — cost score 56/100
- Punta del Este, Uruguay — cost score 55/100
- Grand Baie, Mauritius — cost score 55/100
- Queenstown, New Zealand — cost score 55/100
- Las Vegas, United States — cost score 55/100
- Portland, United States — cost score 55/100
- Porto, Portugal — cost score 54/100
- Herceg Novi, Montenegro — cost score 54/100
- Cetinje, Montenegro — cost score 54/100
- Albufeira, Portugal — cost score 54/100
Safest cities
- Punta del Este, Uruguay — safety 73/100
- Maldonado, Uruguay — safety 73/100
- Dundalk, Ireland — safety 73/100
- Rouen, France — safety 72/100
- Hillerød, Denmark — safety 72/100
- Maardu, Estonia — safety 72/100
- Viljandi, Estonia — safety 72/100
- Hobart, Australia — safety 71/100
- Viborg, Denmark — safety 71/100
- Frederiksberg, Denmark — safety 71/100
- Sarpsborg, Norway — safety 71/100
- Punta Arenas, Chile — safety 71/100
- Nõmme, Estonia — safety 71/100
- Alytus, Lithuania — safety 71/100
- Marijampolė, Lithuania — safety 71/100
- Utena, Lithuania — safety 71/100
- Valmiera, Latvia — safety 71/100
- Rēzekne, Latvia — safety 71/100
How CityLivably scores this
Every ranking on this page is computed the same way across 1,103 cities in 68 countries, so the comparison is genuinely like-for-like rather than a hand-picked list. Cost comes from the World Bank price level (US=100, derived from PPP ÷ exchange rate); climate from WorldClim v2.1 monthly temperature normals, penalising extreme summer heat, harsh winters and too-cool summers; and safety blends real USGS earthquake history with modelled flood, storm, wildfire, heat, drought and tsunami exposure plus World Bank homicide rates. The headline livability score weights these 35% cost, 30% climate and 35% safety. Figures refresh as the underlying open data updates.
How to use this guide
Treat the list as a shortlist, not a verdict. Set your own non-negotiables first — a monthly budget ceiling, the climate band you can actually live in, and the level of natural-disaster risk you'll accept — then open the city sorter to filter all 1,103 cities by those priorities, and read each finalist's full city page before deciding. The most common mistake relocators make is optimising for a single number (usually cost) and discovering the climate or disaster exposure makes daily life worse; scoring all three pillars together is the whole point. Always verify the things our data deliberately excludes — visa eligibility, healthcare access and current local rents — for your own situation before committing to a move.
FAQ
What are the cheapest safe cities?
Cities in lower-cost countries with low earthquake/flood/storm exposure score best — see the lists above.
Is cheaper always riskier?
No — some affordable cities also have low disaster risk; that combination is what this guide surfaces.