Desert and semi-arid cities

Dry year-round — desert or steppe (Koppen B). Across 115 such cities in our data, the most livable is Neuquén, Argentina (77/100).

Desert and semi-arid cities — top 12 by livability

#	City	Country	Livability	Cost	Climate	Safety	Summer°C	Winter°C
1	Neuquén	Argentina	77	62	100	71	22.8°C	5.9°C
2	San Luis	Argentina	76	62	100	68	23.8°C	8.8°C
3	Agadir	Morocco	76	54	100	76	22.9°C	13.7°C
4	Guelmim	Morocco	76	58	96	78	24.7°C	13.4°C
5	Mendoza	Argentina	74	62	98	66	24.3°C	7.8°C
6	Safi	Morocco	74	56	94	76	25.3°C	12.7°C
7	Santiago del Estero	Argentina	72	62	86	69	26.8°C	12.5°C
8	La Rioja	Argentina	71	62	86	66	26.9°C	10.8°C
9	La Serena	Chile	70	48	100	65	18.9°C	11.4°C
10	Copiapó	Chile	70	48	100	65	18.6°C	10.5°C
11	Arica	Chile	69	47	100	65	21.3°C	14.5°C
12	Marrakesh	Morocco	69	54	82	74	27.7°C	11.0°C
13	Aksaray	Turkey	68	53	86	69	22.0°C	-0.2°C
14	Antofagasta	Chile	68	46	100	64	20.3°C	13.2°C
15	Iquique	Chile	68	47	100	62	19.5°C	13.9°C
16	Cajamarca	Peru	67	44	97	63	13.7°C	13.0°C
17	Ta’if	Saudi Arabia	67	46	83	74	27.4°C	14.2°C
18	Rustaq	Oman	67	53	71	78	29.8°C	14.5°C
19	Albacete	Spain	66	29	94	78	24.6°C	4.8°C
20	Castelló de la Plana	Spain	66	29	95	78	25.0°C	10.3°C
21	Trujillo	Peru	66	41	100	61	23.0°C	17.6°C
22	Tacna	Peru	66	43	100	61	21.9°C	14.5°C
23	Ica	Peru	66	43	100	61	21.3°C	15.7°C
24	Abha	Saudi Arabia	66	48	78	75	28.5°C	17.8°C
25	Şalālah	Oman	66	52	72	74	29.5°C	22.0°C
26	Las Palmas de Gran Canaria	Spain	65	27	100	73	23.1°C	16.8°C
27	Zaragoza	Spain	64	25	97	76	24.6°C	6.6°C
28	Alicante	Spain	64	27	93	76	25.4°C	9.5°C
29	Almería	Spain	64	29	90	76	25.9°C	11.0°C
30	Callao	Peru	64	40	100	56	22.9°C	16.1°C
31	Arequipa	Peru	64	40	96	60	12.8°C	10.1°C
32	Jizan	Saudi Arabia	64	50	68	76	30.4°C	20.6°C
33	Lima	Peru	63	35	100	59	22.2°C	15.6°C
34	Najrān	Saudi Arabia	63	46	69	76	30.2°C	17.3°C
35	Murcia	Spain	62	26	89	76	26.2°C	9.7°C
36	Chiclayo	Peru	62	42	92	56	25.6°C	18.9°C
37	Piura	Peru	62	42	86	61	26.8°C	20.4°C
38	Limassol	Cyprus	62	32	85	73	27.0°C	12.5°C
39	Kyrenia	Cyprus	62	37	75	75	29.0°C	10.3°C
40	Polokwane	South Africa	62	55	100	35	21.0°C	11.6°C
41	Tabuk	Saudi Arabia	62	46	68	74	30.5°C	10.6°C
42	Jaipur	India	61	62	53	68	33.4°C	15.0°C
43	Káto Lakatámeia	Cyprus	61	36	74	75	29.2°C	10.4°C
44	Ha'il	Saudi Arabia	61	46	60	76	32.0°C	9.9°C
45	Bawshar	Oman	61	50	55	76	33.0°C	18.7°C
46	Zacatecas	Mexico	60	40	100	45	20.4°C	12.2°C
47	Stróvolos	Cyprus	60	34	74	74	29.2°C	10.4°C
48	Kimberley	South Africa	60	56	96	33	24.7°C	9.8°C
49	Sakakah	Saudi Arabia	60	49	52	78	33.5°C	10.2°C
50	As Suwayq	Oman	60	53	48	76	34.4°C	20.0°C
51	San Miguel de Allende	Mexico	59	40	100	42	20.1°C	12.8°C
52	Nicosia	Cyprus	59	31	74	73	29.2°C	10.4°C
53	Bloemfontein	South Africa	59	54	100	30	22.5°C	7.0°C
54	Welkom	South Africa	59	54	100	29	23.1°C	9.4°C
55	Arar	Saudi Arabia	59	49	49	77	34.3°C	9.2°C
56	Muscat	Oman	59	49	52	74	33.5°C	19.5°C
57	Sohar	Oman	59	53	50	74	34.0°C	19.6°C
58	Seeb	Oman	59	50	51	74	33.8°C	19.8°C
59	‘Ibrī	Oman	59	52	46	77	34.9°C	18.1°C
60	San Diego	United States	58	15	100	65	22.5°C	13.9°C

Climate zones from Koppen-Geiger applied to city coordinates; temperatures are WorldClim v2.1 normals (warmest-month mean high / coldest-month mean low). Livability = 0.35 cost + 0.30 climate + 0.35 safety.

FAQ

Which desert and semi-arid city is the best to live in?

Neuquén, Argentina leads with livability 77/100 among 115 cities in this climate zone.

What defines this climate zone?

Dry year-round — desert or steppe (Koppen B). Classification follows the Koppen-Geiger system applied to each city's coordinates.

How many cities in our data have this climate?

115 of our cities fall in this zone; the table ranks the top 60 by overall livability (cost + climate + safety).

Best-climate cities overall → Open the city sorter →