Quality of life in Kathmandu
Kathmandu, Nepal, is characterized by reasonably priced housing. According to our city rankings, this is a good place to live with high ratings in cost of living, safety and tolerance.
/11,45,1/510x340.png?access_token=pk.eyJ1IjoidGVsZXBvcnQiLCJhIjoiY2lnM3VqNXVqMDJsaHYza2gwN2wzdXhidCJ9.PuTxgLkbswKZzPhzlKgv4A)
Life quality score
City ranking
Housing
10
1/265Details
| Large apartment | $280.00 |
|---|---|
| Medium apartment | $250.00 |
| Rent index [score] | 1.00 |
| Small apartment | $220.00 |
Cost of Living
9
15/248Details
| 5km taxi ride | $6.50 |
|---|---|
| A Cappuccino | $1.90 |
| A beer | $2.20 |
| A kilogram of Apples | $1.70 |
| Bread | $0.27 |
| Inflation [score] | 0.94 |
| Lunch | $4.00 |
| Monthly fitness club membership | $24.00 |
| Monthly public transport | $13.00 |
| Movie ticket | $4.00 |
| Price of a meal at a restaurant | $21.33 |
Startups
3
192/264Details
| Average monthly increase in number of startups | 2 |
|---|---|
| Average monthly increase in number of startups [score] | 0.27 |
| Coworking spaces [score] | 0.10 |
| Coworking spaces on WorkFrom.co | 3 |
| Meetups [score] | 0.14 |
| Meetups groups | 16 |
| Meetups members | 6477 |
| Number of startup events in the last 12 months | 12 |
| Number of upcoming meetup events | 2 |
| Startup climate scene [score] | 0.48 |
| Startup events | 4 |
| Startup events [score] | 0.22 |
| Startups [score] | 0.37 |
| Total number of startups | 47 |
Venture Capital
N/A
Details
Travel Connectivity
1
251/266Details
| Airport hub | 31 |
|---|---|
| Airport hub [score] | 0.21 |
Commute
5
103/255Details
| Human city page | http://cities.human.co/details/Nepal/Kathmandu |
|---|---|
| Traffic handling [score] | 0.51 |
Business Freedom
5
225/264Details
| Business freedom | 64.90 |
|---|---|
| Business freedom [score] | 0.46 |
| Freedom from corruption | 29.00 |
| Freedom from corruption [score] | 0.15 |
| Lack of labor restrictions | 47.30 |
| Lack of labor restrictions [score] | 0.23 |
| Time to open a business | 17.00 |
| Time to open a business [score] | 0.81 |
Safety
9
54/266Details
| Crime rate [score] | 0.70 |
|---|---|
| Gun-related deaths per 100,000 residents per year | 1 |
| Guns per 100 residents | 1 |
| Lack of gun related deaths [score] | 0.96 |
| Lack of guns [score] | 1.00 |
| Lack of guns and gun-related deaths [score] | 0.98 |
Healthcare
2
257/265Details
| Healthcare expenditure [score] | 0.10 |
|---|---|
| Healthcare quality [score] | 0.44 |
| Life expectancy (years) | 69.24 |
| Life expectancy [score] | 0.16 |
Education
N/A
Details
Environmental Quality
1
266/266Details
| Air quality [score] | 0.10 |
|---|---|
| Cleanliness [score] | 0.10 |
| Drinking water quality [score] | 0.10 |
| Urban greenery [score] | 0.10 |
Economy
4
172/263Details
| Currency exchange rate per US dollar for urban area | 101.82 |
|---|---|
| Currency for urban area | NPR |
| GDP growth rate | 0.05 |
| GDP growth rate [score] | 0.80 |
| GDP per capita | $2375.58 |
| GDP per capita [score] | 0.10 |
Taxation
6
90/266Details
| Effective company profit tax rate on payouts as dividends [score] | 0.80 |
|---|---|
| Income tax level [score] | 0.30 |
| Profit tax (% of profit) | 0.29 |
| Time overhead to file company taxes | 339 |
| VAT (Sales Tax) | 0.13 |
Internet Access
2
246/266Details
| Download speed (Mbps) | 10.03 |
|---|---|
| Internet access (download) [score] | 0.18 |
| Internet access (upload) [score] | 0.26 |
| Upload speed (Mbps) | 5.56 |
Leisure & Culture
5
165/264Details
| Art galleries | 34 |
|---|---|
| Art galleries [score] | 0.22 |
| Cinemas | 22 |
| Cinemas [score] | 0.25 |
| Comedy clubs | 1 |
| Comedy clubs [score] | 0.20 |
| Concert venues | 16 |
| Concerts [score] | 0.20 |
| Historical sites | 59 |
| Historical sites [score] | 0.66 |
| Museums | 13 |
| Museums [score] | 0.35 |
| Performing art venues | 12 |
| Performing arts [score] | 0.10 |
| Sport venues | 15 |
| Sports [score] | 0.11 |
| Zoos | 3 |
| Zoos [score] | 0.45 |
Tolerance
9
15/266Details
| LGBT Equality Index | 87.91 |
|---|---|
| LGBT Equality Index [score] | 0.90 |
| LGBT adoption rights | ✔ Legal |
| LGBT age of consent | ✔ Equal |
| LGBT blood donation regulations | ✔ Legal |
| LGBT conversion therapy regulations | ✔ Banned |
| LGBT discrimination legality | Illegal in some contexts |
| LGBT employment discrimination legality | ✔ Sexual orientation and gender identity |
| LGBT gender changing rights | ✔ Legal, but requires surgery |
| LGBT homosexuality rights | ✔ Legal |
| LGBT housing discrimination legality | ✔ Sexual orientation and gender identity |
| LGBT marriage rights | Ambiguous |
| Tolerance towards minorities [score] | 0.93 |
Outdoors
4
197/266Details
| Elevation (hills or mountains) [score] | 0.66 |
|---|---|
| Median peak in meters | 2241.00 |
| Presence of hills in city | 1.00 |
| Presence of mountains in city | 1.00 |
| Urban area elevation (meters) | 1295.00 |
| Water access [score] | 0.10 |
Sign up for a free Teleport account to personalize city data.
Budget your housing and living costs, salaries and jobs.
Budget your housing and living costs, salaries and jobs.
Get started
Cost of living
Costs of living in Kathmandu are in the least expensive 10 percent of all 248 Teleport cities. Average living expenses are significantly lower compared to other cities, especially in the housing market. Moving to Kathmandu will very likely decrease your daily costs of living. Sign up for free to get access to our cost of living index and use our international cost of living calculator to do cost comparison by city.
Housing costs (USD)
$220
Median rent for
apartments in city center
apartments in city center
Daily living costs (USD)
 Monthly fitness club membership | $24 |
|---|---|
 Movie ticket | $4 |
 Broadband internet connection | $27 |
 Monthly public transport | $13 |
 Lunch | $4 |
-68%
compared to
San Francisco
San Francisco
Job salary calculator
Software Engineer salaries in Kathmandu are very low. For this job type, Kathmandu ranks 246th for salaries among 265 cities. Get access to our salary comparison calculator by signing up. Compare salaries city by city with our free salary wizard and convert your own salary to a local salary in Kathmandu.
Estimated annual salary (in USD)
$11,947
Median salary
Locals review Kathmandu
Do locals recommend living in Kathmandu?
What could Kathmandu do better?#improveKathmandu
How could Kathmandu improve to make it a more liveable city? We will make sure that the local government will know about the suggestions that reach enough votes.
What makes Kathmandu a special place?#praiseKathmandu
Is Kathmandu a great place to live? What makes it special for you? What makes it liveable? What should others know about? Why should they move here? Why do you love it?
Local Currency
Looking for a job in Kathmandu?
Let the job find you
Let the jobs come to you! Sign up with your email and we’ll start working on getting job offers from Kathmandu delivered to you. It's free. No strings attached. You can unsubscribe anytime.
What kind of job are you looking for?
WHAT KIND OF JOB ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?
EMAIL ADDRESS
Sign up for a free Teleport account to personalize city data.
Budget your housing and living costs, salaries and jobs.
Budget your housing and living costs, salaries and jobs.
Get started
Safety
Gun crimes & Ownership
0.80
Guns per 100 people
1.40
Gun deaths per 100k people / year
North America
Europe
Asia
South America
Africa
Oceania
Overall crime rate city ranking
The overall crime rate puts Kathmandu in position 90 of 266 Teleport Cities in a ranking for the safest cities.
Education
Visa
For visits up to 90 days
Required with citizenship of
Sign up for a free Teleport account to personalize city data.
Budget your housing and living costs, salaries and jobs.
Budget your housing and living costs, salaries and jobs.
Get started
Explore the streets of Kathmandu
People in Kathmandu
Friends living in Kathmandu
Find on FacebookFind out which of your friends are living in Kathmandu. Nothing is better than knowing a local 😉
Teleport Users X Kathmandu
Teleport users who are Kathmandu
Work in:
10.53%
5.26%
5.26%
5.26%
5.26%
5.26%
5.26%
57.89%
Come from:
LGBT rights in Kathmandu
Homosexuality
Legal
Changing gender
Legal
But Requires Surgery
Discrimination
Illegal In Some Contexts
Marriage
Ambiguous
Adoption
Legal
Climate
Average day length (hours)
12.6Climate type
Humid Subtropical
Average daily maximum temperature
Sign up for a free Teleport account to personalize city data.
Budget your housing and living costs, salaries and jobs.
Budget your housing and living costs, salaries and jobs.
Get started
Sign up for a free Teleport account to personalize city data.
Budget your housing and living costs, salaries and jobs.
Budget your housing and living costs, salaries and jobs.
Get started
On living in Kathmandu
Kathmandu (काठमाण्डु) is the largest city and capital of Nepal and the namesake of the Kathmandu Valley. Once thought to be the fabled and inaccessible Shangri-La, Kathmandu is growing spot catering to a wide range of holiday types and budgets. As a result of considerable urban growth in recent decades, it is now part of one continuous urban area together with Patan to the south.
According to a census conducted in 2011, Kathmandu metropolis alone has 2.5 million inhabitants, and the agglomerate has a population of more than 3 million inhabitants. The metropolitan city area is 50.67 square kilometres (19.56 sq mi) and has a population density of 3000 per km² and 17000 per km square in city.
The city stands at an elevation of approximately 1,400 metres (4,600 ft) in the bowl-shaped Kathmandu Valley of central Nepal. It is surrounded by four major mountains: Shivapuri, Phulchoki, Nagarjun, and Chandragiri. Kathmandu Valley is part of three districts (Kathmandu, Lalitpur, and Bhaktapur), has the highest population density in the country, and is home to about a twelfth of Nepal's population.
Read moreStill have questions?
Teleport Zen
Planning to move?
Start today with Teleport Zen.
Teleport Zen is a personalized to-do list and moving guide.
We've got you covered from job search and apartment hunting to visa advice.
Start planning your move