Climate
Irkutsk logs 0 hot days a year to Nizhniy Novgorod's 7 — Irkutsk wins by 7. Nizhniy Novgorod also leads on frost days by 45.
Irkutsk
Feels-like °C
Dinner outside
Nizhniy Novgorod
Feels-like °C
Dinner outside
Cost of Living
Irkutsk is $32/mo cheaperIrkutsk runs about $1,267/mo for a balanced lifestyle against Nizhniy Novgorod's $1,299/mo — Irkutsk comes in $32 cheaper each month, roughly 3% less.
Irkutsk
$1,267monthly · balanced
Nizhniy Novgorod
$1,299monthly · balanced
Mobility
On mobility, Nizhniy Novgorod scores 2.4 vs Irkutsk's 1.8 (0–5 scale), with the biggest gap on walkability.
Culture
Irkutsk and Nizhniy Novgorod score neck-and-neck on culture (2.2 vs 2.1, 0–5 scale).
Nature & Outdoors
Irkutsk's nature & outdoors score of 3.8 sits well above Nizhniy Novgorod's 2.8, with the biggest gap on mountain access.
Safety
Nizhniy Novgorod's safety score is ~1.4× Irkutsk's — in the middle of the scale, while Irkutsk lands below average, with the biggest gap on earthquake safety.
Career
Nizhniy Novgorod's career score of 2.6 sits well above Irkutsk's 1.9, with the biggest gap on economic scale.
Social & Community
Nizhniy Novgorod's social & community score of 2.1 sits well above Irkutsk's 1.9, with the biggest gap on expat-first community. Irkutsk still holds an edge on street atmosphere.
Food & Dining
On food & dining, Nizhniy Novgorod scores 2.2 vs Irkutsk's 1.6 (0–5 scale), with the biggest gap on brunch availability.
Family
On family, Nizhniy Novgorod scores 2.3 vs Irkutsk's 1.7 (0–5 scale), with the biggest gap on universities. Irkutsk still holds an edge on playgrounds.
Healthcare
On healthcare, Nizhniy Novgorod scores 1.7 vs Irkutsk's 1.0 (0–5 scale), with the biggest gap on private healthcare quality.
Air Quality
Irkutsk averages 12.2 µg/m³ (moderate) PM2.5 annually versus Nizhniy Novgorod's 12 µg/m³ (moderate) — Nizhniy Novgorod breathes ~1% cleaner air (0.2 µg/m³ lower).
Irkutsk
Nizhniy Novgorod
PM2.5 annual average
WHO classification
City Scale
Both maps at the same real-world scale — 1 cm on either map is the same distance.
Irkutsk (435K) and Nizhniy Novgorod (1.2M) are 2.7x in population — Nizhniy Novgorod is the larger metro, Irkutsk the smaller; on land area Nizhniy Novgorod spans roughly 2.3x more ground.
Nizhniy Novgorod is roughly 2.5x the scale of Irkutsk
Combined population & area comparison
Nizhniy NovgorodIrkutskCity Scale Rankings
Nizhniy Novgorod1.2M2.7xIrkutsk435K1xNizhniy Novgorod232 km²2.3xIrkutsk100 km²1xIrkutsk
Nizhniy Novgorod
Who Thrives Here
Irkutsk favours the arts & intellectual, while Nizhniy Novgorod suits the park & garden lover. Both cities work well for the escaping weather.
Also compared
Frequently asked about Irkutsk vs Nizhniy Novgorod
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▶Should I move to Irkutsk or Nizhniy Novgorod?
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