Climate
Johannesburg logs 6 outdoor-dinner months a year to Mthatha's 1 — Johannesburg wins by 5. Johannesburg also leads on hot days by 9.
Johannesburg
Feels-like °C
Dinner outside
Mthatha
Feels-like °C
Dinner outside
Cost of Living
Johannesburg averages $1,363/mo for balanced living; Mthatha has no cost baseline yet.
Johannesburg
$1,363monthly · balanced
Mobility
Johannesburg scores 2.2 on mobility (0–5 scale); Mthatha has no mobility baseline.
Culture
Johannesburg's culture score of 3.6 sits well above Mthatha's 0.0.
Nature & Outdoors
Johannesburg scores 3.5 on nature & outdoors (0–5 scale); Mthatha has no nature & outdoors baseline.
Safety
Johannesburg scores 1.2 on safety (0–5 scale); Mthatha has no safety baseline.
Career
Johannesburg scores 4.1 on career (0–5 scale); Mthatha has no career baseline.
Social & Community
Johannesburg scores 3.4 on social & community (0–5 scale); Mthatha has no social & community baseline.
Food & Dining
Johannesburg scores 3.8 on food & dining (0–5 scale); Mthatha has no food & dining baseline.
Family
Johannesburg scores 3.7 on family (0–5 scale); Mthatha has no family baseline.
Healthcare
Johannesburg scores 3.4 on healthcare (0–5 scale); Mthatha has no healthcare baseline.
Air Quality
Johannesburg averages 37.0 µg/m³ (very unhealthy) PM2.5 annually versus Mthatha's 14.3 µg/m³ (moderate) — Mthatha breathes ~61% cleaner air (22.7 µg/m³ lower).
Johannesburg
Mthatha
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.
Johannesburg (8.6M) and Mthatha (137K) are 63x in population — Johannesburg is the larger metro, Mthatha the smaller; on land area Johannesburg spans roughly 27x more ground.
Johannesburg is roughly 41x the scale of Mthatha
Combined population & area comparison
JohannesburgMthathaCity Scale Rankings
Johannesburg8.6M63xMthatha137K1xJohannesburg1,756 km²27xMthatha65 km²1xJohannesburg
Mthatha
Who Thrives Here
Johannesburg favours the big city energy, while Mthatha suits the clean air seeker. Both cities work well for the sunshine lover.
Also compared
LondonFrequently asked about Johannesburg vs Mthatha
▶Which is cheaper, Johannesburg or Mthatha?
▶How does the climate compare between Johannesburg and Mthatha?
▶Is Johannesburg or Mthatha safer?
▶Should I move to Johannesburg or Mthatha?
The best city depends on what matters to you
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