North America
Guatemala
Capital Guatemala City · 17M people · Quetzal
- Top cities
- 2.9MGuatemala City
- 221KCobán
- 296KQuetzaltenango
- 86KJalapa
- 85KEscuintla
Photo by Rodrigo Escalante on Unsplash
- CostMid-range
- SafetyCaution0.4/5
- MobilityLimited2.0/5
- CultureGood3.2/5
- ClimateWarm13–31°
Top cities
- Guatemala City2.9M residents
- Cobán221K residents
- Quetzaltenango296K residents
- Jalapa86K residents
- Escuintla85K residents
Source: GeoNames
Cost of living in Guatemala
Costs stay fairly even across the country.
Guatemala's $1,397 monthly cost (across 2 scored cities).
Guatemala City ($1,486) runs 1.1× Antigua Guatemala ($1,307); most of the 2 cities cluster near the $1,397 median.
Good to know — low cost often trades against local salaries and visa options — budget for income, not just spending. Learn how we measure this →
Safety in Guatemala
The one thing to watch: property crime.
Guatemala's 0.4/5 safety score (across 2 scored cities).
Property crime: highest in Guatemala City, far calmer elsewhere — a local risk, not a national one.
Good to know — a calm national average can hide neighbourhood-level crime — research the specific district you would live in. Learn how we measure this →
Getting around Guatemala
Mobility in Guatemala needs more planning across its cities.
Guatemala's 2.0/5 mobility score (across 2 scored cities).
Across 2 cities, getting around stays within a narrow band — no single city is a real outlier.
Good to know — strong airport access can coexist with weak everyday transit — check the mode you would actually use. Learn how we measure this →
Culture in Guatemala
Culture in Guatemala runs middling overall across its cities.
Guatemala's 3.2/5 culture score (across 2 scored cities).
Across 2 cities, cultural life stays broadly present — no single city stands far apart.
1979UNESCO ↗- Mixed
- Ancient civilization
1979UNESCO ↗- Cultural
- Cultural crossroads
1981UNESCO ↗- Cultural
- Architectural landmark
2023UNESCO ↗- Cultural
- Ancient civilization
Good to know — a strong national culture score can be carried by one or two big cities — check the specific city, not only the country average. Learn how we measure this →
Airports in Guatemala
La Aurora Airport is Guatemala's busiest gateway.
1 major airport. Tap any to see its nearest cities and how far they are.
Good to know — passenger volume is total throughput, not direct-route breadth; a large hub can still lack flights to your region. Learn how we measure this →
Passport strength in Guatemala
Guatemala's passport ranks #34 worldwide — 125 destinations visa-free.
This is the passport you’d gain by naturalizing here — a long-horizon payoff measured in years of residency, not a signal for the move itself.
- Mobility
- #34125 destinations
- GDP reach
- #8041.4% of world GDP
- Heritage
- #56886 of 1,353 UNESCO sites
Good to know — a mobility rank counts how many destinations you can enter, not how useful they are; a strong passport can still gate the one place you care about. Learn how we measure this →
Climate in Guatemala
Warm summers, gentle winters.
Where most people in Guatemala live, it's typically 13° to 31° feels-like across the year; sun is plentiful, up to ~305 days a year in La Gomera.
Feels-like °C — where most people live, vs the city-to-city spread
Good to know— a country isn't one climate but a range; the extremes here are different cities, not the same place across seasons. Learn how we measure this →
Who thrives in Guatemala
Guatemala suits a wide range of lifestyles.
Fit is scored per lifestyle and anchored to the cities that serve each best — Winter Escapist leads. Pick one to see exactly where it works.
Great fit
Decent fit
Poor fit
Good to know — fit is by city, not country; a lifestyle that thrives here may only do so in one or two of its cities. Learn how we measure this →