Hoi An
Vietnam · Asia · 150K people
Lantern-lit former trading port, increasingly popular with long-stay remote workers.
Ranked #230 of 303 overall · 15.88, 108.34
Overview
Hoi An, Vietnam, is home to about 150,000 residents and has built a reputation that goes beyond its size. It has become a go-to base for remote workers over the past few years. Its reputation is built on history, architecture and a dense cultural calendar. People who choose to settle in Hoi An tend to point to a genuinely affordable cost of living, a strong sense of safety, and a climate most people find easy to live with as the deciding factors. Within the 76 cities we track in Asia, the regional average sits at 6.5/10, which puts Hoi An's 6.1/10 a little behind the regional norm. On CityMatch, Hoi An scores 6.1/10 overall across cost of living, safety, environment, transport, climate, healthcare and internet, ranking #230 of 303 cities in our database. Its strongest single criterion is cost of living at 8/10, while public transport is its softest spot at 3/10 — the full breakdown, honest trade-offs, and who this city actually suits are below.
Full scorecard
Budget goes a long way here.
Generally safe with normal precautions.
Air quality is acceptable most of the year.
Largely car-dependent.
A normal seasonal mix, nothing extreme.
Worth checking specifics if care needs are ongoing.
Solid enough for day-to-day remote work.
Is Hoi An right for you?
Set your own priorities and see where it ranks against every city in the dataset.
Run the recommender →How are these scores calculated?
Every city on CityMatch is scored 1-10 on seven criteria — cost of living, safety, environment, transport, climate, healthcare and internet — and those seven numbers are combined into the overall score shown throughout the site using a consistent, automated formula (an equal-weighted average by default, or your own weighting via the recommender tool). The same method is applied identically to every city, so scores are comparable across the full database.
Sources & data provenance
The current dataset is an internally curated starter dataset built for this version of the site, reflecting each city's general reputation on each criterion rather than a live feed from a single external provider. It is not yet sourced from a specific third-party API. If that changes, this section will be updated to name the exact sources in use.
Last updated: 17 July 2026
Strengths & trade-offs
Strengths
At 8/10, Hoi An is genuinely easy on the budget — one of the more affordable options for the lifestyle it offers.
A 7/10 safety score puts Hoi An among the more reassuring cities to walk around, day or night.
Climate scores 7/10 — genuinely pleasant weather is one of the clearer reasons people choose Hoi An.
Trade-offs
Transport is the soft spot at 3/10 — plan on a car or regular rideshares rather than relying on public transit alone.
Healthcare scores 5/10, on the lower end — worth checking specifics if ongoing medical care matters to you.
Is Hoi An safe?
At 7/10, safety in Hoi An is unremarkable in a good way: no particular risk stands out, but it's not a standout strength either.
At night
Nighttime is fine in most central areas, but it's worth checking which neighborhoods quiet down early versus stay lively and populated.
For tourists
Tourists are generally fine sticking to well-trodden areas; the usual advice about watching belongings in crowds and transit hubs applies.
For families
Safety, healthcare (5/10) and environment (6/10) together suggest a reasonable, if not exceptional, environment for families.
For solo travelers
Solo travel here is broadly fine with standard precautions; it's worth reading recent, specific traveler reports rather than relying on the city's reputation alone.
On public transport
We'd be more selective about late-night public transport here — daytime use is generally fine, but off-peak service and platforms are worth a second thought.
Practical tips
- →Stick to well-lit, populated streets after dark, as you would in most cities.
- →Keep valuables out of sight rather than out of caution about any specific threat.
What's the climate like in Hoi An?
Hoi An scores 7/10 on climate — pleasant enough for most of the year, without being a specific draw on its own.
Seasonal character
Expect a normal four-season rhythm (or a wet/dry split closer to the equator), without extremes dominating the calendar.
Comfort level
Comfort is generally good, with the odd day or short stretch that calls for planning ahead rather than year-round ease.
Best time to live here
Shoulder-season months (spring and autumn, broadly) tend to be the safest bet if you can choose when to visit or move.
Note: this reflects our single aggregate 1-10 climate score rather than month-by-month temperature, humidity or rainfall data, which we don't currently track — treat it as a general read rather than a forecast.
Quality of life in Hoi An
Put together, quality of life in Hoi An is shaped less by any single number and more by the combination: hoi an doesn't lean strongly toward any particular pace — it's neither a nightlife-driven city nor a notably sleepy one, more of a middle-ground, live-and-let-live kind of place, paired with an outdoor/environment picture that's generally favorable and transport that's worth planning around.
Pace & lifestyle
Hoi An doesn't lean strongly toward any particular pace — it's neither a nightlife-driven city nor a notably sleepy one, more of a middle-ground, live-and-let-live kind of place.
Nature & outdoors
Outdoor time is reasonably pleasant, with environment (6/10) and climate (7/10) scores that don't get in the way, without being a specific draw either.
Getting around
Transport is a genuine weak point (3/10); budgeting for a car or regular rideshares is close to a practical necessity for daily life.
Culture & leisure
Hoi An is specifically known for its cultural and historical scene — museums, architecture and a dense calendar of things to do are part of its identity, not an afterthought.
Based on its actual score profile, Hoi An tends to suit people who prioritize cost of living and safety over public transport — see "Who Hoi An suits" above for the specific profiles that fit best.
How clean is Hoi An?
Hoi An scores 6/10 on environment — decent air quality most of the year, without being a specific standout.
Public spaces
Public space quality isn't separately measured in our data; the environment score above is the closest proxy we have, and it points to an unremarkable, workable baseline.
Infrastructure maintenance
General infrastructure maintenance isn't a criterion we score independently, so treat any specific claims about road quality, public bins, or graffiti with caution unless they come from a recent, first-hand source.
The "environment" score behind all of this is CityMatch's single combined measure of air quality and general environmental conditions — 10 meaning consistently clean air, 1 meaning significant pollution. It doesn't separately break out waste management, noise, or visual upkeep, which aren't part of our current dataset.
Who Hoi An suits
Digital nomad
Digital nomads — remote workers who need fast internet and an affordable, pleasant base (fit score 6.6/10 here).
Budget-conscious mover
Budget-conscious movers — movers for whom affordability outweighs every other factor (fit score 6.5/10 here).
Freelancer
Freelancers — independent workers balancing cost of living against healthcare access (fit score 6.4/10 here).
Entrepreneur
Entrepreneurs — founders and small business owners who need reliable connectivity and a livable base without big-city costs (fit score 6.4/10 here).
In depth
Cost of living
Hoi An is genuinely affordable: at 8/10 on our cost-of-living score, day-to-day expenses — rent, groceries, going out — go noticeably further here than in most cities on this list.
Safety
Hoi An scores 7/10 on safety — generally fine, with the usual big-city precautions rather than any particular red flag.
Climate
Hoi An's climate scores 7/10 — a decent mix of seasons without extremes in either direction.
Quality of life
Hoi An scores 6.1/10 overall, but that average hides a real spread: cost of living (8/10) is genuinely strong, while public transport (3/10) pulls the picture down considerably. The average across all seven criteria is 6.1/10.
Transport
Hoi An is largely car-dependent: transport scores just 3/10, so budgeting for a vehicle or regular rideshares is close to a practical necessity.
Internet & remote work
Connectivity in Hoi An scores 7/10 — solid enough for remote work day-to-day, without being a headline reason to move here.
Why choose Hoi An?
Hoi An makes the most sense if cost of living matters more to you than public transport — at 6.1/10 overall, it's a solid rather than perfect pick, and the trade-offs above are worth weighing against your own priorities rather than the headline score alone.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Hoi An safe?
Hoi An scores 7/10 on safety — generally fine, with the usual precautions you'd take in any mid-sized city.
What budget do I need to live in Hoi An?
Hoi An scores 8/10 on affordability — one of the cheaper cities in our database. A modest budget covers a comfortable lifestyle here compared to most of the 303 cities we track.
Is Hoi An good for families?
Hoi An is a reasonable family option — safety (7/10) and healthcare (5/10) are solid enough, without being standout strengths.
Is Hoi An a good city for students?
Hoi An isn't an obvious student pick: affordability (8/10) and transport (3/10) average out lower than the cities we specifically tag for students.
Is Hoi An suitable for digital nomads?
Yes — Hoi An is one of our tagged digital-nomad destinations, with an internet score of 7/10 and a cost-of-living score of 8/10 to match.
What's the climate like in Hoi An?
Hoi An scores 7/10 on climate — a normal seasonal mix without real extremes.
Is Hoi An pleasant to live in year-round?
Largely yes — with a climate score of 7/10 and an environment (air quality) score of 6/10, Hoi An holds up well across seasons.
Is Hoi An a good choice for a first move abroad?
A first move abroad is more demanding in Hoi An: safety, healthcare, transport and environment average out to just 5.3/10, so more preparation and local research is worth doing before committing.
Is the internet good enough for remote work in Hoi An?
Hoi An scores 7/10 on internet — generally fine for remote work, without being a standout choice for it.
Is Hoi An a good place to retire?
It has real appeal for retirees: healthcare, climate and safety average out to 6.3/10 here — the three criteria that tend to matter most for that stage of life.
What are good alternatives to Hoi An?
Based on continent, tags and overall score, Kochi and Da Lat are the closest matches to Hoi An in our database — worth comparing directly if you're still deciding.
Is Hoi An worth living in?
Reasonably — Hoi An scores 6.1/10 overall, a solid if unremarkable all-round profile. Whether it's "worth it" depends more on which specific criteria matter most to you than on the average alone.
Who should move to Hoi An?
Based on its score profile, Hoi An suits people who value cost of living and safety more than the average mover — see the "Who Hoi An suits" section above for the specific profiles (families, digital nomads, students, etc.) that fit best.
Is Hoi An walkable, and is public transport good?
Not especially — Hoi An scores just 3/10 on transport, so expect to lean on a car, bike or rideshares more than public transit alone.
What's the biggest advantage of living in Hoi An?
Cost of living is Hoi An's standout strength, scoring 8/10 — the highest of its seven criteria on CityMatch.
What's the biggest downside of living in Hoi An?
Public transport is the clearest trade-off, scoring just 3/10 — the lowest of Hoi An's seven criteria, and worth weighing against its strengths.