Nomad List Data Reveals Fastest Growing Digital Nomad Hubs

Cities around the world are adapting quickly to the growing digital nomad culture, a trend that isn’t going away. Some companies are restricting their work-from-home policies, but others are still encouraging workers to be able to travel and work remotely.   

Data gathered by Nomad List, a crowd-sourced tool for digital nomads, shows that there are 23 million Americans who are traveling digital workers. Another study shows a big uptick in digital nomads since 2019 with a total of 16.9 million American workers who describe themselves as digital nomads, 131% more than in 2019. 

Forbes has estimated that there are 35 million digital nomads worldwide and a New York Times report that a large number of remote workers have chosen Mexico City since 2019. 

Countries around the world are launching digital nomad visas hoping to entice remote workers. Since 2020 there have been over 30 countries that have put in place this type of visa to attract remote workers, according to Apartment Therapy.

According to Nomad List include large cities like Lisbon, London, Bangkok, Barcelona, Paris and Mexico City have been the most popular for digital nomads. 

Excluding 2020, due to COVID, there are several other fast-growing remote work hubs across the world.

Here are the top 10 cities based on their five-year growth:

1. Palermo, Italy — 5-year growth: +500%
2. Skopje, North Macedonia — 5-year growth: +417%
3. Azores, Portugal — 5-year growth: +361%
4. Yerevan, Armenia — 5-year growth: +308%
5. Mallorca, Spain — 5-year growth: +293%
6. Lima, Peru — 5-year growth: +258%
7. Sofia, Bulgaria — 5-year growth: +237%
8. Antalya, Turkey — 5-year growth: +225%
9. Naples, Italy — 5-year growth: +219%
10. Medellín, Colombia — 5-year growth: +215%

Cities that currently have a high number of remote workers that have grown over the past five years include:

1. Lima, Peru — 5-year growth: +258%
2. Sofia, Bulgaria — 5-year growth: +237%
3. Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain — 5-year growth: +221%
4. Medellin, Colombia — 5-year growth: +215%
5. Playa del Carmen, Mexico — 5-year growth: +213%
6. Lisbon, Portugal — 5-year growth: +202%
7. Tbilisi, Georgia — 5-year growth: +197%
8. Belgrade, Serbia — 5-year growth: +181%