The number of digital nomads has grown by 50% after the COVID-19 pandemic and is still growing. Discover the statistics about digital nomads below to gain insight into their way of life.
General statistics about digital nomads
- This is evident from the latest Digital Nomad Statistics a global count of 35 million nomadswith Americans making up 17.3% of the total.
- When choosing a location, digital nomads worldwide prioritize internet speed and cost of living.
- The majority of digital nomads are into freelancing, online entrepreneurship, blogging, content creation, or other freelance work. Their average age is 32 years.
- Educationally, 90% of digital nomads are well educated, of which 35% are employed and 46% are self-employed.
- Digital nomad statistics indicate a median salary of $85,000 and an average annual salary of $120,512.
- Nearly half of digital nomads experience a drop in income compared to their corporate employment.
- Average, the cost of living for a digital nomad is $1,724 per month. Annually, 46% travel on a budget, while 54% have no budget restrictions.
- These nomads typically visit 1 to 2 countries per year (73%), with 19% exploring 3 to 4 countries and 8% venturing to more than 5 countries.
- About 45% of digital nomads prefer to work from cafes regularly.
- Of American digital nomads, 48% choose to travel abroad, while 52% stay within the country’s borders.
- A significant 40% of digital nomads often experience feelings of loneliness.
- The combined annual expenditures of digital nomads total $787 billion, according to Digital Nomad Statistics.
- Normally, these travelers move to a new country on average every six months.
- Half of digital nomads have been on the road for four years or less.
- While 66% tend to stay in one location, 80% stay 3 to 9 months.
- A remarkable 74% believe that traveling between destinations improves their work productivity.
- Only 13% of digital nomads are looking for a relationship.
Digital nomad statistics by gender and demographics
Men make up 58% of the total number of digital nomads, while women make up 42%. Others include 1% of everything.
Income
Three-quarters of digital nomads earn between $50,000 and $100,000 annually. Moreover, 2 percent of them earn more than $1 million per year. Less than $25,000 and $250,000 to $1 million (7%), $25,000 to $50,000 (17%), and $100,000 to $250,000 (33%) are the contributions from other salary ranges.
Nationality
Furthermore, a significant portion of digital nomads (48%) are nationally based in the United States of America. The two largest countries with the largest percentage of digital nomads are Great Britain and Russia. Only 1% of the contribution comes from other countries.
Top professions
The top jobs for men and women are software developers (34%), web developers (29%), and startup founders (28%), while the top jobs for women are marketers (16%), creatives (16%), and startup founders (13% ). The least common occupations for men and women are finance and blogging, at 7% and 4% respectively.
: Flexjobs ranks the 100 companies with the most remote jobs in 2024
Life costs
Monthly expenses for digital nomads vary. The primary expenses are lodging ($821), groceries ($336), and eating out ($285). However, the phone plan ($26) has the lowest cost based on the selection made.
Preferred activities
According to Digital Nomad Statistics, hiking (52%) is the most popular activity for nomadic women, followed by yoga (45%), fitness (40%) and running (29%). For men, the top three activities are: walking (49%), fitness (47%) and running (29%). Climbing and diving are the activities that men and women like least.
Age
In terms of age, the distribution of digital nomads shows that 47% of them are in the age category of 30 to 39 years. 50 to 59 years old (19%), 40 to 49 years old (16%), 20 to 29 years old (14%), 60 to 69% (3%) and 70 years and older (1%).
Countries granting visas by region
According to the Digital Nomad Statistics 2023, 18% of all visas were granted for travel to Europe. Remarkably, America came in second for the same category of cities visited, with 16% of the total. Furthermore, Asia and Africa, with 4% of visas granted, shared a similar percentage.
(Reference: statista.com)
Preferred workplaces
Digital nomads usually choose to work from hotels, cafes or apartments. Furthermore, according to Digital Nomad Statistics, 27% of workers complete their office work through Airbnb, and 19% prefer coworking spaces.
To date
Among digital nomads, 35% are looking for friendships and 32% are looking for travel companions. Meanwhile, 16% are interested in casual dating, while 13% are pursuing more serious relationships. Additionally, 5% show interest in polyamorous dating.
To assure
For digital nomads, personal security is the biggest challenge. But combining work and vacation is the second problem. Travel logistics is the topic these travelers are least concerned about.
Education level
(Reference: statista.com)
Demographics 2023’s Digital Nomad Statistics 2023 also shows that 90% of them have completed higher education, while 33% and 54% of them have a master’s degree. Only 10% of digital nomads have a high school diploma and only 3% have a PhD.
Reasons behind digital nomadism
- 73% expressed a desire for a better work-life balance.
- 68% said they enjoy the freedom of this lifestyle.
- 55% say they simply love to travel.
- 43% said they wanted to stay away from office politics.
- 37% said they wanted to learn more about different cultures.
(Source: twoticketsanywhere.com)
73% of digital nomads cited an improved work-life balance as their main motivation for adopting this lifestyle. Of them, 68% claimed it gives them freedom. While 43% of nomads chose to stay away from office politics, 55% of them did so because they enjoyed traveling. At the same time, almost 40% of nomads wanted to experience different cultures.
Popular cities visited by digital nomads
(Reference: statista.com)
With 2.4%, 1.94% and 1.65% of trips, London, Bangkok and New York were the top 3 cities that digital nomads traveled to.
