Living in San Marino, San Marino
San Marino is a smaller coastal city in San Marino (under 250,000 people in the city proper). It has a mild climate, averaging 12°C over the year with about 860 mm of rain. We estimate a couple needs about €3,040 a month to live centrally, and San Marino sits in our low to medium tax tier. For foreigners, long-term residency in San Marino is hard to obtain, with a self-funded route from about $12k a month in income.
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- Est. cost
- €3,040
- a month for a couple
- Tax tier
- Low to medium
- personal income tax
- Climate
- 12°C
- 860 mm rain a year
- Size
- Smaller
- under 250,000 people
- Safety
- 85/100
- country-level
- Internet
- ~90 Mbps
- median fixed broadband
- Residency
- Hard to obtain
- for most foreigners
What stands out about San Marino
- Safer than 98% of the cities we compare
- Stronger healthcare than 96% of the cities we compare
- Long-term residency is hard to obtain
- On or near the sea
Safety and stability
San Marino scores 85 out of 100 on safety, safer than 98% of the cities we compare. Its EIU Democracy Index score is 8.0 out of 10.
Source: Our own country-level safety estimate (0 to 100, higher is safer), shared by every city in San Marino. Stability: EIU Democracy Index.
Healthcare
San Marino scores 80 out of 100 for healthcare, stronger than 96% of the cities we compare.
Source: Our own country-level healthcare estimate (0 to 100), shared by every city in San Marino.
Residency and visas
Hard to obtain. Long-term residency is realistic mainly for the wealthy, via an elective (investor) residence through property purchase or a locked state-bond deposit, an atypical favorable-tax residence for people with foreign-sourced income, or an atypical residence for well-off private-sector pensioners, with all routes annually quota-capped.
The cheapest self-funded routes we track for San Marino:
- Income: about $12k a month (San Marino atypical residence for pensioners (6% pension tax), EUR 120,000/yr gross (EUR 10,000/mo) plus EUR 300,000 in movable assets held in a San Marino bank per Law 64 of 28 Apr 2025; converted at EUR/USD 1.1624; as of June 2026)
- Investment: about $581k (San Marino elective residence (residenza elettiva), residential property purchase of at least EUR 500,000 (alternative: EUR 600,000 ten-year locked San Marino state-securities deposit); converted at EUR/USD 1.1624; as of June 2026)
For short visits, 93 of 198 passports can enter visa-free and 105 need a visa in advance.
Source: OurNextCity residency dataset, hand-reviewed approximations researched against published immigration rules, figures as of June 2026. Not legal advice: check the official source before you apply. Short-stay entry from the passport-index dataset (ilyankou, MIT).
Climate
San Marino averages 12°C across the year with about 860 mm of rain, which makes it mild and moderately wet. It is warmer than 18% of the 1225 cities we track, and it sits on the coast.
Source: Temperature from the Open-Meteo historical weather archive, daily means for 2019 to 2023; rainfall from TerraClimate (University of Idaho) 1991 to 2020 normals. Annual averages; monthly breakdowns are not in our dataset yet.
Cost of living
We estimate a couple needs about €3,040 a month to live centrally in San Marino, 11% above the €2,729 median across the 900 cities we compare. That makes it more affordable than 32% of them.
Source: OurNextCity model: a country-level cost index (New York = 100) scaled up for larger cities. An estimate for comparing cities, not a budget.
Language and culture
Main languages: Italian. English proficiency: limited. Social openness scores 70 out of 100.
Source: EF English Proficiency Index (country-level); social openness is our secularism and tolerance composite.
Internet and remote work
Median fixed broadband in San Marino runs at about 90 Mbps, faster than 36% of the cities we compare.
Source: Ookla Speedtest Global Index, median fixed broadband download speed, country-level.
Taxes
San Marino sits in our low to medium tax tier: moderate personal income tax. We use three tiers (zero or very low, low to medium, high) and apply them to every city in the country.
Taxes are a dealbreaker filter in OurNextCity: a couple who caps tax at zero or very low will not see San Marino in their results.
Source: OurNextCity tax tiers, assigned by hand from each country's top marginal personal income tax rate and overall tax reputation, with no fixed rate cut-offs. Country-level and coarse by design; not tax advice.
Questions couples ask about San Marino
Is San Marino a good place to live for couples?
It depends on what the two of you weigh most. Compared with the other cities we track, San Marino scores well on safety, healthcare and political stability. It is weaker on English. Expect a mild, moderately wet climate (12°C average). OurNextCity has each partner answer 12 questions privately, then ranks San Marino and 914 other cities for both of you at once.
How much does it cost a couple to live in San Marino?
We estimate about €3,040 a month for a couple living centrally, 11% above the €2,729 median across the cities we compare. It is a model estimate from a country-level cost index adjusted for city size, so use it to compare cities rather than to set a budget.
What are taxes like in San Marino?
San Marino is in our low to medium tax tier (moderate personal income tax). Tiers are country-level and deliberately coarse: zero or very low, low to medium, and high. Couples who make zero or very low tax a must-have will not see San Marino in their results.
Can foreigners live in San Marino long term?
Our assessment: hard to obtain. Long-term residency is realistic mainly for the wealthy, via an elective (investor) residence through property purchase or a locked state-bond deposit, an atypical favorable-tax residence for people with foreign-sourced income, or an atypical residence for well-off private-sector pensioners, with all routes annually quota-capped. The cheapest self-funded routes we track: income, about $12k a month (as of 2026-06); investment, about $581k (as of 2026-06).
What is the weather like in San Marino?
San Marino averages 12°C across the year with about 860 mm of rain, which makes it mild and moderately wet. It is warmer than 18% of the cities we track.
Compare San Marino with
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Near San Marino
Moving to San Marino as a couple
Entry, residency, taxes and costs for a couple who both hold one of these passports.