Gdańsk vs Kraków for couples

Gdańsk and Kraków are both in Poland, about 485 km apart. Every figure below comes from the data behind our city pages: an estimated monthly cost for a couple, tax tier, annual climate, safety, healthcare, internet speed, language and residency rules.

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Side by side

FactorGdańskKraków
CountryPolandPoland
SizeMid-sized: 250,000 to 1 million peopleMid-sized: 250,000 to 1 million people
SettingCoastalInland
Est. cost for a couple€2,623 a month€2,672 a month
Tax tierLow to medium taxLow to medium tax
Average temperature10°C10°C
Rainfall628 mm a year682 mm a year
Safety72 / 10072 / 100
Healthcare62 / 10062 / 100
Internet (median fixed)~140 Mbps~140 Mbps
Main languagesPolishPolish
EnglishSome EnglishSome English
Long-term residencyPossible, with conditionsPossible, with conditions
Self-funded income routeFrom $2,409 a monthFrom $2,409 a month
Visa-free short visits93 of 198 passports93 of 198 passports

Source: the datasets behind our city pages. Cost is our model estimate (a country-level cost index scaled for city size); tax tiers are assigned by hand from each country's top marginal income tax rate and overall tax reputation; temperature from the Open-Meteo archive (2019 to 2023 averages); rainfall from TerraClimate (1991 to 2020 normals); safety and healthcare are our own country-level estimates; internet from the Ookla Speedtest Global Index; English from the EF English Proficiency Index; residency from our hand-reviewed residency dataset (not legal advice); short-stay entry from the passport-index dataset.

Factor by factor

Cost of living

Close on cost: we estimate about €2,623 a month for a couple living centrally in Gdańsk and €2,672 in Kraków.

Taxes

Same country, same tax: Poland is in our low to medium tax tier.

Climate

Both average 10°C over the year. Rainfall is similar: about 628 mm a year in Gdańsk and 682 mm in Kraków.

Safety

Our safety score is country-level, so both cities get the same 72 out of 100.

Healthcare

Our healthcare score is country-level, so both cities get the same 62 out of 100.

Internet

Our broadband figure is country-level: about 140 Mbps median fixed download in both.

Language

Main languages in both: Polish. English proficiency is rated the same in both: some English.

Residency and visas

Same country, same rules: long-term residency in Poland is rated possible, with conditions, with a self-funded route from about $2,409 a month in income.

Which one fits a couple

As two cities in Poland, Gdańsk and Kraków share every country-level figure, and no factor we score puts either clearly ahead. What sets them apart: Kraków has more people in the city proper, though both are mid-sized (250,000 to 1 million people); Gdańsk is coastal and Kraków inland. They are 485 km apart.

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