Awe-Inspiring Digital Nomad Statistics for 2023
Digital nomads have been around for a while now. In recent years, however, their number has been increasing like never before. Digital nomad statistics show record numbers in terms of how quickly the trend has been re-gaining popularity after the COVID-19 pandemic.
The traveling restrictions have been lifted, and remote workers from all over the world—especially Americans—are back on the road. What’s new this year is that the world finally realized just how many people would love to work and travel, so the number of countries granting digital nomad visas is almost doubled from last year.
The stats below reveal everything you need to know about digital nomads, who they are, what they do for a living, where they travel, how much they earn and spend, etc. Read on to find out more.
Top 10 Digital Nomad Statistics and Facts
24% of all remote workers believe they live a nomadic lifestyle.
52% of all digital nomads in the world are from the USA.
The average digital nomad is a White man in his 30s.
The average digital nomad income is $120,507 per year.
Digital nomads spend an estimated $787 billion yearly on their travels.
8% of digital nomads have only traveled in their home country.
The average time a digital nomad spends in one city is 71 days.
The average time a digital nomad spends in one country is 254 days.
15% of digital nomads have visited the USA.
47% of American digital nomads are Millennials.
General Digital Nomads Stats
52% of all digital nomads in the world are from the USA.
While Americans account for the largest share of just over half of all digital nomads in the world, Brits are second on the list with 8%, followed by Russians, who account for 5% of the global digital nomad population. Additionally, 4% of all digital nomads are Canadians, and there are two equal 3% shares of German and French digital nomads. Australian, Brazilian, and Dutch nomads each account for 2%, and the rest of them have different nationalities.
(Statista)
The average digital nomad is a White man in his 30s.
According to the most recent digital nomad data, 58% of all digital nomads in the world are male, and 42% are female. Furthermore, 61% of them are White, while 13% are Asian, 12% are Latin, 6% are Black, 5% are Indian, 3% are Middle Eastern, and 1% are Pacific. The digital nomad stats by age show that 19.5% of these people are in their 20s, 58% and in their 30s, and 13% are in their 40s. Finally, just 10% of digital nomads have a high school education, while 54% have a Bachelor’s degree, 33% have a Master’s, and 3% have PhDs.
(Nomad List)
34% of male digital nomads are software developers.
Digital nomad statistics show that besides software devs, the most popular occupations among male digital nomads are web developers (29%) and startup founders (28%). Additionally, there are a considerable number of nomad men working in marketing (16%), SaaS (13%), and creative fields (13%). On the other hand, the largest percentage of nomad women are in marketing (17%) and creative fields (17%), though there are plenty of female startup founders (13%) as well. In addition, significant portions of nomad women are software developers (10%) and bloggers (10%).
(Nomad List)
The average digital nomad income is $120,507 per year.
However, the median annual digital nomad salary is notably lower at around $85,000. When broken down into income ranges, only 6% of the global digital nomads earn less than $25,000 per year, and 15% earn between $25,000 and $50,000. More than a third of them, or 34%, are in the $50,000 and $100,000 yearly income range, while the largest percentage of 35% earn between $100,000 and $250,000 per year. Only 8% of digital nomads make between $250,000 and $1 million per year, and the smallest share of 2% earns more than $1 million.
(Nomad List)
Digital nomads spend an estimated $787 billion yearly on their travels.
What’s more, the digital nomads market size is rapidly increasing over time. At the beginning of 2022, only 28 countries in the world granted special permits, commonly known as digital nomad visas, while their number has increased to 49 at the time of writing. Furthermore, when broken down, the $787 billion digital nomads spend every year, adds up to an average budget of $22,499 spent per person, which can be compared to the average annual income per person in Portugal ($23,200) and Saudi Arabia ($22,840).
(A Brother Abroad, Nomad Girl)
Statistics on the Digital Nomadic Lifestyle
24% of all remote workers believe they live a nomadic lifestyle.
The main motivation for people to start working remotely is the freedom and flexibility to choose where they live and work, as cited by 62% of remote workers. Additionally, 8% of them say they wanted to combine work and travel. As a result, 9% of remote workers generally work from a foreign country, while 8% split their time evenly between working from their home country and working abroad.
(Fiverr)
8% of digital nomads have only traveled in their home country.
According to the digital nomad statistics from a recent survey, not every digital nomad has had the pleasure of traveling all over the world while workationing. Besides the 8% who only visited different cities in their home country, 18% have only stayed in one or two different countries for over a month. The largest percentage, or 43% of them, have lived in three to five different countries, while 19% have lived in between six and nine. Just 11% of all digital nomads have lived in over ten different countries.
(Adventure Travel)
15% of digital nomads have visited the USA.
Digital nomad living statistics show that the USA is by far the most popular destination for global independent location workers. Spain and Thailand are tied for the second most popular country with a 5% share each, while the UK, Germany, Mexico, and France are tied for the number three spot, each of them having been visited by 4% of global digital nomads. As for cities, the largest percentage of nomads have visited London (2.44%), followed by Bangkok (1.84%), New York City (1.69%), Berlin (1.66%), and Paris (1.59%).
(Nomad List)
The average time a digital nomad spends in one city is 71 days.
However, digital nomad stats show that almost half of digital nomads, or 47%, stay in one city for less than a week, while one-third, or 33%, do so between one week and one month. Only 14% of them remain in the same city for between three and nine months, and just 7% for longer than nine months. As a result, the median time digital nomads spend in one city is one week.
(Nomad List)
The average time a digital nomad spends in one country is 254 days.
According to the stats on digital nomad life, the vast majority, or 52%, of digital nomads stay in the same country for between one week and one month. Moreover, 30% of them live in one country for between three and nine months, while 15% remain in the same country for more than nine months. Only 7% of digital nomads move between countries every seven days.
(Nomad List)
The average housing expenditure for digital nomads is $1,000 per month.
A recent study reveals that digital nomads spend about 36% of their income locally. In addition to housing, digital nomad economy stats show that their monthly average spending includes $211 on transportation and another $409 on food. As for their professional life, digital nomads work 46 hours a week on average, 36% freelance for multiple companies, while 33% own companies of their own. Furthermore, 21% of independent location workers only work for one specific company, while 5% work as consultants for a single company.
(Adventure Travel)
The cost of living and access to fast internet is the deciding factor when choosing a travel destination for 56% of digital nomads.
While the average digital nomad salary may be more than comfortable, these people are alone in foreign lands, so it is not surprising that expenses and being able to work would be the first thing on their minds. Furthermore, 15% of nomads consider their safety and check the crime rates and the environmental safety of the countries they are visiting, while 11% say access to outdoors and nature is decisive. Permits and digital nomad visas play a major role in deciding new destinations for 9% of nomads, and only 3% cite coworking culture as a determining factor.
(Statista)
US Digital Nomads Statistics
As of 2022, there are 16.9 million American digital nomads.
Historical data suggests that the number of digital nomads born in the USA has more than doubled since 2019. At the time, there were only 7.3 million Americans who identified themselves as digital nomads. By 2020, their number had increased by 49% and reached 10.9 million. One year later, the number of US digital nomads increased by another 42% and reached 15.5 million before growing by another 9% and reaching 16.9 million in 2022.
(MBO Partners)
More than one-third, or 34.3%, of US digital nomads are independent workers.
Digital nomad stats reveal that 5.8 million American digital nomads are freelancers or independent contractors, while the remaining two-thirds, or 11.1 million, are traditional employees. Moreover, 78% of them are full-time employees, while 22% work part-time. The largest percentage, or 21%, are working in the information technology sector, though there are also 12% who work in the creative services fields, 9% in sales, marketing, and PR, and plenty of other industries.
(MBO Partners)
74% of US digital nomads say they are early adopters of technology.
In comparison, only 42% of Americans who are not digital nomads agree. Being tech-savvy is a useful skill for independent location workers, and so much is confirmed by the latest US digital nomad data. Namely, 86% of digital nomads say they rely on technology to be more competitive in their work, while the percentage of non-digital nomad Americans who say the same is 47%. Moreover, 68% of digital nomads say their work requires special training and expertise, and 73% say they took part in such work-related training in the past year. The shares of non-digital nomad Americans who agree with these statements are significantly lower, at 47% and 53%.
(MBO Partners)
47% of American digital nomads are Millennials.
While almost half of all American digital nomads are Millennials, 23% are Gen Xers, 17% are Gen Zers, and 13% are Baby Boomers. Furthermore, stats suggest that US men find digital nomad life more attractive than US women, as 59% of American digital nomads are male, while 41% are female. Additionally, over half, or 56%, of digital nomads are married. As for their ethnical backgrounds, digital nomad demographics show that 76% of them are White Americans, 18% are Black Americans, 8% are Hispanic, and 4% are Asian. Finally, 59% of US digital nomads have a college, and 26% have an advanced degree.
(MBO Partners)
Only 3% of US digital nomads say they are dissatisfied with their work and lifestyle.
On the other hand, 92% say they are either satisfied or highly satisfied with their digital nomadic lifestyle. In comparison, the share of Americans who are not digital nomads and are either satisfied or highly satisfied with their work and lifestyle is notably lower at 82%. There is a similar discrepancy between the satisfaction levels of digital nomads and the rest of the Americans when it comes to salaries as well. Namely, 82% of location-independent workers report being either very satisfied or satisfied with their incomes, while the share of non-digital nomad Americans who say the same is 71%.
(MBO Partners)
Personal safety is the biggest challenge of their lifestyle, according to 34% of American digital nomads.
While most independent location workers say they are happy, the stats reveal that living as a digital nomad can also be quite challenging. A recent survey shows that 32% of US digital nomads struggle with being away from their friends and families, while 30% struggle with the constant change of time zones. Moreover, 26% admit they are feeling lonely, and another 25% say they have a hard time with travel logistics and managing their work and travel. However, most digital nomads accept these challenges, as more than two-thirds, or 69% of them, report they plan on continuing their nomadic lifestyle in the next two or three years.
(MBO Partners)
The Summary
As the stats illustrate, digital nomadism is no longer just a trend, but it is rather slowly becoming a global movement. The speed at which technological advancements are made, and the increasing popularity of remote working in the world only means that the number of digital nomads will continue to grow.
And it is a win-win situation since as long as the digital nomads market size grows, it can help grow the global economy. The fact that more and more countries permit them to stay, and even try to attract them means that the world is aware of the economic benefit that digital nomads can bring to their countries.
Digital Nomad FAQ
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