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SettleMetric

CITY / CITYVerified city comparison

KošicevsKraków.

Košice is stronger on 4 of 8 headline facts; Kraków on 2. Cost of living (single, excl. rent): Košice $560/mo, Kraków $753/mo. Freelancer tax burden: Košice 27.3%, Kraków 23.6%. Climate comfort: Košice 6/12 mo, Kraków 6/12 mo.

VerifiedUpdated

14 compared criteria · 30 sources · country-level facts are clearly inherited

sk / pl · SettleMetric

01

The key differences

The key numbers head-to-head — the stronger side is marked. The overall score stays decoration; what matters is which facts fit you.

Headline result

Košice leads on 4 of 8

Košice

4

Kraków

2

01Cost of living (single, excl. rent)
Košicestronger
$560/mo

Slovak Statistics Office HBS 2024 + Eurostat national accounts

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Dec 31, 2024
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Method
Eurostat household final consumption €7,730/capita/year (2024) minus the housing/rent component (~24% housing share, rentals/imputed rent removed) → ≈€491/mo non-rent consumption ≈ $560 at 1.1399 USD/EUR. Category split from the Slovak HBS COICOP structure. Cross-checked against 2024 Slovak COICOP shares.
Kraków
$753/mo

GUS — Household Budget Survey 2024 (one-person households), CPI-uplifted

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
May 31, 2026
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Method
GUS one-person household consumer spending 2,888.89 PLN/mo (2024) minus actual-rentals line 235.10 → 2,653.79 PLN; uplifted by CPI (+3.6% 2025 avg, +3.1% y/y May 2026) → ≈2,835 PLN; converted at 3.7635 PLN/USD (ECB 2026-07-02). Cross-checked against Eurostat price-level indices (PL ≈ 72% of EU27).
02Freelancer tax burden
Košice
27.3%

SettleMetric tax engine over official 2026 rules (SZČO)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Jan 1, 2026
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Method
Best eligible scheme sk-szco-pausal at €60,000: 60% flat-rate expenses (capped €20,000) → base €40,000; social+health €13,230; income tax 15% on (€40,000 − €13,230 − €5,967 allowance) = €3,120. Net €43,649 → effective burden ≈ 27.3%. Contributions dominate the burden.
Krakówstronger
23.6%

SettleMetric tax engine over official 2026 rules (biznes.gov.pl)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Jan 1, 2026
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Method
Best eligible scheme pl-ryczalt-it-12 at €60,000 revenue = 257,400 PLN (ECB 4.29): ZUS social 21,459.48 + health 9,966.96 + Labor Fund 1,661.64 + 12% lump-sum tax 27,714.84 = 60,802.92 PLN → 23.6%. Expenses don't reduce ryczałt.
03Homicide rate
Košice
1.09/100k

Eurostat — police-recorded intentional homicide (ICCS 0101)

Open data

Data as of
Dec 31, 2024
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Notes
Completed homicides; low by global standards. UNODC latest (2023): 1.12 per 100k. No city-level series is published.
Krakówstronger
0.69/100k

Eurostat — police-recorded intentional homicide (ICCS 0101)

Open data

Data as of
Dec 31, 2024
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Notes
Completed homicides. UNODC latest (2023): 0.80 per 100k. Polish police's ~503 'zabójstwa' (2024) includes attempts.
04Climate comfort
Košice
6/12 mo

SettleMetric computation over climate-normals

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Dec 31, 2020
Verified
Aug 21, 2026
Method
Months whose normals have a mean daily maximum of 15–28°C and precipitation under 150 mm: Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep = 6. One month short of Bratislava's 7 — October's mean daily maximum is 14.8°C here against 15.6°C there, which puts it just the wrong side of the threshold.
Kraków
6/12 mo

SettleMetric computation over climate-normals

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Dec 31, 2020
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Method
Months with mean daily max 15–28°C and precipitation < 150mm: Apr (15.1°C), May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep = 6.
05Internet speed
Košicestronger
42 Mbps

M-Lab NDT country aggregates for Slovakia

Open data

Data as of
Dec 31, 2023
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Method
Median of M-Lab NDT daily country medians, 2023 (latest full year in M-Lab's public stats API).
Notes
M-Lab NDT is single-stream and reads well below Ookla-style figures — comparable only within this criterion.
Kraków
42 Mbps

M-Lab NDT country aggregates for Poland

Open data

Data as of
Dec 31, 2023
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Method
Median of 343 daily country medians, 563,348 tests (2023 — latest full year in M-Lab's public stats API; 2025/2026 files not yet published).
Notes
M-Lab NDT is single-stream and reads well below Ookla-style figures — comparable only within this criterion.
06English proficiency
Košice
Very high

EF EPI 2025 (score 606, rank 10/123 — Very High band)

Research

Data as of
Nov 1, 2025
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Notes
Own band informed by EF EPI (attribution: EF Education First). Slovakia's best-ever result; English is broadly workable in cities and the service sector.
Kraków
Very high

EF EPI 2025 (rank 15/123, score 600 — Very High band)

Research

Data as of
Nov 1, 2025
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Notes
Own band informed by EF EPI (attribution: EF Education First); English is broadly workable in cities and the service sector, less so in offices/government.
07Private healthcare cost
Košicestronger
$1,500/yr

Union SAFETY / UNIQA / Wüstenrot commercial health plans — market midpoint; insurers quote on request

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Jul 3, 2026
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Method
Commercial/expat comprehensive health insurance (Union SAFETY, UNIQA, Wüstenrot) runs ≈€80–200/month depending on age and coverage. Healthy-35-year-old lower-mid ≈ €110/mo ≈ $1,500/yr (range ≈ $1,095–$2,740). Premiums are quoted on request, so this is a curated market midpoint, not a public engine quote.
Notes
Residents are covered by mandatory public health insurance; commercial comprehensive cover (Union SAFETY etc.) is mainly bought by foreigners not yet in the public system. Slovakia lacks a large outpatient-subscription market like Poland's, so other private care is pay-per-visit. Put on the same comprehensive basis as Poland for comparability.
Kraków
$1,600/yr

LuxMed / Medicover / Signal Iduna comprehensive (with-inpatient) plans — market midpoint; insurers quote on request

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Jul 3, 2026
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Method
Comprehensive private plans that include inpatient/hospital cover — top-tier LuxMed/Medicover subscriptions (own or partner hospitals) and standalone health insurance (Signal Iduna, Allianz Zdrowie, PZU) — run ≈400–700 PLN/month. Healthy-35-year-old midpoint ≈ 500 PLN/mo ≈ 6,000 PLN/yr ≈ $1,595 at 3.7635 PLN/USD (range ≈ $1,275–$2,230). Premiums are quoted on request, so this is a curated market midpoint, not a public engine quote.
Notes
Residents are covered by mandatory public insurance (NFZ); private cover is optional. Most people buy only a cheaper OUTPATIENT subscription (LuxMed/Medicover ≈150–250 PLN/mo ≈ $600/yr) and use the public system for hospital care. This figure is the with-inpatient comprehensive tier, chosen to be comparable with other countries' comprehensive plans (the earlier $603 was an outpatient-only subscription mislabelled as comprehensive).
08Air quality (PM2.5)
Košicestronger
16.2 µg/m³

EEA Air Quality e-Reporting — Annual AQ statistics (AirBase and e-Reporting merged), station Košice – Amurská (SK0264A)

Open data

Data as of
Dec 31, 2024
Verified
Aug 21, 2026
Method
Annual mean for 2024 at Košice's only urban-background station, Amurská (SK0264A), 99.4% data coverage, from validated E1a e-Reporting. Urban background is the basis the EEA's own city air quality viewer uses, and the basis the Bratislava entry here cites.
Notes
The city's traffic station, Štefánikova (SK0267A), reads 15.65, so the two-station mean is 15.91 — which is exactly the figure the WHO Ambient Air Quality Database v8.0 publishes for Košice in 2024, confirming the two sources are the same measurements. The industrial station at Veľká Ida (20.45) sits outside the city next to the steel works and is excluded. Košice is around 3.2× the WHO 2021 guideline of 5 µg/m³ and above the EU limit of 10 that applies from 2030, though well inside the current limit of 25. Only three Slovak regional capitals have an urban-background station at all, and Košice's is the highest of the three: roughly a third above Bratislava's 11.9–12.4 and above Žilina's 15.5.
Kraków
19.5 µg/m³

EEA European city air quality viewer

Open data

Data as of
Dec 31, 2023
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Method
EEA urban-background city value, 2-year average (2022–2023). Corroborated by GIOŚ 2024 single-year annual mean at the Bujaka urban-background station (17 µg/m³).
Notes
Nearly 4× the WHO 2021 guideline (5 µg/m³); within the current EU limit (25) but above the 2030 EU limit (10). Kraków's winter smog is a well-known problem — heating-season readings run far higher than the annual mean.

02

Which city fits your plan?

Each lens weighs only the facts that matter to that plan, and names the side it favours.

Remote IT / freelancer

Contract or freelance in tech, billing clients abroad.

A close call for this plan

01Freelancer tax burden
Košice
27.3%

SettleMetric tax engine over official 2026 rules (SZČO)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Jan 1, 2026
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Method
Best eligible scheme sk-szco-pausal at €60,000: 60% flat-rate expenses (capped €20,000) → base €40,000; social+health €13,230; income tax 15% on (€40,000 − €13,230 − €5,967 allowance) = €3,120. Net €43,649 → effective burden ≈ 27.3%. Contributions dominate the burden.
Krakówstronger
23.6%

SettleMetric tax engine over official 2026 rules (biznes.gov.pl)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Jan 1, 2026
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Method
Best eligible scheme pl-ryczalt-it-12 at €60,000 revenue = 257,400 PLN (ECB 4.29): ZUS social 21,459.48 + health 9,966.96 + Labor Fund 1,661.64 + 12% lump-sum tax 27,714.84 = 60,802.92 PLN → 23.6%. Expenses don't reduce ryczałt.
02Internet speed
Košicestronger
42 Mbps

M-Lab NDT country aggregates for Slovakia

Open data

Data as of
Dec 31, 2023
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Method
Median of M-Lab NDT daily country medians, 2023 (latest full year in M-Lab's public stats API).
Notes
M-Lab NDT is single-stream and reads well below Ookla-style figures — comparable only within this criterion.
Kraków
42 Mbps

M-Lab NDT country aggregates for Poland

Open data

Data as of
Dec 31, 2023
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Method
Median of 343 daily country medians, 563,348 tests (2023 — latest full year in M-Lab's public stats API; 2025/2026 files not yet published).
Notes
M-Lab NDT is single-stream and reads well below Ookla-style figures — comparable only within this criterion.
03English proficiency
Košice
Very high

EF EPI 2025 (score 606, rank 10/123 — Very High band)

Research

Data as of
Nov 1, 2025
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Notes
Own band informed by EF EPI (attribution: EF Education First). Slovakia's best-ever result; English is broadly workable in cities and the service sector.
Kraków
Very high

EF EPI 2025 (rank 15/123, score 600 — Very High band)

Research

Data as of
Nov 1, 2025
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Notes
Own band informed by EF EPI (attribution: EF Education First); English is broadly workable in cities and the service sector, less so in offices/government.
04Cost of living (single, excl. rent)
Košicestronger
$560/mo

Slovak Statistics Office HBS 2024 + Eurostat national accounts

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Dec 31, 2024
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Method
Eurostat household final consumption €7,730/capita/year (2024) minus the housing/rent component (~24% housing share, rentals/imputed rent removed) → ≈€491/mo non-rent consumption ≈ $560 at 1.1399 USD/EUR. Category split from the Slovak HBS COICOP structure. Cross-checked against 2024 Slovak COICOP shares.
Kraków
$753/mo

GUS — Household Budget Survey 2024 (one-person households), CPI-uplifted

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
May 31, 2026
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Method
GUS one-person household consumer spending 2,888.89 PLN/mo (2024) minus actual-rentals line 235.10 → 2,653.79 PLN; uplifted by CPI (+3.6% 2025 avg, +3.1% y/y May 2026) → ≈2,835 PLN; converted at 3.7635 PLN/USD (ECB 2026-07-02). Cross-checked against Eurostat price-level indices (PL ≈ 72% of EU27).
05Domestic delivery quality
Košice
Good

Packeta / Slovenská pošta / carrier pages (composite)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Jul 3, 2026
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Method
Packeta Z-BOX (~2,200 lockers + ~1,200 pickup points, expanding), Slovenská pošta (~1,550 offices), GLS/DPD/SPS/DHL nationwide; typical 1–2 day domestic delivery, next-day common in cities. Dense but the locker network is smaller than Poland's InPost → good, not excellent.
Krakówstronger
Excellent

InPost official news / carrier service pages (composite)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Dec 31, 2025
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Method
InPost >28,000 parcel lockers (end-2025) with 98% next-day delivery and 763M parcels/yr; ORLEN Paczka ~14k pickup points; Poczta Polska 7.6k offices + 14.3k parcel points; DPD/DHL/GLS/UPS/FedEx nationwide. Next-day is the domestic norm.

Family

Relocating with a partner and school-age children.

A close call for this plan

01International schools
Košice
2

Register škôl a školských zariadení SR (Ministry of Education) + each school's awarding body

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Aug 21, 2026
Verified
Aug 21, 2026
Method
Both schools are in the ministry's register and both teach a foreign curriculum in English: (1) Košice International School (KEIS), Poľná 1, Košice-Košická Nová Ves, register id 710293100 — an IB World School authorised for the Primary Years and Middle Years Programmes, and authorised for the Diploma Programme in June 2026, ages 3–17; (2) Splash International, Starozagorská 8, Košice-Sídlisko KVP, register ids 710279213 (primary) and 710267665 (kindergarten) — Pearson Edexcel iPrimary and iLowerSecondary, the English National Curriculum, ages 2–15.
Notes
The register was searched for every school in Košice whose name contains 'International'; these two are the only ones, plus their own kitchens and after-school clubs, which are organisational units rather than separate schools and are not counted. KEIS's IB authorisations could not be read at the accreditor: ibo.org refuses automated requests (HTTP 403) and the Internet Archive holds no snapshot of its page for school code 061988, so the programmes are taken from the school's own statements — its curriculum page still describes the Diploma Programme as a candidacy, while its June 2026 announcement says the authorisation was granted. Splash International is a primary school: it takes children to 15, not to a school-leaving exam.
Krakówstronger
7

IB World Schools directory (find-an-ib-school)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Jul 3, 2026
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Method
IB finder results for country=PL, keyword 'Krakow': British International School of Cracow, International School of Krakow, Open Future, Kolegium Europejskie, VI LO, VIII PALO, Da Vinci's.
Notes
±1 uncertainty; CIS/COBIS-only schools not yet counted.
02Homicide rate
Košice
1.09/100k

Eurostat — police-recorded intentional homicide (ICCS 0101)

Open data

Data as of
Dec 31, 2024
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Notes
Completed homicides; low by global standards. UNODC latest (2023): 1.12 per 100k. No city-level series is published.
Krakówstronger
0.69/100k

Eurostat — police-recorded intentional homicide (ICCS 0101)

Open data

Data as of
Dec 31, 2024
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Notes
Completed homicides. UNODC latest (2023): 0.80 per 100k. Polish police's ~503 'zabójstwa' (2024) includes attempts.
03Private healthcare cost
Košicestronger
$1,500/yr

Union SAFETY / UNIQA / Wüstenrot commercial health plans — market midpoint; insurers quote on request

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Jul 3, 2026
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Method
Commercial/expat comprehensive health insurance (Union SAFETY, UNIQA, Wüstenrot) runs ≈€80–200/month depending on age and coverage. Healthy-35-year-old lower-mid ≈ €110/mo ≈ $1,500/yr (range ≈ $1,095–$2,740). Premiums are quoted on request, so this is a curated market midpoint, not a public engine quote.
Notes
Residents are covered by mandatory public health insurance; commercial comprehensive cover (Union SAFETY etc.) is mainly bought by foreigners not yet in the public system. Slovakia lacks a large outpatient-subscription market like Poland's, so other private care is pay-per-visit. Put on the same comprehensive basis as Poland for comparability.
Kraków
$1,600/yr

LuxMed / Medicover / Signal Iduna comprehensive (with-inpatient) plans — market midpoint; insurers quote on request

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Jul 3, 2026
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Method
Comprehensive private plans that include inpatient/hospital cover — top-tier LuxMed/Medicover subscriptions (own or partner hospitals) and standalone health insurance (Signal Iduna, Allianz Zdrowie, PZU) — run ≈400–700 PLN/month. Healthy-35-year-old midpoint ≈ 500 PLN/mo ≈ 6,000 PLN/yr ≈ $1,595 at 3.7635 PLN/USD (range ≈ $1,275–$2,230). Premiums are quoted on request, so this is a curated market midpoint, not a public engine quote.
Notes
Residents are covered by mandatory public insurance (NFZ); private cover is optional. Most people buy only a cheaper OUTPATIENT subscription (LuxMed/Medicover ≈150–250 PLN/mo ≈ $600/yr) and use the public system for hospital care. This figure is the with-inpatient comprehensive tier, chosen to be comparable with other countries' comprehensive plans (the earlier $603 was an outpatient-only subscription mislabelled as comprehensive).
04Air quality (PM2.5)
Košicestronger
16.2 µg/m³

EEA Air Quality e-Reporting — Annual AQ statistics (AirBase and e-Reporting merged), station Košice – Amurská (SK0264A)

Open data

Data as of
Dec 31, 2024
Verified
Aug 21, 2026
Method
Annual mean for 2024 at Košice's only urban-background station, Amurská (SK0264A), 99.4% data coverage, from validated E1a e-Reporting. Urban background is the basis the EEA's own city air quality viewer uses, and the basis the Bratislava entry here cites.
Notes
The city's traffic station, Štefánikova (SK0267A), reads 15.65, so the two-station mean is 15.91 — which is exactly the figure the WHO Ambient Air Quality Database v8.0 publishes for Košice in 2024, confirming the two sources are the same measurements. The industrial station at Veľká Ida (20.45) sits outside the city next to the steel works and is excluded. Košice is around 3.2× the WHO 2021 guideline of 5 µg/m³ and above the EU limit of 10 that applies from 2030, though well inside the current limit of 25. Only three Slovak regional capitals have an urban-background station at all, and Košice's is the highest of the three: roughly a third above Bratislava's 11.9–12.4 and above Žilina's 15.5.
Kraków
19.5 µg/m³

EEA European city air quality viewer

Open data

Data as of
Dec 31, 2023
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Method
EEA urban-background city value, 2-year average (2022–2023). Corroborated by GIOŚ 2024 single-year annual mean at the Bujaka urban-background station (17 µg/m³).
Notes
Nearly 4× the WHO 2021 guideline (5 µg/m³); within the current EU limit (25) but above the 2030 EU limit (10). Kraków's winter smog is a well-known problem — heating-season readings run far higher than the annual mean.
05English proficiency
Košice
Very high

EF EPI 2025 (score 606, rank 10/123 — Very High band)

Research

Data as of
Nov 1, 2025
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Notes
Own band informed by EF EPI (attribution: EF Education First). Slovakia's best-ever result; English is broadly workable in cities and the service sector.
Kraków
Very high

EF EPI 2025 (rank 15/123, score 600 — Very High band)

Research

Data as of
Nov 1, 2025
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Notes
Own band informed by EF EPI (attribution: EF Education First); English is broadly workable in cities and the service sector, less so in offices/government.

Money & crypto

Optimising tax, banking and crypto rules.

A close call for this plan

01Crypto regulation
Košicestronger
Legal friendly

Financial Administration SR — income from sale of virtual currency (non-business)

Official source

Data as of
Jan 1, 2024
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Notes
Since 2024, crypto held over one year is taxed at a favourable flat 7% (vs 19/25% if held under a year), with a €2,400/year exemption for crypto used to pay for goods/services, no health-insurance levy on non-business crypto gains, and crypto-to-crypto swaps not taxable. EU MiCA applies; the NBS licenses providers. More favourable than most EU peers, hence legal-friendly.
Kraków
Legal regulated

Polish tax authority — disposal of virtual currencies (PIT-38, 19%)

Official source

Data as of
Jul 1, 2026
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Notes
Holding/trading legal for individuals; 19% flat tax on disposal gains (crypto-to-crypto swaps untaxed). EU MiCA applies; Poland's domestic implementing act was vetoed (latest 2026-06-11), so local CASP licensing is stalled — EU-passported providers serve the market.
02Financial control level
Košice
Low

Ministry of Finance SR — restrictions on cash payments

Official source

Data as of
May 1, 2026
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Method
Eurozone/EU single market: no capital controls, EUR fully convertible; cash-payment limits €15,000 between individuals / €5,000 when a business is party; standard EU CRS, no FBAR-style foreign-account disclosure; easy resident and non-resident banking.
Notes
From 2026-05-01, eKasa sellers must offer at least one cashless option for payments over €1 (does not ban cash).
Kraków
Low

biznes.gov.pl — cash payment limits (art. 19 Prawo przedsiębiorców)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
May 3, 2026
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Method
Composite: no currency/capital controls for EU/OECD flows (Prawo dewizowe, Dz.U. 2024 poz. 1131); PLN fully convertible; B2B cash cap 15,000 PLN per transaction, no consumer cash limit; no FBAR-style foreign-account disclosure (NBP statistical reporting only above 7M PLN of foreign assets); standard EU CRS via banks.
03Freelancer tax burden
Košice
27.3%

SettleMetric tax engine over official 2026 rules (SZČO)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Jan 1, 2026
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Method
Best eligible scheme sk-szco-pausal at €60,000: 60% flat-rate expenses (capped €20,000) → base €40,000; social+health €13,230; income tax 15% on (€40,000 − €13,230 − €5,967 allowance) = €3,120. Net €43,649 → effective burden ≈ 27.3%. Contributions dominate the burden.
Krakówstronger
23.6%

SettleMetric tax engine over official 2026 rules (biznes.gov.pl)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Jan 1, 2026
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Method
Best eligible scheme pl-ryczalt-it-12 at €60,000 revenue = 257,400 PLN (ECB 4.29): ZUS social 21,459.48 + health 9,966.96 + Labor Fund 1,661.64 + 12% lump-sum tax 27,714.84 = 60,802.92 PLN → 23.6%. Expenses don't reduce ryczałt.

Calm lifestyle

Prioritising safety, air, and an easy daily life.

Košice fits better — 2 of 4

01Homicide rate
Košice
1.09/100k

Eurostat — police-recorded intentional homicide (ICCS 0101)

Open data

Data as of
Dec 31, 2024
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Notes
Completed homicides; low by global standards. UNODC latest (2023): 1.12 per 100k. No city-level series is published.
Krakówstronger
0.69/100k

Eurostat — police-recorded intentional homicide (ICCS 0101)

Open data

Data as of
Dec 31, 2024
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Notes
Completed homicides. UNODC latest (2023): 0.80 per 100k. Polish police's ~503 'zabójstwa' (2024) includes attempts.
02Air quality (PM2.5)
Košicestronger
16.2 µg/m³

EEA Air Quality e-Reporting — Annual AQ statistics (AirBase and e-Reporting merged), station Košice – Amurská (SK0264A)

Open data

Data as of
Dec 31, 2024
Verified
Aug 21, 2026
Method
Annual mean for 2024 at Košice's only urban-background station, Amurská (SK0264A), 99.4% data coverage, from validated E1a e-Reporting. Urban background is the basis the EEA's own city air quality viewer uses, and the basis the Bratislava entry here cites.
Notes
The city's traffic station, Štefánikova (SK0267A), reads 15.65, so the two-station mean is 15.91 — which is exactly the figure the WHO Ambient Air Quality Database v8.0 publishes for Košice in 2024, confirming the two sources are the same measurements. The industrial station at Veľká Ida (20.45) sits outside the city next to the steel works and is excluded. Košice is around 3.2× the WHO 2021 guideline of 5 µg/m³ and above the EU limit of 10 that applies from 2030, though well inside the current limit of 25. Only three Slovak regional capitals have an urban-background station at all, and Košice's is the highest of the three: roughly a third above Bratislava's 11.9–12.4 and above Žilina's 15.5.
Kraków
19.5 µg/m³

EEA European city air quality viewer

Open data

Data as of
Dec 31, 2023
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Method
EEA urban-background city value, 2-year average (2022–2023). Corroborated by GIOŚ 2024 single-year annual mean at the Bujaka urban-background station (17 µg/m³).
Notes
Nearly 4× the WHO 2021 guideline (5 µg/m³); within the current EU limit (25) but above the 2030 EU limit (10). Kraków's winter smog is a well-known problem — heating-season readings run far higher than the annual mean.
03Cost of living (single, excl. rent)
Košicestronger
$560/mo

Slovak Statistics Office HBS 2024 + Eurostat national accounts

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Dec 31, 2024
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Method
Eurostat household final consumption €7,730/capita/year (2024) minus the housing/rent component (~24% housing share, rentals/imputed rent removed) → ≈€491/mo non-rent consumption ≈ $560 at 1.1399 USD/EUR. Category split from the Slovak HBS COICOP structure. Cross-checked against 2024 Slovak COICOP shares.
Kraków
$753/mo

GUS — Household Budget Survey 2024 (one-person households), CPI-uplifted

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
May 31, 2026
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Method
GUS one-person household consumer spending 2,888.89 PLN/mo (2024) minus actual-rentals line 235.10 → 2,653.79 PLN; uplifted by CPI (+3.6% 2025 avg, +3.1% y/y May 2026) → ≈2,835 PLN; converted at 3.7635 PLN/USD (ECB 2026-07-02). Cross-checked against Eurostat price-level indices (PL ≈ 72% of EU27).
04Climate comfort
Košice
6/12 mo

SettleMetric computation over climate-normals

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Dec 31, 2020
Verified
Aug 21, 2026
Method
Months whose normals have a mean daily maximum of 15–28°C and precipitation under 150 mm: Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep = 6. One month short of Bratislava's 7 — October's mean daily maximum is 14.8°C here against 15.6°C there, which puts it just the wrong side of the threshold.
Kraków
6/12 mo

SettleMetric computation over climate-normals

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Dec 31, 2020
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Method
Months with mean daily max 15–28°C and precipitation < 150mm: Apr (15.1°C), May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep = 6.

03

The full comparison

Open any fact to see what it measures, how fresh it is and the complete source trail for both cities.

01

Taxes

1 verified fact
01+Freelancer tax burden% effective burden at €60k/year self-employed profileKošice27.3Krakówstronger23.6

What this measures

Effective total burden (income tax + mandatory social and health contributions) for a solo IT freelancer with €60,000/year revenue and 10% deductible expenses, using the most favourable eligible scheme in the country's tax-schemes data. Computed by the SettleMetric tax engine; recorded as a curated value with the winning scheme id in method.

Lower is better· % effective burden at €60k/year self-employed profile· re-verified every 365 days

Košice

SettleMetric tax engine over official 2026 rules (SZČO)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Jan 1, 2026
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Method
Best eligible scheme sk-szco-pausal at €60,000: 60% flat-rate expenses (capped €20,000) → base €40,000; social+health €13,230; income tax 15% on (€40,000 − €13,230 − €5,967 allowance) = €3,120. Net €43,649 → effective burden ≈ 27.3%. Contributions dominate the burden.

Kraków

SettleMetric tax engine over official 2026 rules (biznes.gov.pl)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Jan 1, 2026
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Method
Best eligible scheme pl-ryczalt-it-12 at €60,000 revenue = 257,400 PLN (ECB 4.29): ZUS social 21,459.48 + health 9,966.96 + Labor Fund 1,661.64 + 12% lump-sum tax 27,714.84 = 60,802.92 PLN → 23.6%. Expenses don't reduce ryczałt.

02

Legalization

1 verified fact
01+Remote-work legalization easeKošiceLong stay pathKrakówLong stay path

What this measures

Best available legalization route for a location-independent earner with a median (non-EU, non-US) passport, classified from this country's legalization-paths data: dedicated digital-nomad visa; general freelance/self-employment permit; realistic long-stay path (e.g. renewable temporary residence); only short visa-free/tourist stays; effectively none.

Rated by category· re-verified every 180 days

Košice

Migration Information Centre — temporary residence for business

Official source

Data as of
Jul 3, 2026
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Notes
EU/EEA/Swiss citizens have full free movement and can freelance immediately. Non-EU citizens have no digital nomad visa and no freelance visa — the route is a trade licence plus temporary residence for business (renewable, up to 3 years). Scored on the median non-EU experience.

Kraków

Wielkopolska Voivodeship Office — business-activity residence permit

Official source

Data as of
Jul 3, 2026
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Notes
No digital nomad visa (verified absent on gov.pl); Poland Business Harbour suspended since Jan 2024. Realistic long-stay route: temporary residence via business activity (renewable, up to 3 years) — but sole-proprietorship registration is limited to specific statuses, so most non-EU/non-US freelancers route through a company.

03

Cost of living

1 verified fact
01+Cost of living (single, excl. rent)USD/month, single person, excluding rentKošicestronger560Kraków753

What this measures

Monthly cost of a defined single-person basket (food, transport, utilities, mobile+internet, modest leisure) excluding rent, curated from national statistics office price data and large local retailers' published prices, converted to USD at the ECB rate recorded in fx-rates. The method field of each value itemizes the basket inputs.

Lower is better· USD/month, single person, excluding rent· re-verified every 365 days

Košice

Slovak Statistics Office HBS 2024 + Eurostat national accounts

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Dec 31, 2024
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Method
Eurostat household final consumption €7,730/capita/year (2024) minus the housing/rent component (~24% housing share, rentals/imputed rent removed) → ≈€491/mo non-rent consumption ≈ $560 at 1.1399 USD/EUR. Category split from the Slovak HBS COICOP structure. Cross-checked against 2024 Slovak COICOP shares.

Kraków

GUS — Household Budget Survey 2024 (one-person households), CPI-uplifted

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
May 31, 2026
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Method
GUS one-person household consumer spending 2,888.89 PLN/mo (2024) minus actual-rentals line 235.10 → 2,653.79 PLN; uplifted by CPI (+3.6% 2025 avg, +3.1% y/y May 2026) → ≈2,835 PLN; converted at 3.7635 PLN/USD (ECB 2026-07-02). Cross-checked against Eurostat price-level indices (PL ≈ 72% of EU27).

Monthly spending by category (excl. rent)

Košice

Slovak HBS COICOP structure (Eurostat hbs_str_t223) scaled to the non-rent aggregate

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Dec 31, 2024
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Method
Slovak Household Budget Survey COICOP category shares applied to the ≈€491/mo non-rent base and converted at 1.1399 USD/EUR. Categories sum to the aggregate. National average — Bratislava runs somewhat higher.
Kraków

GUS Household Budget Survey 2024 (one-person households), CPI-uplifted

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
May 31, 2026
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Method
GUS 2024 one-person household spending by COICOP category, minus the actual-rentals line, CPI-uplifted to mid-2026 (×1.068) and converted at 3.7635 PLN/USD. Categories sum to the ~$753/mo cost-of-living aggregate. National average — city living runs somewhat higher.
01Food & non-alcoholic drinks
Košicecheaper
$147
Kraków
$205
02Utilities (electricity, gas, water)
Košice
Kraków
$147
03Transport
Košicecheaper
$50
Kraków
$59
04Recreation & culture
Košicecheaper
$46
Kraków
$55
05Utilities (electricity, gas, water, heating)
Košice
$89
Kraków
06Health (out-of-pocket)
Košicecheaper
$34
Kraków
$55
07Other (alcohol, tobacco, misc.)
Košice
Kraków
$77
08Household goods
Košicecheaper
$30
Kraków
$38
09Restaurants & eating out
Košice
Kraków
$59
10Clothing & footwear
Košice
$31
Krakówcheaper
$26
11Communications
Košicecheaper
$23
Kraków
$32
12Miscellaneous
Košice
$46
Kraków
13Restaurants & hotels
Košice
$38
Kraków
14Alcohol & tobacco
Košice
$27
Kraków
Total (excl. rent)
Košice$561/mo
Kraków$753/mo

04

Housing

0 verified facts

Rent by apartment type

Asking rent, central price with outside-centre in parentheses ($/mo).

Košice

Deloitte Rent Index Q1 2026 (Košice) + nehnutelnosti.sk listing census

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Mar 31, 2026
Verified
Aug 21, 2026
Method
Level from Deloitte's published Košice index (€736/apartment/month, all sizes, energy deposits excluded, Q1 2026); shape from a census of every Košice rental listing on nehnutelnosti.sk taken 2026-08-21 — all 4 room types, all pages, 330 listings, minus 4 bad records (two sale prices in the rental feed, two priced at zero) = 326. Centre is the mestská časť Staré Mesto, outside is the rest of the city by listing id. Cell = median asking rent × 0.8519, the factor that makes the offer-weighted mean of the cells equal Deloitte's €736; converted at 1.1534 USD/EUR (ECB, 2026-08-13). Slovak room counts mapped as in the Bratislava entry: 1-izbový = studio, 2-izbový = 1BR, 3-izbový = 2BR, 4-izbový = 3BR.
Notes
Listings per cell: studio 18 centre / 51 outside, 1BR 52 / 97, 2BR 35 / 55, 3BR 7 / 11. Two cells are deliberately equal. Studios cost the same in Staré Mesto as outside it — student demand is city-wide — and with only 18 four-room rentals on the whole market the centre/outside difference is not resolvable, so both 3BR cells carry the city-wide median. The Deloitte anchor matters: the raw listing snapshot averages €888, about 21% above Deloitte's quarter-long €736, because a one-day snapshot over-represents slow-moving stock, August is the peak of the student letting season, and a third of listings quote a price with utilities folded in while Deloitte strips them out.
Kraków

ZnajdzNajem Kraków report (by room + district), Otodom Analytics cross-check

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Jul 3, 2026
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Method
City-wide asking rent by room count (ZnajdzNajem, 2026-07-03: studio 2,206, 1-2rm 2,883, 3rm 3,778, 4rm 5,125 PLN) split into central vs outside using ZnajdzNajem district multipliers (central Stare Miasto/Kazimierz/Zwierzyniec ×1.216; outside Nowa Huta/Prądnik Biały ×0.860), converted at 3.7635 PLN/USD. Cross-checked against Otodom Analytics by-size brackets (May 2026).
Notes
Central/outside cells are DERIVED (city room-average × district multiplier). City-wide-by-room and district averages are directly observed. Central = Stare Miasto and adjacent districts; outside = Nowa Huta, Prądnik Biały, etc.
01Studio
Košicecheaper
$639$639 outside
Kraków
$712$505 outside
021-bedroom
Košicecheaper
$835$737 outside
Kraków
$930$659 outside
032-bedroom
Košicecheaper
$1,179$973 outside
Kraków
$1,220$864 outside
043-bedroom
Košicecheaper
$1,277$1,277 outside
Kraków
$1,655$1,172 outside

05

Safety

1 verified fact
01+Homicide rateintentional homicides per 100,000/yearKošice1.1Krakówstronger0.7

What this measures

Intentional homicide victims per 100,000 population, latest available year. Country level: UNODC national series. City level: official municipal/police statistics where published; otherwise null (country value shown as country-level).

Lower is better· intentional homicides per 100,000/year· re-verified every 730 days

Košice

Eurostat — police-recorded intentional homicide (ICCS 0101)

Open data

Data as of
Dec 31, 2024
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Notes
Completed homicides; low by global standards. UNODC latest (2023): 1.12 per 100k. No city-level series is published.

Kraków

Eurostat — police-recorded intentional homicide (ICCS 0101)

Open data

Data as of
Dec 31, 2024
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Notes
Completed homicides. UNODC latest (2023): 0.80 per 100k. Polish police's ~503 'zabójstwa' (2024) includes attempts.

06

Climate

2 verified facts
01+Climate comfortpleasant months/yearKošice6Kraków6

What this measures

Number of months whose 1991–2020 climate normals satisfy: mean daily maximum between 15°C and 28°C and monthly precipitation under 150mm. Computed from the city's climate-normals indicator; the raw normals are stored alongside so users can judge by their own taste.

Higher is better· pleasant months/year· re-verified every 3650 days

Košice

SettleMetric computation over climate-normals

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Dec 31, 2020
Verified
Aug 21, 2026
Method
Months whose normals have a mean daily maximum of 15–28°C and precipitation under 150 mm: Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep = 6. One month short of Bratislava's 7 — October's mean daily maximum is 14.8°C here against 15.6°C there, which puts it just the wrong side of the threshold.

Kraków

SettleMetric computation over climate-normals

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Dec 31, 2020
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Method
Months with mean daily max 15–28°C and precipitation < 150mm: Apr (15.1°C), May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep = 6.
02+Air quality (PM2.5)µg/m³, annual mean PM2.5Košicestronger16.2Kraków19.5

What this measures

Annual mean fine-particulate (PM2.5) concentration for the city, latest available year. Anchors follow the WHO 2021 guideline (5 µg/m³ → 10) through the EU limit value territory (25 µg/m³ → 2). Preferred source: European Environment Agency city-level air quality data; outside Europe: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database or the national monitoring network.

Lower is better· µg/m³, annual mean PM2.5· re-verified every 730 days

Košice

EEA Air Quality e-Reporting — Annual AQ statistics (AirBase and e-Reporting merged), station Košice – Amurská (SK0264A)

Open data

Data as of
Dec 31, 2024
Verified
Aug 21, 2026
Method
Annual mean for 2024 at Košice's only urban-background station, Amurská (SK0264A), 99.4% data coverage, from validated E1a e-Reporting. Urban background is the basis the EEA's own city air quality viewer uses, and the basis the Bratislava entry here cites.
Notes
The city's traffic station, Štefánikova (SK0267A), reads 15.65, so the two-station mean is 15.91 — which is exactly the figure the WHO Ambient Air Quality Database v8.0 publishes for Košice in 2024, confirming the two sources are the same measurements. The industrial station at Veľká Ida (20.45) sits outside the city next to the steel works and is excluded. Košice is around 3.2× the WHO 2021 guideline of 5 µg/m³ and above the EU limit of 10 that applies from 2030, though well inside the current limit of 25. Only three Slovak regional capitals have an urban-background station at all, and Košice's is the highest of the three: roughly a third above Bratislava's 11.9–12.4 and above Žilina's 15.5.

Kraków

EEA European city air quality viewer

Open data

Data as of
Dec 31, 2023
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Method
EEA urban-background city value, 2-year average (2022–2023). Corroborated by GIOŚ 2024 single-year annual mean at the Bujaka urban-background station (17 µg/m³).
Notes
Nearly 4× the WHO 2021 guideline (5 µg/m³); within the current EU limit (25) but above the 2030 EU limit (10). Kraków's winter smog is a well-known problem — heating-season readings run far higher than the annual mean.

07

Healthcare

1 verified fact
01+Private healthcare costUSD/year, comprehensive private insurance premium, healthy 35-year-oldKošicestronger1,500Kraków1,600

What this measures

Median of at least three publicly quoted annual premiums for comprehensive private medical insurance (outpatient + inpatient, ~$100k coverage, small deductible) for a healthy 35-year-old resident foreigner, from local and international insurers. Method field lists the insurers quoted.

Lower is better· USD/year, comprehensive private insurance premium, healthy 35-year-old· re-verified every 365 days

Košice

Union SAFETY / UNIQA / Wüstenrot commercial health plans — market midpoint; insurers quote on request

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Jul 3, 2026
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Method
Commercial/expat comprehensive health insurance (Union SAFETY, UNIQA, Wüstenrot) runs ≈€80–200/month depending on age and coverage. Healthy-35-year-old lower-mid ≈ €110/mo ≈ $1,500/yr (range ≈ $1,095–$2,740). Premiums are quoted on request, so this is a curated market midpoint, not a public engine quote.
Notes
Residents are covered by mandatory public health insurance; commercial comprehensive cover (Union SAFETY etc.) is mainly bought by foreigners not yet in the public system. Slovakia lacks a large outpatient-subscription market like Poland's, so other private care is pay-per-visit. Put on the same comprehensive basis as Poland for comparability.

Kraków

LuxMed / Medicover / Signal Iduna comprehensive (with-inpatient) plans — market midpoint; insurers quote on request

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Jul 3, 2026
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Method
Comprehensive private plans that include inpatient/hospital cover — top-tier LuxMed/Medicover subscriptions (own or partner hospitals) and standalone health insurance (Signal Iduna, Allianz Zdrowie, PZU) — run ≈400–700 PLN/month. Healthy-35-year-old midpoint ≈ 500 PLN/mo ≈ 6,000 PLN/yr ≈ $1,595 at 3.7635 PLN/USD (range ≈ $1,275–$2,230). Premiums are quoted on request, so this is a curated market midpoint, not a public engine quote.
Notes
Residents are covered by mandatory public insurance (NFZ); private cover is optional. Most people buy only a cheaper OUTPATIENT subscription (LuxMed/Medicover ≈150–250 PLN/mo ≈ $600/yr) and use the public system for hospital care. This figure is the with-inpatient comprehensive tier, chosen to be comparable with other countries' comprehensive plans (the earlier $603 was an outpatient-only subscription mislabelled as comprehensive).

08

Money & crypto

2 verified facts
01+Crypto regulationKošicestrongerLegal friendlyKrakówLegal regulated

What this measures

Own classification of the legal status of holding, trading and cashing out cryptocurrency for individuals: legal-friendly (legal with clear, favourable rules or explicit tax exemptions), legal-regulated (legal under standard licensing/AML and taxation), restricted (partial bans: payments or banking access prohibited), banned (holding/trading prohibited). Classified from national regulators' and central banks' official positions.

Rated by category· re-verified every 180 days

Košice

Financial Administration SR — income from sale of virtual currency (non-business)

Official source

Data as of
Jan 1, 2024
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Notes
Since 2024, crypto held over one year is taxed at a favourable flat 7% (vs 19/25% if held under a year), with a €2,400/year exemption for crypto used to pay for goods/services, no health-insurance levy on non-business crypto gains, and crypto-to-crypto swaps not taxable. EU MiCA applies; the NBS licenses providers. More favourable than most EU peers, hence legal-friendly.

Kraków

Polish tax authority — disposal of virtual currencies (PIT-38, 19%)

Official source

Data as of
Jul 1, 2026
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Notes
Holding/trading legal for individuals; 19% flat tax on disposal gains (crypto-to-crypto swaps untaxed). EU MiCA applies; Poland's domestic implementing act was vetoed (latest 2026-06-11), so local CASP licensing is stalled — EU-passported providers serve the market.
02+Financial control levelKošiceLowKrakówLow

What this measures

Own composite of state control over personal money flows: currency/capital controls (IMF AREAER), restrictions on foreign accounts and transfers, mandatory income declaration scope for residents, cash payment limits, banking access for foreigners. Low = free movement of personal funds and easy non-resident banking; very-high = strict capital controls and pervasive reporting. Method field on each value lists the inputs used.

Rated by category· re-verified every 365 days

Košice

Ministry of Finance SR — restrictions on cash payments

Official source

Data as of
May 1, 2026
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Method
Eurozone/EU single market: no capital controls, EUR fully convertible; cash-payment limits €15,000 between individuals / €5,000 when a business is party; standard EU CRS, no FBAR-style foreign-account disclosure; easy resident and non-resident banking.
Notes
From 2026-05-01, eKasa sellers must offer at least one cashless option for payments over €1 (does not ban cash).

Kraków

biznes.gov.pl — cash payment limits (art. 19 Prawo przedsiębiorców)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
May 3, 2026
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Method
Composite: no currency/capital controls for EU/OECD flows (Prawo dewizowe, Dz.U. 2024 poz. 1131); PLN fully convertible; B2B cash cap 15,000 PLN per transaction, no consumer cash limit; no FBAR-style foreign-account disclosure (NBP statistical reporting only above 7M PLN of foreign assets); standard EU CRS via banks.

09

Infrastructure

3 verified facts
01+Domestic delivery qualityKošiceGoodKrakówstrongerExcellent

What this measures

Quality of in-country parcel delivery. excellent = nationwide next-day widely available, dense parcel-locker network, real-time tracking standard; good = 1–3 day delivery, lockers in major cities; basic = reliable but slow (3–7 days), mostly to-door or post-office pickup; poor = unreliable delivery, street addresses often unusable, informal workarounds common. Classified from official service/coverage data of the national postal operator and the two largest private carriers; inputs itemized in each value's method field.

Rated by category· re-verified every 730 days

Košice

Packeta / Slovenská pošta / carrier pages (composite)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Jul 3, 2026
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Method
Packeta Z-BOX (~2,200 lockers + ~1,200 pickup points, expanding), Slovenská pošta (~1,550 offices), GLS/DPD/SPS/DHL nationwide; typical 1–2 day domestic delivery, next-day common in cities. Dense but the locker network is smaller than Poland's InPost → good, not excellent.

Kraków

InPost official news / carrier service pages (composite)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Dec 31, 2025
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Method
InPost >28,000 parcel lockers (end-2025) with 98% next-day delivery and 763M parcels/yr; ORLEN Paczka ~14k pickup points; Poczta Polska 7.6k offices + 14.3k parcel points; DPD/DHL/GLS/UPS/FedEx nationwide. Next-day is the domestic norm.
02+International delivery easeKošiceMinor frictionKrakówMinor friction

What this measures

Ease of receiving goods from abroad. seamless = major international carriers deliver door-to-door, meaningful duty-free de-minimis threshold, customs clearance predictable in days; minor-friction = carriers present but low de-minimis, extra paperwork or routine delays; significant-friction = frequent customs holds, high brokerage fees, some marketplaces refuse to ship; unreliable = parcels regularly lost or blocked, informal import channels dominate. De-minimis thresholds and clearance rules from the national customs authority (official source, cite the regulation); carrier presence from carriers' official pages.

Rated by category· re-verified every 365 days

Košice

European Commission — removal of the €150 customs duty exemption (Reg. EU 2026/382)

Official source

Data as of
Jul 1, 2026
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Notes
Intra-EU shipping is frictionless. Non-EU imports: the €150 duty-free threshold was removed on 2026-07-01 — a temporary flat €3/item duty applies to ≤€150 IOSS consignments; VAT collected at checkout via IOSS.

Kraków

European Commission — removal of the €150 customs duty exemption (Reg. EU 2026/382)

Official source

Data as of
Jul 1, 2026
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Notes
Intra-EU shipping is frictionless (single market, all major carriers). Non-EU imports: the €150 duty-free threshold was removed on 2026-07-01 — a temporary flat €3/item duty applies to ≤€150 IOSS consignments (until the 2028 Customs Data Hub); VAT collected at checkout via IOSS. Predictable but no longer duty-free.
03+Internet speedMbps, median fixed downloadKošicestronger42Kraków41.7

What this measures

Median fixed-broadband download speed over the trailing 6 months from M-Lab NDT open data (CC0), aggregated at country or city level. Not comparable with Ookla figures (different test methodology) — do not mix sources within this criterion.

Higher is better· Mbps, median fixed download· re-verified every 365 days

Košice

M-Lab NDT country aggregates for Slovakia

Open data

Data as of
Dec 31, 2023
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Method
Median of M-Lab NDT daily country medians, 2023 (latest full year in M-Lab's public stats API).
Notes
M-Lab NDT is single-stream and reads well below Ookla-style figures — comparable only within this criterion.

Kraków

M-Lab NDT country aggregates for Poland

Open data

Data as of
Dec 31, 2023
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Method
Median of 343 daily country medians, 563,348 tests (2023 — latest full year in M-Lab's public stats API; 2025/2026 files not yet published).
Notes
M-Lab NDT is single-stream and reads well below Ookla-style figures — comparable only within this criterion.

10

Language

1 verified fact
01+English proficiencyKošiceVery highKrakówVery high

What this measures

Own banding of how far English gets a resident in daily life (government offices, healthcare, housing, services). Informed by EF EPI band (research source, cited with attribution, not republished) plus official language status and service-sector realities. Values are our bands, not EF scores.

Rated by category· re-verified every 730 days

Košice

EF EPI 2025 (score 606, rank 10/123 — Very High band)

Research

Data as of
Nov 1, 2025
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Notes
Own band informed by EF EPI (attribution: EF Education First). Slovakia's best-ever result; English is broadly workable in cities and the service sector.

Kraków

EF EPI 2025 (rank 15/123, score 600 — Very High band)

Research

Data as of
Nov 1, 2025
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Notes
Own band informed by EF EPI (attribution: EF Education First); English is broadly workable in cities and the service sector, less so in offices/government.

11

Education

1 verified fact
01+International schoolsaccredited international schools, countKošice2Krakówstronger7

What this measures

Count of international schools in the metro area accredited by or member of IB, CIS, COBIS, or an equivalent national-curriculum-abroad body (verified against the accreditor's public registry, not aggregator sites).

Higher is better· accredited international schools, count· re-verified every 730 days

Košice

Register škôl a školských zariadení SR (Ministry of Education) + each school's awarding body

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Aug 21, 2026
Verified
Aug 21, 2026
Method
Both schools are in the ministry's register and both teach a foreign curriculum in English: (1) Košice International School (KEIS), Poľná 1, Košice-Košická Nová Ves, register id 710293100 — an IB World School authorised for the Primary Years and Middle Years Programmes, and authorised for the Diploma Programme in June 2026, ages 3–17; (2) Splash International, Starozagorská 8, Košice-Sídlisko KVP, register ids 710279213 (primary) and 710267665 (kindergarten) — Pearson Edexcel iPrimary and iLowerSecondary, the English National Curriculum, ages 2–15.
Notes
The register was searched for every school in Košice whose name contains 'International'; these two are the only ones, plus their own kitchens and after-school clubs, which are organisational units rather than separate schools and are not counted. KEIS's IB authorisations could not be read at the accreditor: ibo.org refuses automated requests (HTTP 403) and the Internet Archive holds no snapshot of its page for school code 061988, so the programmes are taken from the school's own statements — its curriculum page still describes the Diploma Programme as a candidacy, while its June 2026 announcement says the authorisation was granted. Splash International is a primary school: it takes children to 15, not to a school-leaving exam.

Kraków

IB World Schools directory (find-an-ib-school)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Jul 3, 2026
Verified
Jul 3, 2026
Method
IB finder results for country=PL, keyword 'Krakow': British International School of Cracow, International School of Krakow, Open Future, Kolegium Europejskie, VI LO, VIII PALO, Da Vinci's.
Notes
±1 uncertainty; CIS/COBIS-only schools not yet counted.