Valenzuela vs Marawi: Which City Wins for Expats in 2026?
Valenzuela ranks meaningfully higher on safety. Use our tool below to personalize the estimate based on your income and lifestyle.
Valenzuela is approximately 5.6x more expensive than Marawi based on cost of living including rent. This makes Marawi a more budget-friendly option for expats considering a move.
Marawi has a FIRE Score of N/A/100, indicating its suitability for financial independence and early retirement. The city's safety index is 25, suggesting moderate safety levels.
Recommended profile: Marawi is best suited for digital nomads who prioritize experience over savings.
About Valenzuela
Valenzuela is a cheap bet with a catch: a 1-bedroom outside the center runs $300/mo and a single adult can scrape by on $850/mo, but the average local net salary is $588/mo, so you are living on foreign income or not at all. The expat scores tell the real story, with 72/100 overall and 74/100 for FIRE against just 49/100 for retirees and digital nomads, plus very few expats, limited English, and fair healthcare. Marulas is the one neighborhood that comes up, and at 23 km from MNL you can reach the airport without much drama. Come for the low rent and the SRRV visa, not for a social life or clean air at 72 on the index.
About Philippines
Retirees on fixed incomes near the $1,500/mo SRRV minimum get the best deal here: rent outside the center runs under $200 and English is widely spoken, easing daily friction. But that low cost sits against a -1.1 political stability score and only medium expat safety ratings, so this suits people who can tolerate some instability for cash savings. Bad fit: anyone needing top-tier healthcare or a guaranteed path to citizenship.
$1,500/mo
Cost of Living (Without Rent)
Rent Per Month
Attractiveness
City Details
About Marawi
Marawi is cheap even by Philippine standards, with a city-center one-bedroom at $80/mo and an inexpensive restaurant meal at $2, but a $287/mo average net salary means locals and remote workers alike are stretching thin. The safety index of 25/100 and crime index of 75/100 are the real deal-breakers, and poor healthcare plus limited English proficiency makes daily life harder than the price tag suggests. Add heavy monsoon rains from June to November and an air quality index of 68, and this is a stop for the intrepid or the rooted, not the average expat.
About Philippines
Retirees on fixed incomes near the $1,500/mo SRRV minimum get the best deal here: rent outside the center runs under $200 and English is widely spoken, easing daily friction. But that low cost sits against a -1.1 political stability score and only medium expat safety ratings, so this suits people who can tolerate some instability for cash savings. Bad fit: anyone needing top-tier healthcare or a guaranteed path to citizenship.
$1,603/mo
Cost of Living (Without Rent)
Rent Per Month
Attractiveness
City Details
Which visa fits your move?
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| Metric | Valenzuela | Marawi |
|---|---|---|
| 1BR Apartment (Center) | $450 | $79.7 |
| 1BR Apartment (Outside) | $300 | $31.88 |
| 3BR Apartment (Center) | $950 | $318.8 |
| 3BR Apartment (Outside) | $600 | $191.28 |
| Safety Index | 50 | 25 |
| Internet Speed | 20Mbps | 20Mbps |
| Walkability Score | N/A | N/A |
Monthly cost by categoryOne person, computed from each city's own average prices
| Category | Valenzuela | Marawi |
|---|---|---|
| Total (rent included) | $684/mo | N/A |
| Excluding rent | $384/mo | N/A |
| Rent | $300/mo | N/A |
| Groceries | $100/mo | N/A |
| Dining out | $40.00/mo | N/A |
| Entertainment & lifestyle | $56.00/mo | N/A |
| Utilities & connectivity | $188/mo | N/A |
| Transport | N/A | N/A |
Usage-based estimates from this city's own average prices. A row marked N/A means that city is missing data, so no figure is shown instead of a stale one.
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Valenzuela vs Marawi -- Frequently Asked Questions
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