Dominican Republic · Visit or make it home

Santo Domingo

Santo Domingo is a city in Dominican Republic. Compare its dated local facts and monthly climate before choosing a time to visit or planning a move. Housing references and national earnings describe different populations; verify the costs of your own home and job before deciding.

Santo Domingo — SantoDomingoedit

Get to know Santo Domingo

A sense of the place

Santo Domingo, officially known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. As of 2022, the city center had a population of 1,029,110 while its metropolitan area, Greater Santo Domingo, had a population of 4,274,651. The city is coterminous with the boundaries of the Distrito Nacional , itself bordered on three sides by Santo Domingo Province. Santo Domingo was founded in 1496 by the Spanish Empire and is the oldest continuously inhabited European settlement in the Americas. It was the first seat of Spanish colonial rule in the New World, the Captaincy General of Santo Domingo. Santo Domingo is the site of the first university, cathedral, castle, monastery, and fortress in the New World. The city's Colonial Zone was declared as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Santo Domingo was called Ciudad Trujillo , from 1936 to 1961, after the Dominican Republic's dictator, Rafael Trujillo, named the capital after himself. Following his assassination, the city resumed its original designation.

Weather through the year

When to visit Santo Domingo

Temperature

August has the warmest monthly average (27.8°C); January is coolest (24.7°C). These averages include nights, so daytime highs can be considerably warmer.

Rain and outdoor plans

May averages about 68 mm of rain, compared with 21 mm in February. Rainfall alone does not identify a single best month; compare temperatures with the activities you plan.

Planning time outdoors

Monthly mean temperatures reach at least 25°C in March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December. For sightseeing, plan shade, water breaks and accommodation cooling into your day; daytime temperatures can be higher than these day-and-night averages.

Monthly climate averages — 2001-2020
MonthJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Average °C24.724.925.426.326.827.427.627.827.727.226.125.2
Rain, mm242122406848556860646842

Source: NASA POWER climatology · Reference period: 2001-2020. Long-term averages for the surrounding grid area. Conditions vary within a city; monthly averages are neither a forecast nor a guarantee of dry days.

Places around Santo Domingo

Build your shortlist for a day out. Distances are straight-line from the city centre; check routes and opening times before setting off.

Average rent in Santo Domingo

What is the average rent in Santo Domingo?

A verified average rent for Santo Domingo is not available in the evidence shown here. Do not substitute another city’s price or a national estimate. Compare current properties for the same home size and neighbourhood, then include utilities, deposits and daily transport when building a budget for a visit or move.

Average salary in Santo Domingo

What is the average salary in Santo Domingo?

485.1 USD/month is the gross employee-pay reference dated 2025. It describes Dominican Republic, not average salary in Santo Domingo. Gross pay is before deductions; household earnings depend on the household model. Use a current offer and your own tax circumstances for take-home budgeting.

Source: ILO — Average gross monthly earnings of employees · Reference date: 2025 · CC BY 4.0 (ILO datasets published from 3 May 2023)

How should I compare Santo Domingo with another city?

Compare the same dated measures for both cities, keeping local observations separate from national context. Start with rent, your expected income and the journeys you will make regularly. Then adjust the comparison weights to your priorities. Missing measurements do not prove an advantage; verify decisive costs and services with current local sources.

  1. Choose a comparison below and read its sources and dates.
  2. Set priorities for housing, work, transport and climate.
  3. Check current listings and your own income before making a decision.

Data sources, licences & reuse terms

Plan your stay

Budget and everyday decisions

A holiday budget

Compare accommodation for your actual dates in Santo Domingo, then add the journey here, airport transfers, meals and the activities you want. A cheap room outside the centre can cost more overall if it adds daily transport.

Compare holiday preferences →

A relocation budget

Use the planner below to compare housing, daily spending and the cost of your move.

Include the deposit, utilities, internet and commuting. Compare those costs with your own expected take-home income.

Compare with another city →

Your relocation planning budget

Build a monthly budget for Santo Domingo in euros. Totals are calculated from the amounts below, not live quotes. Enter a housing amount for your chosen home.

Monthly total: Enter all five monthly amounts

First month including move: Enter your moving costs too

Compare with another city →

Compare the details

Santo Domingo at a glance

Dominican Republic: the wider context

These are country-level figures, not measurements of Santo Domingo. Use them to compare national conditions; neighbourhoods, salaries and individual services can differ substantially.

See 10 national indicators
What to check before deciding

Comparable figures are not available here for: Public-transport provision (ordinal proxy); Distance to nearest sea / coastline; Distance to nearest mountains (>1500 m); Annual sunshine hours; Seismic hazard (ordinal 0 very-low to 4 high); Monthly rent, 1-bedroom, city centre. Check the items that affect your plans with local providers. They are not treated as zero or as an advantage in recommendations.

Compare Santo Domingo with other cities

Read the source dates, choose your priorities and keep unavailable values separate from costs you know.

All maintained comparisons →

Privacy choices

Optional analytics

Google Analytics helps us understand how the site is used. In the EEA, UK and Switzerland it stays off until you accept; elsewhere it starts by default. You can reject or withdraw it at any time.

Full privacy notice