Texistepeque vs Ilopango: Which City Wins for Expats in 2026?

Texistepeque is a hard sell for most expats, and the numbers say so plainly: an overall expat score of 39/100, a safety index of 35/100, and a crime index of 65/100. The town is small at 20 thousand people with very few expats, limited English, and poor healthcare, so anyone needing a real social or medical safety net should look elsewhere. Costs are not even the bargain you would hope for a place this size, with a one-bedroom in the town center running $739/mo and utilities at $190/mo. Come only if you want a quiet, low-key Salvadoran town and can handle the isolation.

Ilopango is a cheap, low-key base for anyone who wants El Salvador without San Salvador prices, and the numbers back it up: a cost of living index of 30/100 against an average monthly net salary of $995/mo, with a single person spending about $380/mo excluding rent. The rent data is genuinely strange, though, since a 1-bedroom outside the center runs $1,020/mo while a 3-bedroom in the center goes for $590/mo, so do not sign anything before you have walked the listings yourself. An expat score of 84/100 and a FIRE score of 84/100 are strong, but a retiree score of 61/100 and a digital nomad score of 63/100 tell you the infrastructure and community are thin, and with no expat community to speak of, you are moving into a working Salvadoran city, not a resort. Come for the low overhead and the 621 m elevation, stay only if you can handle being the only foreigner in the room.