Helsinki vs Seattle - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 02, 2025

	Helsinki	Seattle
🚶 Cost of living one person	$1816	$3015
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$4167	$7449
🏠 One person rent	$918	$1896
🏘️ Family rent	$1517	$3549
🍽️ Food expenses	$580	$746
🚐 Transport expenses	$155	$160
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$3006	$6742
😷 Air quality	Excellent	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	16 km	9 km
🎓 Higher education	78	80
😀 Quality of life	95	91
🏙️ Population	676K	737K

The cost of living in Helsinki is 40% less expensive than in Seattle. Cities ranked 2353rd and 158th ($1816 vs $3015) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 2nd and 140th in Finland and the United States, respectively. Check Finland vs the United States comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.7 months in Helsinki compared to 2.2 months in Seattle. Helsinki ranked 1st best city to live in Finland vs Seattle ranked 15th in the United States, while ranked 26th and 98th among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Helsinki vs Seattle infographic

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<img src="https://livingcost.org/assets/photo/cost/helsinki/seattle.jpg" alt="Cost of living in Helsinki vs Seattle infographic" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;"><p>Source: <a href="https://livingcost.org/cost/helsinki/seattle" target="_blank">Helsinki vs Seattle - Cost of Living Comparison</a></p>

Prices in Helsinki vs Seattle

Prices for goods and services in Helsinki and Seattle are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

	Helsinki	Seattle
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$14.7	$21.9
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$79.4	$90.4
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$12	$13.6
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$8.29	$7.98
☕ Cappuccino	$4.73	$5.55
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$2.88	$2.97
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$980	$2086
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$796	$1567
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1796	$3947
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1297	$3067
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$64.9	$157
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$99.4	$237
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$20.8	$68.8
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	4.1%	6.44%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$8076	$6966
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$4860	$5351
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$3.1	$2.73
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$70	$96.7
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$21.3	$18
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.93	$1.16
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.38	$1.18
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$2.62	$4.03
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.53	$4.44
🥚 Eggs, x12	$3.66	$4.89
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$9.1	$20.3
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$13.5	$14.6
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$20.5	$20.4
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.42	$5.19
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.98	$2.38
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.31	$5.37
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.94	$5.76
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.27	$2.64
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.88	$3.47
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.24	$1.56
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$2.88	$2.91
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$15	$17.8
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$3.05	$3.15
🚬 Cigarette pack	$11.1	$12
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$11.7	$10.4
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$3.2	$5.95
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.75	$6.98
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$2.14	$2.49
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$45.2	$65.6
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$18.2	$16
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$79.4	$183
💇 Haircut, simple	$19.8	$25.9
👖 Brand Jeans	$97.3	$68.9
👟 Brand Sneakers	$96.8	$101
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$345	$2185
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$9361	$29407

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

$349

$907

$6.64K

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Helsinki

Distance	City	Cost of living
15 km or 9.2 mi	Vantaa	$1671
16 km or 9.7 mi	Espoo	$1879
26 km or 16 mi	Tuusula	$1509
27 km or 17 mi	Kerava	$1486
29 km or 18 mi	Kirkkonummi	$1509
33 km or 21 mi	Nurmijarvi	$1479
34 km or 21 mi	Jarvenpaa	$1533
47 km or 29 mi	Porvoo	$1327
49 km or 30 mi	Lohja	$1220
51 km or 32 mi	Hyvinkaa	$1323
63 km or 39 mi	Riihimaki	$1443
78 km or 48 mi	Maardu	$1219
83 km or 51 mi	Tallinn	$1414
86 km or 53 mi	Raseborg	$1441
96 km or 59 mi	Hameenlinna	$1309
98 km or 61 mi	Lahti	$1398
102 km or 63 mi	Salo	$1396
115 km or 72 mi	Kotka	$1286
122 km or 76 mi	Rakvere	$899
124 km or 77 mi	Kouvola	$1355
131 km or 81 mi	Valkeakoski	$1544
132 km or 82 mi	Hamina	$1329
143 km or 89 mi	Kaarina	$1450
150 km or 93 mi	Turku	$1495
156 km or 97 mi	Raisio	$1450
157 km or 98 mi	Kohtla-Jarve	$973
160 km or 100 mi	Tampere	$1464
164 km or 102 mi	Nokia	$1432
169 km or 105 mi	Ylojarvi	$1426
170 km or 106 mi	Sastamala	$1391
181 km or 113 mi	Sillamae	$952
188 km or 117 mi	Jamsa	$1394
201 km or 125 mi	Parnu	$1064
203 km or 126 mi	Lappeenranta	$1295
203 km or 126 mi	Narva	$953
205 km or 127 mi	Viljandi	$933
210 km or 131 mi	Mikkeli	$1308
214 km or 133 mi	Rauma	$1254
224 km or 139 mi	Pori	$1239
224 km or 139 mi	Tartu	$1045

Cities near Seattle

Distance	City	Cost of living
9.1 km or 5.7 mi	Mercer Island	$2826
11 km or 6.5 mi	Bellevue	$3273
14 km or 8.5 mi	Kirkland	$2882
15 km or 9.2 mi	Tukwila	$2624
15 km or 9.5 mi	Burien	$2642
16 km or 10 mi	Bainbridge Island	$2810
17 km or 10 mi	Shoreline	$2973
17 km or 10 mi	Renton	$2595
17 km or 11 mi	Redmond	$3239
17 km or 11 mi	Kenmore	$2718
19 km or 12 mi	SeaTac	$2741
21 km or 13 mi	Bothell	$2625
22 km or 14 mi	Sammamish	$2759
22 km or 14 mi	Edmonds	$2785
23 km or 14 mi	Issaquah	$2606
24 km or 15 mi	Des Moines	$2623
24 km or 15 mi	Lynnwood	$2726
24 km or 15 mi	Bremerton	$2462
26 km or 16 mi	Kent	$2784
30 km or 19 mi	Mill Creek	$2642
33 km or 20 mi	Federal Way	$2532
34 km or 21 mi	Maple Valley	$2579
35 km or 21 mi	Mukilteo	$2637
35 km or 22 mi	Auburn	$2338
41 km or 25 mi	Everett	$2589
42 km or 26 mi	Tacoma	$2517
46 km or 28 mi	University Place	$2604
48 km or 30 mi	Puyallup	$2644
50 km or 31 mi	Lake Stevens	$2604
51 km or 32 mi	Lakewood	$2449
52 km or 33 mi	Marysville	$2598
57 km or 35 mi	Spanaway	$2460
74 km or 46 mi	Lacey	$2571
76 km or 47 mi	Olympia	$2406
78 km or 48 mi	Sequim	$2692
80 km or 50 mi	Oak Harbor	$2751
90 km or 56 mi	Mount Vernon	$2542
100 km or 62 mi	Port Angeles	$2527
109 km or 68 mi	Centralia	$2523
119 km or 74 mi	Victoria	$2093