Sweden vs United States - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Sweden United States
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1571
$2454
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$3555
$5738
🏠 One person rent
$811
$1565
🏘️ Family rent
$1414
$2755
🍽️ Food expenses
$514
$624
🚐 Transport expenses
$114
$102
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$3016
$4635
💸 GDP per capita
$56305
$81695
😃 Human freedom index
8.75
8.39
❤️ Life expectancy
83.1
77.4
👮 Corruption perceptions index
82
69
🌐 English speaking %
89%
95.5%
🎓 Higher education
95
100
😀 Quality of life
92
87
🏙️ Population
10.6M
332M

The average cost of living in Sweden ($1571) is 36% less expensive than in the United States ($2454). Sweden ranked 31st vs 10th for the United States in the list of the most expensive countries in the world.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.9 months in Sweden compared to 1.9 months in the United States. Ranked 10th and 20th best countries to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Sweden vs United States infographic

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Prices in Sweden vs the United States

We calculate prices for Sweden and the United States as a population-weighted mean of 60 and 2202 cities, respectively. Since large cities tend to have a higher cost of living, it's better to visit specific city pages below for more relevant information.

Sweden United States
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$12.5
$18.7
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$74.3
$75
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$10
$10.8
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$7.2
$6.19
 Cappuccino
$4.26
$5.13
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$2.29
$2.57
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$911
$1641
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$656
$1330
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1625
$2946
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1182
$2414
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$72.2
$123
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$111
$189
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$31.7
$66.1
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
4.54%
6.53%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$5608
$4710
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$3611
$3231
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$3.41
$2.37
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$78.3
$70
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$22.1
$18.4
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.85
$0.98
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.53
$1.08
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$2.58
$3.5
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.14
$4.35
🥚 Eggs, x12
$4.03
$3.81
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$11.1
$13
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$11.4
$11.6
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$17.1
$15.9
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.89
$5.03
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.5
$1.76
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.7
$4.51
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.05
$4.74
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.53
$2.81
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.67
$2.88
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.94
$1.42
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.26
$2.6
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$10.3
$14.4
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.85
$2.17
🚬 Cigarette pack
$6.8
$10.3
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$6.94
$9.41
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$3.5
$6.07
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$2.59
$4.4
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.12
$2.13
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$39.9
$51.1
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$15.6
$14.1
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$28.9
$122
💇 Haircut, simple
$25.9
$20.2
👖 Brand Jeans
$82.7
$52.8
👟 Brand Sneakers
$94.4
$89.4
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$134
$1400
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$4409
$20224

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cities Comparison in Sweden vs the United States

More countries to compare

Cost of Living in Popular cities

In Sweden

City Cost of living Population
Stockholm
$1991
985K
Gothenburg
$1725
608K
Malmo
$1570
325K
Vasteras
$1338
129K
Uppsala
$1460
167K
Helsingborg
$1306
114K
Linkoping
$1347
116K
Orebro
$1275
127K
Taby
$1586
77.4K
Lund
$1459
94.4K
Umea
$1234
91.9K
Norrkoping
$1285
98.1K
Solna
$1628
85.3K
Sollentuna
$2039
77.3K
Jonkoping
$1407
101K
Eskilstuna
$1274
69.9K
Sodertalje
$1644
76.3K
Gavle
$1463
79K
Karlstad
$1259
67.1K
Halmstad
$1341
71.4K
Sigtuna
$1604
52.5K
Boras
$1264
74K
Uddevalla
$1355
57.1K
Lulea
$1355
49.1K
Sundsvall
$1285
58.8K
Skovde
$1415
57.6K
Trollhattan
$1206
50.5K
Vaxjo
$1328
71.3K
Ostersund
$1400
53K
Tumba
$1638
46K

In the United States

City Cost of living Population
New York City
$4051
8.8M
Los Angeles
$3187
3.9M
Chicago
$2667
2.75M
Houston
$2248
2.3M
San Diego
$3346
1.39M
Phoenix
$2369
1.61M
San Jose
$3674
1.01M
Dallas
$2550
1.3M
San Francisco
$3781
874K
Philadelphia
$2541
1.6M
San Antonio
$2194
1.43M
Austin
$2473
962K
Seattle
$2908
737K
Indianapolis
$2187
888K
Hempstead
$2702
793K
Charlotte
$2615
875K
Washington
$3139
690K
Boston
$3467
676K
Fort Worth
$2195
919K
Jacksonville
$2386
950K
Columbus
$2252
906K
Denver
$2699
716K
Nashville
$2649
689K
Portland
$2572
653K
Atlanta
$2540
499K
Las Vegas
$2246
642K
Detroit
$2006
639K
Oakland
$3146
441K
El Paso
$1775
679K
Baltimore
$2223
586K