Sweden vs United States - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Sweden United States
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1832
$2515
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$4115
$5738
🏠 One person rent
$937
$1593
🏘️ Family rent
$1570
$2641
🍽️ Food expenses
$604
$654
🚐 Transport expenses
$132
$101
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$3506
$4433
💸 GDP per capita
$57117
$84534
😃 Human freedom index
8.74
8.71
❤️ Life expectancy
83.3
78.4
👮 Corruption perceptions index
80
64
🌐 English speaking %
89%
95.3%
🎓 Higher education
95
100
😀 Quality of life
94
88
🏙️ Population
10.6M
340M

The average cost of living in Sweden ($1832) is 27% less expensive than in the United States ($2515). Sweden ranked 24th 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 1.8 months in the United States. Ranked 9th and 21st best countries to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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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
$14.6
$19.7
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$83.1
$78.4
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$11.9
$11.6
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$8.14
$6.36
 Cappuccino
$5.11
$5.38
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$3.12
$2.69
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1014
$1682
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$747
$1341
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1766
$3111
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1359
$2433
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$95.6
$129
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$148
$198
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$39.7
$68.4
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
3.68%
6.36%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$6483
$4955
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$4215
$3526
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$3.98
$2.34
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$92.3
$70.6
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$26
$17.9
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.91
$0.91
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.77
$1.11
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$3.05
$3.61
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.71
$4.52
🥚 Eggs, x12
$4.84
$4.83
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$13.4
$13.5
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$13.5
$12.3
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$20.9
$17.2
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.44
$5.09
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.86
$1.86
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.19
$4.5
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.66
$4.76
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.83
$2.87
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.88
$2.94
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.13
$1.52
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.66
$2.75
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$12.7
$14.8
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.21
$2.43
🚬 Cigarette pack
$8.34
$11
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$9.08
$10.5
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$4.22
$6.64
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$3.05
$4.55
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.48
$2.22
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$44
$52
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$18.3
$14.5
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$39.1
$123
💇 Haircut, simple
$29.6
$22.1
👖 Brand Jeans
$102
$55.1
👟 Brand Sneakers
$113
$93.8
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$184
$1517
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$7091
$21058

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
$2524
985K
Gothenburg
$1864
675K
Malmo
$1907
339K
Uppsala
$1831
175K
Orebro
$1311
129K
Vasteras
$1603
132K
Helsingborg
$1590
116K
Solna
$2118
86.4K
Linkoping
$1631
117K
Taby
$1853
78.3K
Norrkoping
$1337
98.2K
Lund
$1701
98.3K
Eskilstuna
$1547
70.6K
Sollentuna
$2065
78K
Jonkoping
$1581
103K
Gavle
$1423
86.5K
Umea
$1449
94.2K
Sodertalje
$1914
78.4K
Vaxjo
$1516
74.1K
Karlstad
$1562
69.6K
Sundsvall
$1492
70.9K
Sigtuna
$1741
53.1K
Boras
$1612
75.6K
Skovde
$1656
58.2K
Halmstad
$1412
73K
Trollhattan
$1405
50.1K
Ostersund
$1596
54K
Uddevalla
$1588
56.9K
Lulea
$1642
49.6K
Tumba
$1827
46.9K

In the United States

City Cost of living Population
New York City
$4207
8.8M
Los Angeles
$3378
3.9M
Chicago
$2822
2.75M
Houston
$2265
2.3M
San Diego
$3507
1.39M
Philadelphia
$2597
1.6M
Phoenix
$2357
1.61M
San Francisco
$4040
874K
Dallas
$2461
1.3M
San Antonio
$2063
1.43M
San Jose
$3962
1.01M
Seattle
$3154
737K
Austin
$2444
962K
Boston
$3638
676K
Washington
$3306
690K
Hempstead
$2697
793K
Fort Worth
$2219
919K
Charlotte
$2403
875K
Indianapolis
$2374
888K
Jacksonville
$2224
950K
Columbus
$2127
906K
Denver
$2791
716K
Portland
$2738
653K
Nashville
$2477
689K
Atlanta
$2617
499K
Oklahoma City
$1922
681K
Las Vegas
$2407
642K
Baltimore
$2234
586K
Sacramento
$2846
525K
Oakland
$3212
441K