Sweden vs United States - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Sweden United States
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1728
$2516
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$3883
$5730
🏠 One person rent
$880
$1598
🏘️ Family rent
$1477
$2655
🍽️ Food expenses
$571
$651
🚐 Transport expenses
$127
$101
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$3340
$4539
💸 GDP per capita
$57723
$85810
😃 Human freedom index
8.8
8.64
❤️ Life expectancy
83.3
78.4
👮 Corruption perceptions index
80
65
🌐 English speaking %
89%
95.3%
🎓 Higher education
95
100
😀 Quality of life
92
87
🏙️ Population
10.6M
340M

The average cost of living in Sweden ($1728) is 31% less expensive than in the United States ($2516). Sweden ranked 28th vs 9th 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 11th 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
$14.2
$19.5
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$78.7
$76.5
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$11.2
$11.5
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$7.68
$6.31
 Cappuccino
$4.81
$5.34
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$2.81
$2.65
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$935
$1659
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$709
$1336
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1714
$3048
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1271
$2458
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$89.8
$125
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$138
$193
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$38
$67.5
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
4.32%
6.41%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$6199
$4491
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$4067
$3675
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$3.76
$2.35
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$87.2
$69.5
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$24.2
$18.4
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.9
$0.92
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.67
$1.11
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$2.82
$3.57
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.53
$4.43
🥚 Eggs, x12
$4.43
$4.7
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$12.7
$13.4
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$12.8
$12.3
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$19.1
$16.8
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.23
$5.12
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.7
$1.85
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.08
$4.48
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.44
$4.77
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.73
$2.83
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.76
$2.9
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$1
$1.48
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.58
$2.74
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$11.9
$14.5
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.06
$2.41
🚬 Cigarette pack
$7.73
$10.7
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$8.62
$10.5
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$3.66
$6.66
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$2.89
$4.53
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.36
$2.2
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$41.9
$52.3
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$17.2
$14.5
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$36.7
$124
💇 Haircut, simple
$28.2
$21.6
👖 Brand Jeans
$94.9
$53.2
👟 Brand Sneakers
$107
$92.4
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$159
$1428
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$6191
$20562

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
$2297
985K
Gothenburg
$1823
675K
Malmo
$1757
339K
Uppsala
$1650
175K
Vasteras
$1494
132K
Orebro
$1325
129K
Linkoping
$1530
117K
Helsingborg
$1485
116K
Taby
$1759
77.7K
Lund
$1619
98.3K
Norrkoping
$1390
98.2K
Solna
$1983
85.8K
Sollentuna
$1968
77.7K
Jonkoping
$1528
103K
Gavle
$1483
86.5K
Eskilstuna
$1446
70.6K
Umea
$1372
94.2K
Sodertalje
$1779
78.4K
Vaxjo
$1482
74.1K
Karlstad
$1460
69.6K
Sundsvall
$1396
70.9K
Lulea
$1522
49.6K
Boras
$1503
75.6K
Sigtuna
$1681
52.7K
Akersberga
$1940
37.7K
Halmstad
$1362
73K
Skovde
$1551
58K
Uddevalla
$1543
57K
Trollhattan
$1353
50.1K
Ostersund
$1522
54K

In the United States

City Cost of living Population
New York City
$4203
8.8M
Los Angeles
$3361
3.9M
Chicago
$2799
2.75M
Houston
$2240
2.3M
San Diego
$3469
1.39M
Philadelphia
$2584
1.6M
Phoenix
$2340
1.61M
Dallas
$2447
1.3M
San Francisco
$4110
874K
San Jose
$3952
1.01M
San Antonio
$2023
1.43M
Seattle
$3162
737K
Austin
$2416
962K
Washington
$3328
690K
Boston
$3652
676K
Indianapolis
$2382
888K
Hempstead
$2655
793K
Fort Worth
$2217
919K
Jacksonville
$2222
950K
Charlotte
$2423
875K
Columbus
$2181
906K
Denver
$2775
716K
Portland
$2684
653K
Nashville
$2524
689K
Las Vegas
$2414
642K
Oklahoma City
$1872
681K
Atlanta
$2641
499K
Oakland
$3254
441K
Baltimore
$2323
586K
Sacramento
$2825
525K