Sweden vs United States - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Sweden United States
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1578
$2433
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$3550
$5667
🏠 One person rent
$827
$1552
🏘️ Family rent
$1432
$2714
🍽️ Food expenses
$507
$618
🚐 Transport expenses
$116
$104
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$2823
$4694
💸 GDP per capita
$56374
$76330
😃 Human freedom index
8.75
8.39
❤️ Life expectancy
83.2
76.3
👮 Corruption perceptions index
82
69
🌐 English speaking %
89%
95.5%
🎓 Higher education
95
100
😀 Quality of life
92
86
🏙️ Population
10.4M
331M

The average cost of living in Sweden ($1578) is 35% less expensive than in the United States ($2433). Sweden ranked 28th vs 7th 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 1.8 months in Sweden compared to 1.9 months in the United States. Ranked 11th and 21st 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
$18.4
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$66.7
$73.1
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$9.74
$10.5
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$7.14
$6.08
 Cappuccino
$4.05
$5.09
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$2.2
$2.51
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$936
$1611
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$680
$1301
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1639
$2861
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1216
$2352
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$68.1
$122
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$105
$188
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$30.7
$67
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
4.59%
6.5%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$5722
$4763
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$3563
$3852
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$3.32
$2.38
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$76.9
$71.8
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$22.7
$18.4
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.9
$0.99
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.58
$1.09
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$2.68
$3.44
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.22
$4.32
🥚 Eggs, x12
$4.05
$3.89
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$11.1
$13
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$11.8
$11.8
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$17.1
$16.4
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.87
$5.02
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.59
$1.78
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.95
$4.43
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.21
$4.66
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.52
$2.78
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.71
$2.87
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.94
$1.41
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.13
$2.51
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$10.2
$14.4
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.99
$2.12
🚬 Cigarette pack
$6.54
$10.1
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$7.18
$9.27
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$3.43
$5.79
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$2.71
$4.29
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.99
$2.09
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$38.7
$50
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$14.8
$13.9
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$29.9
$116
💇 Haircut, simple
$24.1
$20.4
👖 Brand Jeans
$81.7
$53.2
👟 Brand Sneakers
$89
$89.3
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$128
$1423
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$5136
$19463

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
$1981
979K
Gothenburg
$1690
608K
Malmo
$1566
325K
Uppsala
$1512
167K
Helsingborg
$1392
114K
Vasteras
$1263
129K
Linkoping
$1342
116K
Orebro
$1276
127K
Lund
$1480
94.4K
Solna
$1727
85.3K
Jonkoping
$1411
101K
Eskilstuna
$1271
69.9K
Umea
$1210
91.9K
Sodertalje
$1650
76.3K
Taby
$1810
75.4K
Norrkoping
$1228
98.1K
Sollentuna
$2032
76.2K
Halmstad
$1318
71.4K
Karlstad
$1246
67.1K
Lulea
$1114
49.1K
Trollhattan
$1299
50.5K
Uddevalla
$1428
57.3K
Gavle
$1420
79K
Boras
$1250
74K
Sundsvall
$1296
58.8K
Vaxjo
$1382
71.3K
Tumba
$1699
46K
Lidingo
$1742
44.1K
Sigtuna
$1659
52.2K
Skovde
$1465
57.5K

In the United States

City Cost of living Population
New York City
$4044
8.8M
Los Angeles
$3165
3.9M
Chicago
$2613
2.75M
Houston
$2221
2.3M
San Diego
$3427
1.39M
Phoenix
$2390
1.61M
Dallas
$2497
1.3M
San Jose
$3502
1.01M
Philadelphia
$2422
1.6M
San Francisco
$3729
874K
San Antonio
$2219
1.43M
Austin
$2590
962K
Seattle
$2974
737K
Washington
$3079
690K
Indianapolis
$2129
888K
Charlotte
$2710
875K
Hempstead
$2627
793K
Fort Worth
$2173
919K
Boston
$3345
676K
Jacksonville
$2246
950K
Denver
$2771
716K
Columbus
$2202
906K
Nashville
$2623
689K
Portland
$2579
653K
Louisville
$1918
633K
Atlanta
$2648
499K
Baltimore
$2197
586K
Detroit
$1979
639K
Las Vegas
$2408
642K
El Paso
$1613
679K