Cost of living comparison
compared to
Karlstad vs. Joensuu Cost of Living Summary
Karlstad is 5.7% cheaper than Joensuu.
Karlstad vs. Joensuu Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Karlstad instead of Joensuu, you would:
pay 0.9% more for restaurants
|
Joensuu
|
Karlstad
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$15.68
€13.95
|
$15.00
SEK148.65
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.76
€10.46
|
$10.00
SEK99.10
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.29
€1.15
|
$2.50
SEK24.77
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.79
€1.59
|
$2.17
SEK21.47
|
|
Joensuu vs. Karlstad - Cost of restaurants
pay 18.8% more for groceries
|
Joensuu
|
Karlstad
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.53
€2.25
|
$2.87
SEK28.49
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.12
€3.67
|
$5.02
SEK49.80
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.55
€4.94
|
$5.62
SEK55.75
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.79
€2.48
|
$4.47
SEK44.31
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.84
€5.20
|
$6.40
SEK63.47
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.15
€1.02
|
$1.31
SEK13.02
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.89
€0.79
|
$1.18
SEK11.68
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.02
€0.90
|
$1.38
SEK13.69
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.76
€1.56
|
$2.38
SEK23.60
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.68
€0.60
|
$0.85
SEK8.38
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.97
€0.87
|
$0.76
SEK7.48
|
|
Joensuu vs. Karlstad - Cost of groceries
pay 8.3% less for transportation
|
Joensuu
|
Karlstad
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$8.07
€7.18
|
$6.64
SEK65.80
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$73.90
€65.78
|
$79.88
SEK791.80
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,831.54
€31,891.36
|
$32,980.57
SEK327K
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$17.92
€15.95
|
$15.80
SEK156.58
|
|
Joensuu vs. Karlstad - Cost of transportation
pay 7.7% less for housing
|
Joensuu
|
Karlstad
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$32.75
€29.15
|
$44.12
SEK437.36
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$741.82
€660.25
|
$849.76
SEK8,423.39
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$653.18
€581.35
|
$574.84
SEK5,698.17
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$148.01
€131.74
|
$76.74
SEK760.73
|
|
Joensuu vs. Karlstad - Cost of housing
pay 54.1% less for childcare
|
Joensuu
|
Karlstad
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$274.90
€244.67
|
$126.21
SEK1,251.12
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters | ?? | ?? | |
Joensuu vs. Karlstad - Cost of childcare
pay 7.4% less for entertainment and sports
|
Joensuu
|
Karlstad
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.40
€7.47
|
$7.95
SEK78.78
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.55
€3.16
|
$4.72
SEK46.82
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.87
€10.56
|
$7.10
SEK70.36
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$52.25
€46.51
|
$45.46
SEK450.59
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.24
€14.45
|
$14.00
SEK138.75
|
|
Joensuu vs. Karlstad - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 10.6% less for clothing
|
Joensuu
|
Karlstad
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$134.37
€119.59
|
$104.94
SEK1,040.29
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$39.19
€34.88
|
$39.89
SEK395.40
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$89.58
€79.73
|
$74.88
SEK742.25
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$145.57
€129.56
|
$139.86
SEK1,386.39
|
|
Joensuu vs. Karlstad - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this
Change currency:
Compare further: Joensuu vs. Karlstad
Compare countries by overall cost of living
See the
cost of living in Finland vs. Sweden.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Finland and Sweden.
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
Ask the Elsewhere Community
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Karlstad or Joensuu. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.