Cost of living comparison
compared to
Sweden vs. United States Cost of Living Summary
Sweden is 27.7% cheaper than United States overall.
Sweden vs. United States Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Sweden instead of United States, you would:
pay 16.7% less for restaurants
|
United States
|
Sweden
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$19.86
|
$14.04
SEK138.90
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.42
|
$10.77
SEK106.52
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.67
|
$2.49
SEK24.64
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.05
|
$2.07
SEK20.46
|
|
United States vs. Sweden - Cost of restaurants
pay 16.4% less for groceries
|
United States
|
Sweden
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.63
|
$2.82
SEK27.91
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.52
|
$5.72
SEK56.63
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.98
|
$6.07
SEK60.06
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.30
|
$4.23
SEK41.88
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.46
|
$5.25
SEK51.96
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.34
|
$1.36
SEK13.42
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.80
|
$1.14
SEK11.33
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.02
|
$1.29
SEK12.81
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.19
|
$1.93
SEK19.12
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.34
|
$0.76
SEK7.52
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.39
|
$0.73
SEK7.21
|
|
United States vs. Sweden - Cost of groceries
pay 24.5% more for transportation
|
United States
|
Sweden
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.01
|
$6.65
SEK65.75
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$66.70
|
$77.78
SEK769.57
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$34,164.82
|
$31,975.58
SEK316K
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$18.02
|
$22.74
SEK224.99
|
|
United States vs. Sweden - Cost of transportation
pay 48.1% less for housing
|
United States
|
Sweden
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$70.22
|
$38.16
SEK377.57
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,681.01
|
$883.11
SEK8,737.90
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,404.28
|
$671.43
SEK6,643.43
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$157.64
|
$97.70
SEK966.67
|
|
United States vs. Sweden - Cost of housing
pay 82.1% less for childcare
|
United States
|
Sweden
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,450.99
|
$155.03
SEK1,533.97
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$24,361.50
|
$7,341.74
SEK72,642.89
|
|
United States vs. Sweden - Cost of childcare
pay 5.0% less for entertainment and sports
|
United States
|
Sweden
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.00
|
$7.36
SEK72.85
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.31
|
$4.45
SEK44.00
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$10.42
|
$7.55
SEK74.66
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$50.68
|
$41.12
SEK406.91
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.95
|
$15.58
SEK154.17
|
|
United States vs. Sweden - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 26.4% more for clothing
|
United States
|
Sweden
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$53.15
|
$91.37
SEK904.10
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.88
|
$44.99
SEK445.11
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$89.76
|
$95.04
SEK940.34
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$114.01
|
$148.76
SEK1,471.93
|
|
United States vs. Sweden - 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 November 2026). How we calculate this
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