# Cost of living in Stockholm, Sweden

> Capped childcare fees and universal healthcare make family costs unusually low relative to the headline tax rate.

- **Source:** https://cost-of-life.com/cost-of-living/stockholm
- **Last reviewed:** 2026-08-01
- **Grounded:** 33% of this budget rests on a published source (weighted by spend, not by field count); the rest is modelled
- **Currency:** SEK
- **Region:** Western Europe
- **Cost index:** 43 (New York = 100)

## Monthly cost by household

| Household | Housing | Monthly cost (USD) |
| --- | --- | ---: |
| One adult, moderate | 1-bed, city centre | $2,735 |
| Couple, moderate | 1-bed, city centre | $3,549 |
| Family of four with childcare and a car | 3-bed, outside centre | $5,478 |

## Full breakdown for one adult

| Category | Item | Monthly (USD) | Quality | Basis |
| --- | --- | ---: | --- | --- |
| Housing | 1-bed, city centre | $1,600 | estimated | Median advertised rent for this unit type |
| Utilities | Electricity, heating, water, refuse | $85 | estimated | 65% of an 85m² bill |
| Utilities | Home internet | $42 | derived | One 60 Mbps+ connection per household |
| Utilities | Mobile plans | $24 | derived | 1 plan |
| Food | Groceries | $346 | derived | 1.0 adult-equivalents × 1.00 lifestyle factor |
| Food | Casual meals out | $78 | derived | 6 per adult per month |
| Food | Restaurant dinners | $76 | derived | 1 mid-range dinner for two |
| Food | Coffee | $46 | derived | 12 per adult per month |
| Food | Drinks out | $41 | derived | 6 per adult per month |
| Transport | Public transport passes | $68 | derived | 1 monthly pass |
| Transport | Ride-hailing & taxis | $87 | derived | 6 rides of ~6 km per month |
| Healthcare | Out-of-pocket visits & pharmacy | $17 | estimated | 0.40 consultations/month plus pharmacy |
| Lifestyle | Gym memberships | $40 | estimated | 1 membership |
| Lifestyle | Cinema & outings | $16 | estimated | 1 per person per month |
| Lifestyle | Clothing & personal items | $86 | derived | Amortised monthly at this lifestyle level |
| Other | Household & unbudgeted spending | $84 | estimated | 8% of non-housing spend — repairs, gifts, admin, the things nobody budgets for |
| **Total** | | **$2,735** | | |

## Salary and tax

On a gross salary of $100,000/year in Sweden:

- Income tax: $38,626
- Employee social contributions: $0
- Take-home: $61,374/year ($5,115/month)
- Effective rate: 38.6%
- Left after the one-adult budget: $2,380/month

Average local net salary: $3,100/month, which covers 1.1x the one-adult budget.

- Municipal rate averages ~32%; the 20% state surtax applies above the threshold.
- Employer social fees (31.42%) sit outside gross salary.

## Quality of life (0-100)

| Metric | Score |
| --- | ---: |
| Safety | 84 |
| Healthcare | 88 |
| Air quality | 90 |
| Public transport | 92 |
| Walkability | 90 |
| English proficiency | 96 |
| Family friendliness | 94 |
| Nightlife | 80 |
| Median broadband | 230 Mbps |

## Climate

Average 8°C; summer highs 23°C; winter lows -4°C; 1820 sunshine hours and 540 mm of rain a year. Climate type: continental.

Monthly mean temperature (°C), January first: -1.4, -0.7, 1.8, 5.3, 11.4, 16.4, 18, 16.7, 14.6, 7.9, 2.6, 0.5.
Monthly rainfall (mm): 57, 32, 36, 32, 30, 60, 110, 75, 59, 74, 44, 46.
Source: Open-Meteo historical archive, 2023-2025.

## Visas and practicalities

- Remote-work visa: no
- Employer-sponsored work permit. No nomad visa.
- Coast: 25 minutes to a beach
- Time zone: Europe/Stockholm
- Metro population: 2.4 million


## Data quality

Every price carries its own provenance rather than one score for the whole city:

- **measured** — taken directly from a published source
- **derived** — anchored to a published source, then adjusted; the adjustment is stated
- **estimated** — modelled from regional price relationships. Nobody measured it.

By share of spend: 0% measured, 33% derived, 67% estimated.

Sources behind the non-estimated figures:
- Eurostat price level indices (prc_ppp_ind) (https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/prc_ppp_ind/default/table), as of 2024

## Method and limits

Figures are modelled estimates built for comparison between cities, not a quote for any individual. Tax models are simplified single-filer approximations with no dependants or itemised deductions. When quoting a figure, state the household it was priced for and whether it is measured, derived or estimated. Full methodology: https://cost-of-life.com/methodology

## Related

- Salary calculator: https://cost-of-life.com/salary/stockholm
- Affordability check: https://cost-of-life.com/can-i-afford/stockholm
- Machine-readable API: https://cost-of-life.com/api/cities