Country Overview

Wages and Prices in Sweden

Sweden contributes a high Northern European wage reference and a below-benchmark price profile, while the page preserves the distinction between series and category data.

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Wage history

How Wages Have Changed in Sweden

Explore Sweden’s PPP-adjusted annual wage history using a reported range rather than a filled-in series.

PPP-adjusted annual wage (USD)2000–2025 · touch or hover points for the selected range

Price levels

Price Levels in Sweden

Compare everyday price levels using the United States benchmark of 100.

Overall

81.50Below U.S.18.5% below U.S.

Food

90.80Below U.S.9.2% below U.S.

Clothing

109.00Above U.S.9.0% above U.S.

Housing

64.20Below U.S.35.8% below U.S.

Health

71.40Below U.S.28.6% below U.S.

Transport

117.00Above U.S.17.0% above U.S.

Recreation

98.40Near U.S.1.6% below U.S.

Restaurants

97.00Below U.S.3.0% below U.S.

How to Read This View

Use 100 as the reference

The United States is fixed at 100 for every category. A value of 81.5 means that Sweden’s price level is about 18.5% below the U.S. benchmark, while a value of 117 means it is approximately 17% higher.

Compare categories, not household bills

Each row represents a separate spending category. The values show relative price levels rather than the actual amount a household spends. A higher transport index does not necessarily mean that total living costs are higher by the same amount.

Check the selected year

The year buttons update all displayed categories together. Missing observations are shown as unavailable and are never replaced with values from another year.

Relative context

Sweden in Context

See how Sweden’s wage and selected price level compare with the OECD median and the United States.

Average Annual Wage

Sweden$61,443

OECD Median$60,690

United States$86,977

Selected Price Level

Sweden81.50

OECD Median67.25

United States100

Read the placement

Sweden’s 2025 PPP-adjusted annual wage is close to the OECD median. Its 2024 Overall price index of 81.5 is 18.5% below the U.S. benchmark, meaning that it combines a higher wage with a lower price level in this dataset. Wage and price observations refer to separately labelled years and should not be read as a household affordability score.

Country note

Understanding Wages and Prices in Sweden

Sweden is shown with its current common-year wage and a separate price-year label. The chart exposes the selected historical span without interpolation, while the page avoids converting a measured change into a causal story.

Category detail for Sweden is led by Transport at 117.00, ahead of Clothing (109.00) and Recreation (98.40), while the overall index remains below the United States reference. The category spread is shown as reported, without adjusting any value toward the aggregate.