Oslo vs Trondheim for couples

Oslo and Trondheim are both in Norway, about 392 km apart. Every figure below comes from the data behind our city pages: an estimated monthly cost for a couple, tax tier, annual climate, safety, healthcare, internet speed, language and residency rules. Trondheim leads on cost.

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Side by side

FactorOsloTrondheim
CountryNorwayNorway
SizeLarge: 1 to 5 million peopleSmaller: under 250,000 people
SettingCoastalCoastal
Est. cost for a couple€4,602 a month€4,285 a month
Tax tierHigh taxHigh tax
Average temperature7°C6°C
Rainfall759 mm a year961 mm a year
Safety75 / 10075 / 100
Healthcare75 / 10075 / 100
Internet (median fixed)~130 Mbps~130 Mbps
Main languagesNorwegian, EnglishNorwegian, English
EnglishGood EnglishGood English
Long-term residencyPossible, with conditionsPossible, with conditions
Self-funded income routeFrom $3,062 a monthFrom $3,062 a month
Visa-free short visits93 of 198 passports93 of 198 passports

Source: the datasets behind our city pages. Cost is our model estimate (a country-level cost index scaled for city size); tax tiers are assigned by hand from each country's top marginal income tax rate and overall tax reputation; temperature from the Open-Meteo archive (2019 to 2023 averages); rainfall from TerraClimate (1991 to 2020 normals); safety and healthcare are our own country-level estimates; internet from the Ookla Speedtest Global Index; English from the EF English Proficiency Index; residency from our hand-reviewed residency dataset (not legal advice); short-stay entry from the passport-index dataset.

Factor by factor

Cost of living

Trondheim is cheaper: we estimate about €4,285 a month for a couple living centrally, against €4,602 in Oslo. That is €317 a month, or 7%, less.

Taxes

Same country, same tax: Norway is in our high tax tier.

Climate

Oslo is 1°C warmer on average over the year: 7°C against 6°C in Trondheim. Oslo is drier, with about 759 mm of rain a year against 961 mm in Trondheim (21% less).

Safety

Our safety score is country-level, so both cities get the same 75 out of 100.

Healthcare

Our healthcare score is country-level, so both cities get the same 75 out of 100.

Internet

Our broadband figure is country-level: about 130 Mbps median fixed download in both.

Language

Main languages in both: Norwegian, English. English proficiency is rated the same in both: good English.

Residency and visas

Same country, same rules: long-term residency in Norway is rated possible, with conditions, with a self-funded route from about $3,062 a month in income.

Which one fits a couple

On the factors we measure, Trondheim leads on cost (€4,285 against €4,602 a month), and Oslo leads on none of them. What our data does not cover can still tip it toward Oslo: jobs, family nearby, or simply which one each of you prefers after a visit.

Size differs too: Oslo is a large city (1 to 5 million people) and Trondheim a smaller one (under 250,000 people).

OurNextCity has each partner answer 12 questions privately, then ranks Oslo, Trondheim and 913 other cities for both of you at once.

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