Where to live in Sweden
We track 3 cities in Sweden: Gothenburg, Malmö and Stockholm. Average temperatures run from 8°C to 10°C. We estimate a couple needs €3,590 to €3,809 a month to live centrally. Sweden sits in our high tax tier. For citizens from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland, long-term residency is possible, with conditions.
12 questions, about 4 minutes, no account needed. Taking the quiz is free, and so is seeing your #1 city. Full results for both of you are a one-time US$12 (€12 in Europe).
- Tax tier
- High
- High personal income tax
- Languages
- Swedish, English
- Good English
- Safety
- 60/100
- country-level
- Healthcare
- 70/100
- country-level
- Internet
- ~180 Mbps
- median fixed broadband
The 3 cities we track
| City | Size | Setting | Avg temp | Rain a year | Est. cost a month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gothenburg | mid-sized | coastal | 9°C | 882 mm | €3,669 |
| Malmö | mid-sized | coastal | 10°C | 599 mm | €3,590 |
| Stockholm | large | coastal | 8°C | 577 mm | €3,809 |
Source: City size from GeoNames, temperature from the Open-Meteo archive (2019 to 2023 averages), rainfall from TerraClimate (1991 to 2020 normals), coast distance from Natural Earth. Cost is our model estimate for a couple living centrally.
Taxes
Sweden sits in our high tax tier: high personal income tax. The tier applies to every city here, and couples who cap tax below it will not see these cities in their results.
Source: OurNextCity tax tiers, assigned by hand from each country's top marginal personal income tax rate and overall tax reputation, with no fixed rate cut-offs. Coarse by design; not tax advice.
Residency and visas
Possible, with conditions, for people from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland. Long-term residency realistically runs through skilled employment (a work permit or EU Blue Card, both requiring a job offer) or a residence permit to actively run your own business, as Sweden offers no golden visa or passive-income route.
Citizens of the EU, EEA and Switzerland have freedom-of-movement or simplified residency rights here.
The cheapest self-funded routes we track for Sweden:
- Investment: about $22k (Sweden self-employed/own-business residence permit, SEK 200,000 self-support funds required in your bank account (converted at SEK 9.28/USD, June 2026); active business capital is additional and unspecified; as of June 2026)
For short visits, 93 of 198 passports can enter visa-free and 105 need a visa in advance.
Source: OurNextCity residency dataset, hand-reviewed approximations researched against published immigration rules, figures as of June 2026. Not legal advice: check the official source before you apply. Short-stay entry from the passport-index dataset (ilyankou, MIT).