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Mohamed Oun
Stockholm
#100 of 124
Europe

Stockholm

Sweden

Salary & Cost of Living

View purchasing power ranking

How do salaries and expenses in Stockholm compare to San Francisco?

Purchasing Power Comparison

An engineer in Stockholm is 60% worse off vs in San Francisco

This shows how far a software engineer's salary goes in Stockholm compared to San Francisco, taking into account both salary differences and cost of living.

Median Salary
$77,452
-$197K (-72%) vs San Francisco
Based on 293 data points from levels.fyi
Net Salary
$46,704
-$127K (-73%) vs San Francisco
Tax Rate: 40%

Community Insights

New
7.4/10

Stockholm is a very strong relocation option for software engineers if your priorities are quality of life, nature, stability, clean air, good infrastructure, and sane work culture. Redditors working in tech consistently say there is real demand for developers, plenty of well-known companies, and a comfortable lifestyle even though compensation is not comparable to the US. The city also scores well on cleanliness and livability, and residents love the rare combination of capital-city jobs with forests, lakes, islands, and saunas close by.

The main warning is that Stockholm is not a universal upgrade. People coming from places like LA, Berlin, Brussels, or the Bay Area often feel the city is small, quiet, expensive, and socially cold. The housing market is a recurring frustration, central living is costly, and suburbs can feel dull. The financial data also supports the Reddit view: Stockholm is not cheap, housing affordability is weak, taxes are high, and purchasing power is not especially strong compared with other tech cities.

The emotional split in the Reddit comments is clear: people who already have a partner, social base, hobbies, family plans, or a love of Nordic nature often describe Stockholm as one of the best places in the world to live. People seeking warmth, spontaneity, nightlife, fast social integration, or maximum career earnings are much more likely to feel isolated or disappointed.

Living Environment

Weather•Safety•Pollution•Events

A quick look at climate, safety, pollution, and tech community compared to San Francisco.

Rankings

Pollution Score

Top 2%

#3

of 124 cities

18.1/100

Current value (lower is better)

Community Events

Middle of the pack

#54

of 124 cities

10 events on luma

Current value

Safety Index

Middle of the pack

#68

of 124 cities

53.8/100

Current value

Housing Affordability

View affordability ranking

How affordable is housing for a software engineer in Stockholm compared to San Francisco?

Avg. Property Price
$9,165 / m²
8% cheaper than San Francisco
View detailed property prices on Numbeo

Salary Converter

Enter your annual gross salary (before taxes) to see what you would need to earn in Stockholm to maintain the same standard of living.

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Cost of Living
32% cheaper than San Francisco
View detailed cost breakdown on Numbeo

Top Paying Companies in Stockholm

Spotify logo
Spotify
Klarna logo
Klarna
Ericsson logo
Ericsson

The Good

  • Strong tech market: Redditors describe Stockholm as a major EU tech hub with companies like Spotify, Klarna, King, Mojang, iZettle, and EA DICE, plus good demand for capable developers.
  • Comfortable developer lifestyle: engineers report that even non-US-level salaries can support a good life, savings, paid leave, sick days, and a generally relaxed work culture.
  • English is extremely usable: multiple commenters say workplace English is standard in tech, Swedes often speak excellent English, and daily life is easy to navigate without fluent Swedish at first.
  • Nature access is exceptional: residents love being minutes from forests, lakes, cliffs, saunas, islands, and the archipelago while still living in a capital city.
  • High quality of life and infrastructure: people praise Stockholm as safe, clean, walkable, well-connected by public transport, and generally a place where things work.
  • Excellent for settling down: commenters repeatedly say Stockholm shines for people who want stability, safety, good schools, equality, and a slower lifestyle rather than constant nightlife.

The Bad

  • Lower upside than the US/top hubs: Redditors repeatedly warn that Stockholm tech salaries are comfortable locally but do not match Bay Area-style compensation, and the salary ceiling/purchasing power feels limited.
  • Housing is the biggest practical pain: residents and engineers mention a real housing crisis, expensive central flats, difficult rentals, and boring suburbs as the tradeoff for affordability.
  • Social integration can be hard: many foreigners say it is difficult to make friends outside work, with Stockholm described as reserved, socially awkward, and not a place where friendships happen casually.
  • Winter is a serious drawback: long, dark, cold winters come up constantly, with some people calling them “horrid” and saying the lack of light affects daily life.
  • Not a buzzing big-city culture: compared with Berlin, Brussels, LA, London, or Paris, commenters say Stockholm can feel small, slower, quieter, and weaker for nightlife, restaurants, shopping variety, and spontaneous urban energy.
  • High taxes and modest buying power: the data backs up Reddit’s sentiment that while life is stable and comfortable, Stockholm ranks poorly for net income and purchasing power among tech cities.

Moving Here

Moderate

Relocation is manageable but not frictionless. For EU citizens, moving is relatively straightforward; for non-EU software engineers, the usual route is an employer-sponsored work permit, and Redditors note that companies are more willing to relocate experienced developers than juniors because relocation is an investment.

A strong company relocation package can make the move feel easy, but without one you face bureaucracy, housing pressure, and setup tasks like personal identity numbers, banking, and long-term accommodation. English is a major advantage in tech and everyday life, but learning Swedish matters for deeper integration, friendships, and feeling less stuck in expat circles.

The expat community exists, and Stockholm is internationally minded, but socially it is not effortless: people often recommend clubs, hobbies, and associations rather than expecting casual friendships to form naturally.

Who Is This City For?

Best for software engineers who value work-life balance, nature, safety, clean infrastructure, family life, and a calmer Nordic lifestyle over maximizing compensation. Avoid it if you need high salaries, easy social warmth, big-city nightlife, abundant housing, or sunny winters.

Updated 6/24/2026

Weather3.1/10-64% vs San Francisco
Safety54+36%
Pollution18-63%
Events10-84%
3.1/10TechCities weather score vs 8.7/10 in San Francisco

0–10 composite (higher is better) combining temperature comfort, sunshine hours, rainy-day count, and humid days. See methodology for weighting and data sources.

Weather snapshot

Average High
10°C(vs 19°C in San Francisco)
Average Low
3°C(vs 12°C in San Francisco)
Sunshine Hours
1,803h/yr-1259h/yr(-41%)
Hottest Month High
22°C(same as San Francisco)
Coldest Month Low
-5°C(vs 8°C in San Francisco)
Rainy Days
73/yr+24/yr(+50%)

Community & Quality

Stockholm community pulse

Stockholm has 10 Luma events listed.

84% fewer events than San Francisco.

Net Income

Middle of the pack

#76

of 124 cities

$46,704/yr

Current value

Cost of Living

Bottom 28%

#91

of 124 cities

61/100

Current value (lower is better)

Comfortable Weather

Bottom 22%

#98

of 124 cities

31/100 weather score

Current value

Purchasing Power

Bottom 20%

#100

of 124 cities

Home Affordability

Bottom 13%

#109

of 124 cities

≈15.7 yrs to buy 80m²

Current value

Tax Rate

Bottom 13%

#109

of 124 cities

40%

Current value (lower is better)

SWE Affordability
15.7 years
11.1 years longer than San Francisco
Muggy Days
1/yr(same as San Francisco)
Cloud Cover
60%(vs 34% in San Francisco)