Sweden
Latest Average Wage
−1.7% · 5 years
$61,443
Country Comparison
Sweden vs Norway
Compare average wages, long-term wage changes and eight consumer price categories using OECD data.
At a Glance
Sweden
vs
Norway
$61,4432025
Latest Average Wage
Norway +19.6%
(vs Sweden)
$73,4622025
−1.7%2025
5-Year Wage Change
Norway +7.6 pts
(vs Sweden)
+6.0%2025
+3.2%2025
10-Year Wage Change
Norway +6.3 pts
(vs Sweden)
+9.4%2025
81.52024
Overall Price Level
Norway +8.5 index points
(vs Sweden)
902024
Wages are PPP-adjusted average annual wages; price levels use the United States reference of 100. Years shown are each country's latest reported observation.
How Wages Have Changed
Follow PPP-adjusted average annual wages in constant prices across both economies.
USD PPP, constant prices · missing years shown as gaps, never interpolated
Norway
Latest Average Wage
+6.0% · 5 years
$73,462
Wage Milestones
Sweden
10 Years Ago
$59,542 (2015)
Historical Peak
$63,923 (2021)
Latest Wage
$61,443 (2025)
Norway
10 Years Ago
$67,127 (2015)
Historical Peak
$73,462 (2025)
Latest Wage
$73,462 (2025)
Compare Everyday Price Levels
See how eight consumer price categories compare with the United States reference value of 100.
United States = 100 · Differences shown in index points
Sweden (SWE)Norway (NOR)
Overall
−8.5 index points
100
81.5vs90
Food
−22.2 index points
100
90.8vs113
Clothing
+4.0 index points
100
109vs105
Housing
+3.8 index points
100
64.2vs60.4
Health
−9.2 index points
100
71.4vs80.6
Transport
−9.0 index points
100
117vs126
Recreation
−20.6 index points
100
98.4vs119
Restaurants & Accommodation
−17.0 index points
100
97vs114
What Stands Out
01
Latest Wage Gap
Norway's latest average wage is $73,462 for 2025, about 19.6% higher than Sweden's $61,443 for 2025 — a relative difference calculated from the two reported values. Per year, that works out to roughly $12,018 on the shared purchasing-power basis.
02
Stronger Recent Trend
On the latest one-year change, Norway shows the stronger movement at +1.6%, against +0.9% for Sweden. The five-year horizon keeps the same ordering: +6.0% against −1.7%. Both percentages are real, PPP-adjusted changes from the reported wage series.
03
Largest Price Gap
Food shows the widest price gap of the comparable categories in 2024: 90.8 for Sweden against 113 for Norway. Measured on the US=100 scale, the two readings for this category are 22.2 index points apart, Norway above Sweden. Index points are not percentages; the two scales answer different questions.
04
Closest Price Category
The closest category is Housing: Sweden reads 64.2 and Norway 60.4 for 2024, just 3.8 index points apart on the US=100 scale. The next closest is Clothing at 4.0 index points apart. Two readings this close mean the category sits at nearly the same point of the US=100 scale for both.
Understanding the Comparison
Wage Position
A clear separation shows in the latest wage figures — Norway at $73,462 for 2025, and Sweden at $61,443 for 2025. The higher figure exceeds the lower one by 19.6% in relative terms — a percentage calculated from the two reported values — or roughly $12,018 a year. No extra conversion is needed here: each figure is already a purchasing-power-adjusted annual amount in constant prices. For scale, neither series has moved by that much within any single reported year, so the gap is structural rather than the product of one unusual observation. Over ten years Sweden recorded +3.2% and Norway +9.4%, so the two series have been moving in the same long-term direction.
Wage Direction
This pairing shows two wage paths pulling apart rather than tracking each other. Sweden is partway through a recovery: the latest year added +0.9%, though the level remains 3.9% below its peak. Norway sits at the highest point of its series — $73,462 in 2025 is also the historical peak, with a ten-year change of +9.4%. With Norway gaining in real terms at +6.0% over five years and Sweden at −1.7%, the five-year measures move away from each other rather than closing in. All changes here are measured in real, PPP-adjusted terms, so they describe purchasing-power movement rather than nominal pay increases.
Price Profile
Sweden's overall consumer price level for 2024 reads 81.5, and Norway's reads 90, each measured against the United States reference of 100. Norway reads higher in 6 of the 8 comparable categories, so the price profile leans consistently to one side. The widest separation is in Food: 90.8 for Sweden against 113 for Norway, a gap of 22.2 index points. At the other end, Housing brings the two closest — 64.2 versus 60.4, a gap of just 3.8 index points. Relative to the US benchmark, Sweden reads above 100 in 2 of its 8 reported categories, and Norway in 5 of its 8.
Wage and price data should not be combined into a verdict on which country is better to live in.
