Sweden
Latest Average Wage
−1.7% · 5 years
$61,443
Country Comparison
Sweden vs United States
Compare average wages, long-term wage changes and eight consumer price categories using OECD data.
At a Glance
Sweden
vs
United States
$61,4432025
Latest Average Wage
United States +41.6%
(vs Sweden)
$86,9772025
−1.7%2025
5-Year Wage Change
United States +3.8 pts
(vs Sweden)
+2.1%2025
+3.2%2025
10-Year Wage Change
United States +9.8 pts
(vs Sweden)
+13.0%2025
81.52024
Overall Price Level
United States +18.5 index points
(vs Sweden)
1002024
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
United States
Latest Average Wage
+2.1% · 5 years
$86,977
Wage Milestones
Sweden
10 Years Ago
$59,542 (2015)
Historical Peak
$63,923 (2021)
Latest Wage
$61,443 (2025)
United States
10 Years Ago
$76,999 (2015)
Historical Peak
$86,977 (2025)
Latest Wage
$86,977 (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)United States (USA)
Overall
−18.5 index points
100
81.5vs100
Food
−9.2 index points
100
90.8vs100
Clothing
+9.0 index points
100
109vs100
Housing
−35.8 index points
100
64.2vs100
Health
−28.6 index points
100
71.4vs100
Transport
+17.0 index points
100
117vs100
Recreation
−1.6 index points
100
98.4vs100
Restaurants & Accommodation
−3.0 index points
100
97vs100
What Stands Out
01
Latest Wage Gap
United States' latest average wage is $86,977 for 2025, about 41.6% higher than Sweden's $61,443 for 2025 — a percentage worked out directly from the two reported figures. Per year, that works out to roughly $25,534 on the shared purchasing-power basis.
02
Stronger Recent Trend
On the latest one-year change, United States shows the stronger movement at +1.7%, against +0.9% for Sweden. The five-year horizon keeps the same ordering: +2.1% against −1.7%. Both percentages are real, PPP-adjusted changes from the reported wage series.
03
Largest Price Gap
Housing shows the widest price gap of the comparable categories in 2024: 64.2 for Sweden against 100 for United States. That is a separation of 35.8 index points on the US=100 scale, with United States on the higher side and Sweden on the lower one. Index points are not percentages; the two scales answer different questions.
04
Closest Price Category
The closest category is Recreation: Sweden reads 98.4 and United States 100 for 2024, just 1.6 index points apart on the US=100 scale. The next closest is Restaurants & Accommodation at 3.0 index points apart. Closeness here describes the index readings only, not the baskets behind them.
Understanding the Comparison
Wage Position
A clear separation shows in the latest wage figures — United States at $86,977 for 2025, and Sweden at $61,443 for 2025. The higher figure exceeds the lower one by 41.6% in relative terms — a percentage calculated from the two reported values — or roughly $25,534 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 United States +13.0%, 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. United States sits at the highest point of its series — $86,977 in 2025 is also the historical peak, with a ten-year change of +13.0%. With United States gaining in real terms at +2.1% 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 United States' reads 100, each measured against the United States reference of 100. United States reads higher in 6 of the 8 comparable categories, so the price profile leans consistently to one side. The widest separation is in Housing: 64.2 for Sweden against 100 for United States, a gap of 35.8 index points. At the other end, Recreation brings the two closest — 98.4 versus 100, a gap of just 1.6 index points. Relative to the US benchmark, Sweden reads above 100 in 2 of its 8 reported categories, and United States in 0 of its 8.
Wage and price data should not be combined into a verdict on which country is better to live in.
