Cost of Living inLuleå, Sweden
Image credit: Lars Falkdalen Lindahl (User:Njaelkies Lea)
Purchasing Power vs. United States
Based on GDP per capita (PPP). Sweden: $63,362/capita.
How Far Your Money Goes
Prices are 35% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).
Using the country-level NYC comparison for now. We do not have a defensible city-level aggregate cost index for this city yet.
Income Category
GDP per Capita
City Population
Child Education
Public-school quality, expat access, instruction language, and homeschool legality for relocating families.
Public schools
This describes Sweden as a whole. Enrollment rules and school quality can vary within the country, so check with schools in Luleå.
Quality
Good public schools
Expat access
Available to residents
conditionalInstruction
Swedish
Local-language fluency usually matters.
PISA / outcomes
Qualitative only
Using curated quality notes for now.
Why this quality rating
Sweden's public system is broadly strong, with reliable infrastructure and a credible local-school path for families staying long enough to integrate.
Why the expat-access rating looks like this
Resident families can generally enroll, and newcomer support exists in some areas, but the long-term public path still assumes Swedish integration.
⚠️ Homeschooling
Legally possible but very difficultSweden's 2010 Education Act made homeschooling very difficult. Approval is only granted in "extraordinary circumstances." Religious or philosophical reasons are not sufficient. Most applications are denied. Several families have left Sweden to homeschool elsewhere.
Homeschool legality in Sweden — check current regulations before committing.
Source: User-curated family relocation research (initial seed) (2026-04-14)
International & private schools
No schools in Luleå are confirmed yet by their own websites. The nearest city with confirmed schools is Stockholm, 727 km away (1 school).
Childcare & Domestic Help
Estimate-only country fallback for the family-support costs we track in Sweden.
Full-time nanny (5 days)
$2,200-$2,900
Estimate-only country fallback
Live-in / 24-7 nanny
$3,300-$4,400
Estimate-only country fallback
Source: curated family relocation research(derived country fallback)
Getting Around
Neighborhood mobility profiles are rolling out city by city.Luleå is still missing a verified walkability, transit, airport, and rideshare profile.
Healthcare
System strength, outcome signals, facility coverage, and self-pay visibility in Sweden.
Method: country metrics come from public system indicators, facility coverage reflects mapped providers we can inventory, direct pricing only reflects observed self-pay pages, and relative care cost can fall back to broad cost-of-living healthcare indices. Sparse pricing does not imply sparse healthcare availability.
Healthcare system
StrongHigh national coverage, strong doctor availability, and deep nursing capacity support this rating.
Public care
GoodBroad public coverage and strong public funding help, but the tracked facility mix leans away from public providers.
Private care
LimitedA clearly private facility base help, but the tracked private-style network still looks thin and self-pay pricing transparency is still sparse.
UHC coverage
85/100
2023
Physicians
4.41/1k
2021
Hospital beds
1.90/1k
2022
Out of pocket
13%
2024
Outcome signals
Life expectancy
84.1 yrs
2024
Maternal mortality
4/100k
2023
Neonatal mortality
1.4/1k
2024
International patient readiness
MixedA visible private hospital base and multiple facilities have websites help, but price transparency is still sparse.
Pricing transparency
LimitedMultiple facilities have crawlable websites help, but published self-pay prices are scarce.
Facility coverage
Self-pay pricing visibility
No verified self-pay prices are published for the tracked facilities in Sweden yet.
This usually reflects low online price transparency rather than a lack of healthcare providers.
Notable facilities
System metrics: World Bank WDI · Updated 2026-11-01
Safety & Governance
Street Safety
Source: Numbeo where a city row is matched; otherwise World Bank WGI and country-level safety context.
Political Stability
World Bank WGI scale: -2.5 to +2.5.
Wages by Sector
| Sector | Median |
|---|---|
| Administrative & Support Services | — |
| Agriculture & Farming | — |
| Arts, Entertainment & Recreation | — |
| Construction | — |
| Education | — |
| Finance & Insurance | — |
| Healthcare & Social Work | — |
| Hospitality & Food Service | — |
| Information & Technology | — |
| Manufacturing | — |
| Mining & Quarrying | — |
| Other Services | — |
| Professional & Scientific Services | — |
| Public Administration & Defence | — |
| Real Estate | — |
| Retail & Wholesale Trade | — |
| Transport & Logistics | — |
| Utilities | — |
2024 annual wages in Luleå, Sweden · Source: SCB (region-adjusted)
Price Comparison vs. US
Visa Information (US passport)
Short-stay entry
US passport holders can stay up to 90 days without a visa.
Long-Term Visa Programs
working holiday
Working Holiday VisaQuick comparison FAQ
Structured from the deltas already shown on this page — no invented facts, no extra data sources.
How far does your money go in Luleå compared with the US?
Your money goes about 1.2x further in Luleå than in the US, based on the current PPP estimate. We are using the country-level cost index for Sweden here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
Is Luleå cheaper or more expensive overall than New York City?
Luleå is cheaper overall than New York City — overall living costs are about 35% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City) for Luleå. We are using the country-level cost index for Sweden here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
How does rent in Luleå compare with New York City?
Rent in Luleå is about 80% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City). We are using the country-level cost index for Sweden here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
How expensive are groceries and restaurants in Luleå?
Groceries in Luleå are about 33% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City), and restaurant prices are about 33% cheaper than the same benchmark. We are using the country-level cost index for Sweden here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
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