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Average Salaries in Sweden by Occupation
10 Jan2012
Swedish salaries on the whole, are lower than other countries. In Sweden, salaries are more evenly spread between professions compared to the other countries, especially the US & UK, when there is a wide range in earnings between blue-collar to CEO/doctor levels.
Here’s a quick look at monthly salaries for most major professions. In Sweden, employees sign up for a monthly salary rather than yearly salary. These are based upon several years experience. Discount heavily if you are a new graduate in the field.
Occupation Monthly Salary in SEK (2010)
Veterinarian 50,600
Dentists 50,600
Doctors 50,600
Pilot 48,200
Lawyer 40,700
Civil economist 38,600
Computer Programmer 38,400
Master 38,000
Researcher 35,600
Brokers 34,700
Journalist 32,100
Author 32,100
IT professionals 30,400
Psychologist 28,000
Nurse 27,800
Secondary school teachers 27,300
Opticians 26,200
Primary school teachers 25,700
HVAC technician 24,700
Painter 23,600
Tailors 21,600
Stockman 20,200
You can see that doctors and lawyers are not that much better off than an experienced programmer or pilot. There are no $200,000 incomes for doctors or lawyers in Sweden so if you expect that kind of money, don’t move here.
Despite average wages, cost of living is relatively high, especially in Stockholm. You can still achieve a high rate of savings by avoiding car ownership and living with a partner.
In addition, high unemployment amongst the youth population is persistent despite lower restrictions on hiring and terminations. Youth are those between 18-25 years of age. If you are college educated or have previous work experience, your chance of finding a job is far easier.
LO, Landsorganisationen i Sverige, the Swedish trade union confederation, ran a study regarding expectations of salaries and reality. The findings were markedly Swedish in that, respondents expected evenly distributed salaries amongst occupations.
Occupation Expected Monthly Income Real Monthly Income
Cashier 22,800 20,400
Assistant 25,200 21,600
Industry worker 25,700 24,100
Electrician 26,800 26,600
Teacher 27,700 26,000
Nurse 29,000 25,600
Engineer 32,600 39,100
Sales Boss 35,700 54,600
Doctor 39,000 52,800
Director of a large company 97,000 969,800
Numbers are in 2010 SEK (kronor) via DN and LO.
Of course, not everything is equal in Sweden, especially when you reach the director/executive level positions. There, you can expect American salaries and perks with your position.
The resources below should help you if you are negotiating salaries. Be aware of salary differences between cities, gender, and experience.
SCB – http://www.scb.se/Pages/ProductTables____7538.aspx
LO – http://www.lo.se/home/lo/home.nsf/unidView/98550AB94B710AD4C12574E80042F3F0
Lönestatistik – based on user submission; hit or miss for many occupations – http://www.lonestatistik.se/loner.asp
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37 Responses to Average Salaries in Sweden by Occupation
Andrew
January 10th, 2012 at 16:51
Holy crap. How can anyone live on such small salaries in Stockholm? Thank god my salary is in the top 4 range, and I have fellow colleagues and friends who I know clear the top values on the chart.
lh
January 10th, 2012 at 19:43
Okay so I guess with all the American med school loan debts I will accrue by the end my studies, I may not want to move to Sweden after all…wouldn’t be able to afford paying those back!
Sapphire
January 10th, 2012 at 19:50
@Andrew! Stop eating caviar everyday and vaska’ing champagne. :-P
@lh – You better stay in America if you have med school loans! I think the medical field has the largest discrepancy in salary between the countries.
lh
January 11th, 2012 at 02:14
@ Sapphire, PS. if/when you come to San Francisco let me know! I’ve been reading your blog so much I feel like we are friends already!
PSS. I am now obsessed with SatW comics– amazingnessss right there! haha
:)
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!
Sapphire
January 15th, 2012 at 01:15
@lh – I should be visiting later in the year, so let’s meet up! SATW comic is the BEST. The girl, Humon, is a genius!
Pelle Fisk
February 4th, 2012 at 14:53
@Andrew: I think the main difference is that there is no health insurance, little home insurance and so on. I (single person in an owned apartment) pay about $300/year in insurance and that includes pretty much everything (apartment, health (including dental), travel and so on). If you have a car – add $300-$800.
Rajas M Rao
March 4th, 2012 at 19:18
Is it after the taxes?
Sapphire
March 4th, 2012 at 19:59
@Rajas – The salary are before taxes. Everyone has a different tax pressure; it wouldn’t make sense to do post-tax salaries.
Maddie
April 29th, 2012 at 17:04
If these are lower than other countries, then how can we afford living within ours?! I am a telecom engineer and was paid 1500EGP basic salary and around 200EGP monthly bonus at 2009 in Egypt! Enjoy the conversion :) I will be appreciated if you please can advise me how to travel to Sweden.
mitosis
August 1st, 2012 at 03:13
I just came back from an awesome vacation in northern Sweden. From what I could see, people in Sweden may not have as much “stuff” as north americans – but they certainly have a better quality of life. The narrow income spread seems like a very good idea.
Question: Having participated in a fair number of “fika’s” I was wondering about the coffee. What do Swedes do to make their strong-brew coffee so tasty? If I were to brew some local (american) coffee to that strength, it would be undrinkable.
Gabriele
August 7th, 2012 at 20:55
could someone tell me what is average salary for waitress?
George
August 9th, 2012 at 12:05
Having lived in Sweden for a year I have to mention the problems with this. IF you want to live in Stockholm or any other big city in the world of course the COL will be high. Thus there are suburbs where the costs are a whole lot cheaper. Going even further up here in Norsbotten it’s even cheaper! For a years worth of rent in Stockholm you can buy a nice house with lots of land in the country close enough to a city to go to work.
Also consider this with the Doctors. There is no student debt payback and no insurance payments for liability and the work hours are a whole lot better. Still lower then America but getting closer. Private practice is also allowed here and I believe they get paid a lot more since it is a premium service where you get seen when you want to instead of waiting for a long time.
My sister in law did say she and her husband would move to Norway after she graduates as the psychologist are paid more there.
All in all yes it’s not as well paying here on high end jobs as in america but the low end jobs pay well and as someone mentioned the living conditions here are great. Also we don’t have as many temptations for useless things (lack of variety) so we do save a bit.
Virus
August 19th, 2012 at 01:07
You mentioned Humon in one of the comments. I’m a HUGE fan of the SATW comics and I don’t think there is a comic about the salaries in Scandinavia (She’s Danish isn’t she…)
But i’m starting to go through all your posts and I must say, i’m really impressed. You’re beginning to take on a Humon-esque stature to me right now… :D
Sapphire
August 21st, 2012 at 09:25
@SATW is one of my favorite comics. I read somewhere where she is from but don’t remember now.
I’m glad you enjoy the blog. There are lots of updates to come, so stay tuned.
Emilio
September 13th, 2012 at 04:11
Hi everyone! I´ve just apply to an internship in Lund. The salary is 15,500, is it OK to live ?. Is it possible to save something ?. Let me know what can you do with that salary.
Thank you very much and best regards.
Ihab
October 10th, 2012 at 10:43
hi everyone, i have to make survey about some eccupation salary can anyone help in that ?
also i need to now some other things like how can i rejest new company, Taxes, fuel rate, car hiring per month,flat rent preice / year
apprciate anyone help.
Cheers,
Noel
October 23rd, 2012 at 09:58
Hi,
I work in the Construction Industry as a Quantity Surveyor in the UK and have been trying to find the average salary for a Swedish equivalent but have so far been unable to do so. I believe the role of the Quantity Surveyor in Sweden in less technical as many of the functions of a QS are carried out by other professions. Any help you could give me on average salaries or where to look for roles would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers,
Noel
kalsiani
November 6th, 2012 at 11:16
whats the average tax %ge and cost of living in euro in sweden–I mean for a decent upper-mid-class living statndard
Sweden and Salaries
November 8th, 2012 at 23:04
[...] and Australia are quite similar in that they both offer high tax rates and better wages for low-skilled work, due to highly protectionist government policy against cheap immigrants and a generous minimum wage [...]
m0rk
November 15th, 2012 at 04:31
@kalsoani:
Normal income tax (roughly speaking) is between 28-33%. It depends on which municipality you are living in. If you make more then 401 100 SEK/year (about 46000 Euros) you also pay state income tax, much like US federal tax.
About the cost of living….. Taking Gothenburg area as an example. 2 room apartment is about 500 euros, food 230-300 euros, appliance + electricity 30-40 euros, internet+mobilephone 60-70 euros, monthly fee for commuting is about 80-100 euros. So all in all 920-100 euros. If you live in smaller cities or suburbs the rent might be alot cheaper.
@Noel:
2,500 to 3,000 euros depending on education and number of active years.
Mitchell
November 19th, 2012 at 04:29
Heya, so ive been trying to find salary averages for skilled chefs in stockholm but as of yet i havnt had any luck.. Does anyone here have an idea?
Ian.M
November 19th, 2012 at 14:38
Hi everone. I’m a qualified fitness trainer. Does anyone know the average wage for a fitness trainer anywhere in Sweden?
Kenneth
November 26th, 2012 at 01:11
I am graduating rom medical school soon from russia could you please tell me if ifs easy to get an internship in Sweden
Sapphire
November 26th, 2012 at 23:23
@Ian – I would say 18000-25000kr per month depending on your experience.
Sapphire
November 26th, 2012 at 23:30
Hi Mitchell, I just read an article about chefs. And now I can’t find it! But basically, there’s a real need for good chefs and kitchen workers in the country.
Here’s an idea from self-reported workers:
http://www.lonestatistik.se/loner.asp/yrke/Koksmastare-2560
This is from the HRF union:
http://www.hrf.net/din-lon
Give them a call and see if you are eligible to join.
Sapphire
November 26th, 2012 at 23:33
@Kenneth – I really have no idea about med school internships. You should contact Karolinska and see what options exist.
zapece
January 17th, 2013 at 15:37
I am trying to figure out how much a senior network engineer would make any idea?
Sapphire
February 5th, 2013 at 23:48
@Zapece – Depends on the years and type of experience you have. Plus it matters where you work in Sweden. Stockholm has higher salaries on average than the other cities.
Shar
February 8th, 2013 at 11:17
I was wondering how much the pay for a recent MBA graduate in Healthcare Administration would be in Stockholm.
Graduated out of NYU – Stern if that helps.
Robby
February 20th, 2013 at 16:18
Can anyone tell me the average salary for an electrician in Sweden? (after the taxes are cut off)
Thanks everyone!
Falcon239er
February 21st, 2013 at 14:23
I am about to start a medical course in Scotland and was considering moving to Scania because of the pace of life and overall standard of living after i qualify and was wondering what sort of monthly salary i would get post tax as doctor before specialisation? And also whether private doctors can work similarly to how they work in the Uk being able to do both NHS and private work?
Ionut
April 4th, 2013 at 21:27
Hello there,
I was wondering what would be the average salary in Stockholm for a programmer with 3 years experience in C/C++? I’m about to get an offer from Microsoft, and I was wondering what I should expect.
Thanks
Suruchi Bhatia
April 17th, 2013 at 19:15
Hi, My husband will move to Stockholm from India through his work by next month. I will also move with him and need to know the process if I want to work there too and what is the job requirment and average salary for IT SAP FICO proffessionals in Sweden. I have 6 years of Work Experience in IT Industry including Experience in US and India.
Johan de Vries
April 21st, 2013 at 03:27
Hi,
we are thinking about re-locating to Sweden next year…but what I don´t get is…why can people afford houses and stuff if the taxes are that high and the salaries are (more or less) equal? How they do that?
I am Dutch and my wife is South-American. I am an skilled industry worker and she is a registrated Nurse. Right now she is learning English. I started with „Rivstart“ to learn Swedish:-) What should be the level of Swedish for a nurse…is a B2 sufficient?
We were thinking on moving in the Malmo/Lund area…is that also so expensive as Stockholm? We have a child of nearly 3 years old.
Thanks…Tack.
Johan
Fortune
May 15th, 2013 at 09:51
Hi,i have a qualification of profficiency in Web-Design & Am presently doing Application Development in South Africa.
Kindly advice me,do you think it will be better for my career in sweden than in canada? in terms of salery?
Vanya
May 20th, 2013 at 17:46
Johan,
The answer to your question is essentially “Loan & Spend” – right now borrowing money in Sweden is dirt cheap and it’s staggering to witness who is eligible – pretty much anyone.
If you have a reasonable income and a projected apartment rent/fee after purchasing (let’s say 50-60% of your income after tax or so) then the banks don’t hesitate. The government made some weak attempts at encouraging fiscal responsibility a while back by forcing banks to raise deposits on property purchases to 15% from 10% – but the extra 5% can be loaned from the bank (or relatives). In fact, many seemingly well-off Swedes sporting apartments in the center of Stockholm got there not only of their own accord by grinding and saving up, but by having family pool the resources necessary for the initial down payment – the rest is the mortgage.
Also, like others have suggested – splitting the costs with a partner and avoiding car ownership do help but aren’t necessary.
Pros and cons, as always…
Slightly Confused
May 23rd, 2013 at 15:07
Hi,
There are a few things that do work in Sweden’s favour:
1. Tax Refund – If you purchase property, 30% of your interest can be used to offset against your salary. This offset can either be paid on a monthly basis or on a yearly basis in your tax return. The hardest thing is saving up a deposit to be able to buy a place (I believe it’s now 15%).
2. Healthcare – You pay ~200SEK per doctor’s visit. After the 10th visit, in a 12 month period, the doctor’s fee is waived.
3. Schooling – As I understand it – it’s free
4. Interest – Most of the things you can buy on “interest free” loans. I believe you can pay something off within 2 years and only pay a handling fee of 30SEK per month
To be honest, I’m one of the biggest fans of amazon and now with free shipping to Sweden, it’s perfect! In addition, I fly to London quite often to buy things as the cost of certain branded items far exceeds the cost of flying/staying in London.
When I first moved to Sweden, I really struggled with adjusting to the environment. I felt everything was far too expensive, especially for the salary. Now that I do a lot of online shopping, know where the ‘bargain’ shops are – im actually quite comfortable. I support my family and live a great life on ~60K SEK (after tax) a month.
cheers,