Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cary, NC and Stockholm

For one person, living is cheaper in Stockholm: $2,574 a month against $2,842 in Cary, NC, rent and utilities included – about $3,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

138

Cost of Living Index in Cary, NC
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Cary, NC Living Index
125

Cost of Living Index in Stockholm
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Stockholm Living Index

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Cary, NC

🇺🇸 United States

$2,842

/mo nomad

Stockholm

🇸🇪 Sweden

$2,574

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cary, NC and in Stockholm

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Cary, NC and in Stockholm actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,842 in Cary, NC versus $2,574 in Stockholm.

Cary, NC $2,842
Stockholm $2,574

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,173 in Cary, NC versus $3,871 in Stockholm.

Cary, NC $4,173
Stockholm $3,871

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,505 in Cary, NC versus $5,167 in Stockholm.

Cary, NC $5,505
Stockholm $5,167

Living in Cary, NC is roughly 10% more expensive than in Stockholm, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Cary, NC 111% above, Stockholm 91% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.35 $19.35

$18.12 SEK 180

6.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$99.3 $99.3

$99.6 SEK 986

-0.29%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.42 $10.42

$11.76 SEK 117

-11.39%

Cappuccino

$5.06 $5.06

$4.95 SEK 49.03

2.22%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 $2.03

$3.68 SEK 36.46

-44.84%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 $1.85

$3.16 SEK 31.28

-41.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.51 $4.51

$8.05 SEK 79.8

-43.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.39 $6.39

$8.82 SEK 87.4

-27.55%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.04 $1.04

$1.80 SEK 17.80

-42.22%

White Bread (500g)

$5.51 $5.51

$3.88 SEK 38.43

42.01%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$6.18 $6.18

$3.83 SEK 37.99

61.36%

Eggs

$4.02 $4.02

$5.14 SEK 50.9

-21.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.74 $17.74

$12.45 SEK 123

42.49%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$16.62 $16.62

$12.63 SEK 125

31.59%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.96 $17.96

$21.90 SEK 217

-17.99%

Apples (1kg)

$6.25 $6.25

$3.47 SEK 34.41

80.12%

Banana (1kg)

$1.93 $1.93

$2.74 SEK 27.15

-29.56%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.75 $3.75

$3.08 SEK 30.54

21.75%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.90 $6.90

$4.48 SEK 44.41

54.02%

Potato (1kg)

$3.25 $3.25

$1.77 SEK 17.54

83.62%

Onion (1kg)

$4.17 $4.17

$1.79 SEK 17.70

132.96%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.97 $2.97

$2.40 SEK 23.76

23.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.38 $2.38

$2.37 SEK 23.50

0.42%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.06 $10.06

$8.72 SEK 86.4

15.37%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.71 $9.71

$11.99 SEK 119

-19.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.33 $2.33

$2.11 SEK 20.90

10.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.04 $4.04

$2.56 SEK 25.34

57.81%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.53 $2.53

$4.34 SEK 42.96

-41.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$78.7 $78.7

$107 SEK 1,063

-26.61%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.74 SEK 56.9

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.47 SEK 14.58

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$57.1 SEK 566

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.93 $0.93

$1.80 SEK 17.86

-48.33%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$32.4K SEK 321.2K

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$28.7K $28.7K

$33.6K SEK 332.8K

-14.66%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$179 $179

$249 SEK 2,469

-28.21%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$47.18 $47.18

$21.60 SEK 214

118.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$67.6 $67.6

$40.18 SEK 398

68.24%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$77.8 $77.8

$46.98 SEK 466

65.64%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.88 $21.88

$38.15 SEK 378

-42.65%

Cinema Ticket

$15.26 $15.26

$19.09 SEK 189

-20.06%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$1,455 $1,455

$158 SEK 1,569

818.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.4K SEK 162.0K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$65.9 $65.9

$111 SEK 1,104

-40.83%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.18 $32.18

$59.0 SEK 584

-45.41%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$119 $119

$138 SEK 1,364

-13.30%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$137 $137

$186 SEK 1,847

-26.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,904 $1,904

$1,658 SEK 16.4K

14.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 $1,407

$1,079 SEK 10.7K

30.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,710 $2,710

$2,982 SEK 29.5K

-9.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,162 $2,162

$1,746 SEK 17.3K

23.81%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,859 $2,859

$11.3K SEK 111.8K

-74.66%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,643 $2,643

$6,332 SEK 62.7K

-58.27%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$6,032 $6,032

$3,583 SEK 35.5K

68.33%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.42

3.37

90.50%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Cary, NC: October 10, 2026

Last update for Stockholm: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Cary, NC

$1.4K 49.5%

Stockholm

$1.1K 41.9% 23.3% $328

Groceries & Markets

Cary, NC

$486 17.1%

Stockholm

$414 16.1% 14.9% $72

Eating Out

Cary, NC

$298 10.5%

Stockholm

$325 12.6% 9.1% $27

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cary, NC

$294 10.3%

Stockholm

$311 12.1% 5.9% $17

Clothing & Footwear

Cary, NC

$160 5.6%

Stockholm

$222 8.6% 39.5% $63

Sport & Entertainment

Cary, NC

$108 3.8%

Stockholm

$85 3.3% 21.4% $23

Getting Around

Cary, NC

$89 * 3.1%

Stockholm

$138 5.4% 55% $49

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,904 in Cary, NC and $1,658 in Stockholm. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cary, NC pays 68% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $99.0 in Cary, NC vs $100 in Stockholm. Groceries flip the comparison at $486 vs $414, with Stockholm cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Cary, NC

🇸🇪 Stockholm

🕒 Local time

07:50 7:50 AM

13:50 1:50 PM

6 h ahead of Cary, NC

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

176,987

984,748 Capital

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

100 SEK = 10.09 USD

100 SEK = 8.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SEK, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇸🇪 Swedish Krona (kr)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 9.91 SEK (1 SEK = 0.101 USD). 1 EUR = 11.14 SEK (100 SEK = 8.98 EUR).

SEK to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cary, NC Stockholm 7,010 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Cary, NC
Stockholm

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Cary, NC vs Stockholm: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Stockholm is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, utilities, and leisure. The 10% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 68% higher in Cary, NC, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,904 in Cary, NC versus $1,658 in Stockholm. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,455 in Cary, NC versus $158 in Stockholm. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 18% higher in Cary, NC. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities are expensive relative to $2,000. Stockholm is the more realistic option, but even there you'll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

For families, Stockholm is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Cary, NC, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Cary, NC and Stockholm are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Stockholm gentler on the wallet – expenses run 10% less than in Cary, NC. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.