Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Gavle and Lund

For one person, living is cheaper in Gavle: $1,439 a month against $1,783 in Lund, rent and utilities included – about $4,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

69

Cost of Living Index in Gavle
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Gavle Living Index
86

Cost of Living Index in Lund
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Lund Living Index

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Gavle

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,439

/mo nomad

Lund

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,783

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Gavle and in Lund

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,439 in Gavle versus $1,783 in Lund.

Gavle $1,439
Lund $1,783

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,286 in Gavle versus $2,943 in Lund.

Gavle $2,286
Lund $2,943

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,134 in Gavle versus $4,103 in Lund.

Gavle $3,134
Lund $4,103

Living in Gavle costs roughly 19% less than in Lund, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Gavle 6% above, Lund 32% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.69 SEK 136

$13.36 SEK 132

2.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$79.4 SEK 786

$90.8 SEK 900

-12.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.31 SEK 92.2

$12.17 SEK 121

-23.50%

Cappuccino

$4.42 SEK 43.79

$4.69 SEK 46.51

-5.76%

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

$2.07 SEK 20.51

$2.82 SEK 27.92

-26.60%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.91 SEK 18.95

$2.09 SEK 20.66

-8.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.79 SEK 77.2

$7.99 SEK 79.2

-2.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.75 SEK 76.8

$7.17 SEK 71.0

8.09%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.63 SEK 16.12

$1.65 SEK 16.34

-1.21%

White Bread (500g)

$2.61 SEK 25.84

$2.57 SEK 25.42

1.56%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.73 SEK 36.95

$3.43 SEK 34.03

8.75%

Eggs

$3.81 SEK 37.80

$4.56 SEK 45.23

-16.45%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.13 SEK 90.4

$12.55 SEK 124

-27.25%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.29 SEK 102

$11.96 SEK 119

-13.96%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.73 SEK 186

$15.65 SEK 155

19.68%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 SEK 30.25

$3.10 SEK 30.74

-1.61%

Banana (1kg)

$2.74 SEK 27.16

$2.54 SEK 25.20

7.87%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.27 SEK 32.43

$2.88 SEK 28.51

13.54%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.35 SEK 43.07

$4.62 SEK 45.81

-5.84%

Potato (1kg)

$1.73 SEK 17.12

$1.68 SEK 16.63

2.98%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 SEK 17.99

$1.38 SEK 13.63

31.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.55 SEK 25.26

$2.66 SEK 26.33

-4.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.05 SEK 20.35

$1.49 SEK 14.81

37.58%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.99 SEK 79.1

$7.86 SEK 77.9

1.65%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.13 SEK 110

$11.24 SEK 111

-0.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.64 SEK 16.23

$1.90 SEK 18.83

-13.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.55 SEK 15.34

$2.68 SEK 26.53

-42.16%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.25 SEK 32.22

$3.20 SEK 31.66

1.56%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.4 SEK 598

$63.8 SEK 632

-5.33%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.52 SEK 44.83

$5.07 SEK 50.3

-10.85%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 SEK 15.16

$1.07 SEK 10.64

42.99%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.87 SEK 336

$42.27 SEK 419

-19.87%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.81 SEK 17.90

$1.78 SEK 17.69

1.69%

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

$25.8K SEK 255.2K

$33.8K SEK 334.7K

-23.74%

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

$28.1K SEK 278.1K

$34.1K SEK 337.6K

-17.61%

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

$55.6 SEK 551

$77.4 SEK 767

-28.13%

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

$21.93 SEK 217

$29.06 SEK 288

-24.54%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.60 SEK 392

$41.26 SEK 409

-4.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$47.32 SEK 469

$38.58 SEK 382

22.65%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.41 SEK 272

Cinema Ticket

$15.22 SEK 151

$15.08 SEK 149

0.93%

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

$133 SEK 1,321

$157 SEK 1,551

-14.81%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.3K SEK 151.1K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.6 SEK 699

$80.7 SEK 799

-12.56%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.8 SEK 583

-0.07%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$50.9 SEK 505

$103 SEK 1,017

-50.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.5 SEK 887

$122 SEK 1,208

-26.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$579 SEK 5,738

$848 SEK 8,402

-31.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$425 SEK 4,208

$685 SEK 6,783

-37.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$762 SEK 7,546

$1,755 SEK 17.4K

-56.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$665 SEK 6,593

$1,400 SEK 13.9K

-52.46%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,945 SEK 19.3K

$6,119 SEK 60.6K

-68.22%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,333 SEK 13.2K

$3,638 SEK 36.1K

-63.36%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,144 SEK 31.1K

$2,950 SEK 29.2K

6.55%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.37

3.03

11.22%

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

Last update for Gavle: October 17, 2026

Last update for Lund: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Gavle

$425 29.5%

Lund

$685 38.4% 61.2% $260

Groceries & Markets

Gavle

$351 24.4%

Lund

$358 20.1% 1.8% $6.3

Eating Out

Gavle

$261 18.1%

Lund

$274 15.4% 4.9% $13

Clothing & Footwear

Gavle

$121 8.4%

Lund

$164 9.2% 35% $42

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Gavle

$117 8.1%

Lund

$148 8.3% 26.1% $31

Getting Around

Gavle

$86 6%

Lund

$87 4.9% 1.7% $1.4

Sport & Entertainment

Gavle

$78 5.4%

Lund

$69 3.9% 11.6% $9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $579 in Gavle and $848 in Lund. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Gavle pays 7% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $79.0 in Gavle vs $91.0 in Lund for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $351 vs $358 per month, with Gavle cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇪 Gavle

🇸🇪 Lund

🕒 Local time

09:44 9:44 AM

Same time as Gavle

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

100,000

82,800

💱 Currency

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 SEK = 10.09 USD

100 SEK = 8.98 EUR

100 SEK = 10.09 USD

100 SEK = 8.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Gavle Lund 600 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Gavle
Lund

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

Gavle vs Lund: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Gavle and Lund differ by about 24% in total monthly costs ($1,439 vs $1,783 including rent). Gavle is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 7% higher in Gavle, 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: $579 in Gavle versus $848 in Lund. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Gavle runs roughly 6% less than in Lund. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $133 in Gavle versus $157 in Lund. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,439 in Gavle versus $1,783 in Lund, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Gavle but tight or insufficient in Lund. The gap between the two cities makes Gavle the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Gavle and Lund 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 Gavle gentler on the wallet – expenses run 24% less than in Lund. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.