Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Hamar and Bucharest

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,340 a month against $2,380 in Hamar, rent and utilities included – about $12,500 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

117

Cost of Living Index in Hamar
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Hamar Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index

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Hamar

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,380

/mo nomad

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Hamar and in Bucharest

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,380 in Hamar versus $1,340 in Bucharest.

Hamar $2,380
Bucharest $1,340

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,750 in Hamar versus $2,037 in Bucharest.

Hamar $3,750
Bucharest $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,120 in Hamar versus $2,734 in Bucharest.

Hamar $5,120
Bucharest $2,734

Living in Hamar is roughly 78% more expensive than in Bucharest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Hamar is 76% above, Bucharest is 1% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.18 NOK 199

$14.49 RON 68.6

46.17%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$125 NOK 1,180

$58.1 RON 275

115.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$15.83 NOK 149

$7.48 RON 35.40

111.63%

Cappuccino

$5.76 NOK 54.2

$3.44 RON 16.29

67.44%

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

$4.21 NOK 39.63

$2.37 RON 11.22

77.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.28 NOK 30.85

$2.30 RON 10.88

42.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$11.49 NOK 108

$3.70 RON 17.51

210.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.07 NOK 76.0

$4.16 RON 19.69

93.99%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.50 NOK 23.53

$1.67 RON 7.90

49.70%

White Bread (500g)

$2.93 NOK 27.57

$1.37 RON 6.50

113.87%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.06 NOK 19.36

$1.72 RON 8.14

19.77%

Eggs

$5.76 NOK 54.3

$3.64 RON 17.22

58.24%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.05 NOK 104

$9.08 RON 42.98

21.70%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.20 NOK 115

$6.84 RON 32.35

78.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$31.42 NOK 296

$12.00 RON 56.8

161.83%

Apples (1kg)

$3.21 NOK 30.26

$1.23 RON 5.80

160.98%

Banana (1kg)

$2.57 NOK 24.17

$1.63 RON 7.73

57.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.05 NOK 28.74

$1.57 RON 7.45

94.27%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.89 NOK 55.5

$2.54 RON 12.01

131.89%

Potato (1kg)

$2.48 NOK 23.34

$0.79 RON 3.75

213.92%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 NOK 22.95

$0.77 RON 3.66

216.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.12 NOK 19.97

$0.87 RON 4.13

143.68%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.99 NOK 18.74

$0.99 RON 4.70

101.01%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$18.94 NOK 178

$6.31 RON 29.86

200.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.40 NOK 154

$6.20 RON 29.34

164.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.38 NOK 31.78

$1.19 RON 5.63

184.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.18 NOK 39.37

$1.57 RON 7.45

166.24%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.66 NOK 43.87

$0.86 RON 4.08

441.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$67.5 NOK 635

$21.10 RON 99.8

219.72%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$11.92 NOK 112

$0.64 RON 3.05

1762.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.78 NOK 16.76

$0.60 RON 2.86

196.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$69.5 NOK 654

$6.43 RON 30.43

981.18%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.37 NOK 22.32

$1.96 RON 9.25

20.92%

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

$47.8K NOK 449.5K

$29.0K RON 137.2K

64.68%

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

$43.6K NOK 410.2K

$26.6K RON 126.0K

63.59%

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

$223 NOK 2,104

$196 RON 927

14.07%

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

$33.07 NOK 311

$8.04 RON 38.04

311.32%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$54.1 NOK 509

$9.35 RON 44.21

478.40%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.2 NOK 548

$50.2 RON 238

15.89%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.40 NOK 277

$25.33 RON 120

16.07%

Cinema Ticket

$19.79 NOK 186

$8.15 RON 38.55

142.82%

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

$207 NOK 1,948

$628 RON 2,971

-67.05%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.8K NOK 148.3K

$14.1K RON 66.6K

11.89%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 NOK 959

$89.6 RON 424

13.68%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$59.5 NOK 560

$38.32 RON 181

55.35%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$131 NOK 1,230

$79.3 RON 375

64.89%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$104 NOK 977

$90.4 RON 428

14.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,227 NOK 11.6K

$678 RON 3,209

80.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$847 NOK 7,973

$448 RON 2,121

88.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,578 NOK 14.9K

$1,083 RON 5,125

45.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,489 NOK 14.0K

$725 RON 3,430

105.44%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,302 NOK 40.5K

$3,751 RON 17.7K

14.68%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,421 NOK 32.2K

$2,195 RON 10.4K

55.86%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,269 NOK 40.2K

$1,329 RON 6,290

221.13%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.94

6.75

-26.81%

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

Last update for Hamar: October 11, 2026

Last update for Bucharest: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Hamar

$847 35.6%

Bucharest

$448 33.5% 47.1% $399

Groceries & Markets

Hamar

$450 18.9%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 50% $225

Eating Out

Hamar

$390 16.4%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 42.2% $164

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Hamar

$311 13.1%

Bucharest

$213 15.9% 31.3% $97

Clothing & Footwear

Hamar

$178 7.5%

Bucharest

$134 10% 24.8% $44

Getting Around

Hamar

$107 4.5%

Bucharest

$28 2.1% 73.6% $79

Sport & Entertainment

Hamar

$98 4.1%

Bucharest

$67 5% 32% $31

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,227 in Hamar and $678 in Bucharest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Hamar pays 221% 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: $125 in Hamar vs $58.0 in Bucharest for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $450 vs $225 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇳🇴 Hamar

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🕒 Local time

16:37 4:37 PM

17:37 5:37 PM

1 h ahead of Hamar

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

33,059

1,883,425 Capital

💱 Currency

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

100 NOK = 10.62 USD

100 NOK = 9.45 EUR

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, USD, EUR to NOK – Norwegian Krone Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇳🇴 Norwegian Krone (kr)

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 9.41 NOK (1 NOK = 0.106 USD). 1 EUR = 10.58 NOK (100 NOK = 9.45 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.32 RON (1 RON = 0.188 EUR).

USD to NOK in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Hamar Bucharest 2,090 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Hamar
Bucharest

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

Hamar vs Bucharest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Hamar and Bucharest differ by about 78% in total monthly costs ($2,380 vs $1,340 including rent). Bucharest is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 221% higher in Hamar, 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: $1,227 in Hamar versus $678 in Bucharest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $2,380 per month in Hamar versus $1,340 in Bucharest – a 78% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 220% less than in Hamar. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,340 in Bucharest versus $2,380 in Hamar, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Hamar. The gap between the two cities makes Bucharest 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.

Expats usually find Bucharest gentler on the wallet – expenses run 78% less than in Hamar. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.