Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Hamilton and Gavle

For one person, living is cheaper in Gavle: $1,439 a month against $2,306 in Hamilton, rent and utilities included – about $10,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

111

Cost of Living Index in Hamilton
Learn more

Hamilton Living Index
69

Cost of Living Index in Gavle
Learn more

Gavle Living Index

Jump to prices

Hamilton

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,306

/mo nomad

Gavle

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,439

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Hamilton and in Gavle

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,306 in Hamilton versus $1,439 in Gavle.

Hamilton $2,306
Gavle $1,439

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,384 in Hamilton versus $2,286 in Gavle.

Hamilton $3,384
Gavle $2,286

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,461 in Hamilton versus $3,134 in Gavle.

Hamilton $4,461
Gavle $3,134

Living in Hamilton is roughly 60% more expensive than in Gavle, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Hamilton 70% above, Gavle 6% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.71 CA$25.03

$13.69 SEK 136

29.36%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.7 CA$94.3

$79.4 SEK 786

-15.99%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.15 CA$17.18

$9.31 SEK 92.2

30.50%

Cappuccino

$3.39 CA$4.79

$4.42 SEK 43.79

-23.30%

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

$2.15 CA$3.04

$2.07 SEK 20.51

3.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.70 CA$2.40

$1.91 SEK 18.95

-10.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.02 CA$7.09

$7.79 SEK 77.2

-35.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.18 CA$8.74

$7.75 SEK 76.8

-20.26%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.94 CA$2.74

$1.63 SEK 16.12

19.02%

White Bread (500g)

$2.04 CA$2.88

$2.61 SEK 25.84

-21.84%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.10 CA$4.38

$3.73 SEK 36.95

-16.89%

Eggs

$3.34 CA$4.72

$3.81 SEK 37.80

-12.34%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.91 CA$11.18

$9.13 SEK 90.4

-13.36%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.17 CA$15.79

$10.29 SEK 102

8.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.60 CA$20.65

$18.73 SEK 186

-22.05%

Apples (1kg)

$4.08 CA$5.77

$3.05 SEK 30.25

33.77%

Banana (1kg)

$1.30 CA$1.84

$2.74 SEK 27.16

-52.55%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.87 CA$5.47

$3.27 SEK 32.43

18.35%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.69 CA$5.22

$4.35 SEK 43.07

-15.17%

Potato (1kg)

$2.65 CA$3.75

$1.73 SEK 17.12

53.18%

Onion (1kg)

$2.00 CA$2.82

$1.82 SEK 17.99

9.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.99 CA$2.81

$2.55 SEK 25.26

-21.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 CA$1.83

$2.05 SEK 20.35

-37.07%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$12.49 CA$17.66

$7.99 SEK 79.1

56.32%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.40 CA$20.36

$11.13 SEK 110

29.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.65 CA$3.74

$1.64 SEK 16.23

61.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.97 CA$5.61

$1.55 SEK 15.34

156.13%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.52 CA$3.56

$3.25 SEK 32.22

-22.46%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$87.0 CA$123

$60.4 SEK 598

44.03%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.54 CA$5.00

$4.52 SEK 44.83

-21.68%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.26 CA$1.78

$1.53 SEK 15.16

-17.65%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$23.47 CA$33.18

$33.87 SEK 336

-30.71%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.17 CA$1.65

$1.81 SEK 17.90

-35.36%

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

$26.4K CA$37.3K

$25.8K SEK 255.2K

2.43%

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

$22.0K CA$31.1K

$28.1K SEK 278.1K

-21.74%

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

$154 CA$217

$55.6 SEK 551

176.56%

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

$42.63 CA$60.3

$21.93 SEK 217

94.39%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$51.1 CA$72.2

$39.60 SEK 392

28.96%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.84 CA$53.5

$47.32 SEK 469

-20.03%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.39 CA$24.59

Cinema Ticket

$10.32 CA$14.59

$15.22 SEK 151

-32.19%

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

$610 CA$862

$133 SEK 1,321

357.15%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.3K CA$23.0K

$15.3K SEK 151.1K

6.77%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$48.77 CA$68.9

$70.6 SEK 699

-30.87%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.28 CA$44.22

$58.8 SEK 583

-46.80%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$86.6 CA$122

$50.9 SEK 505

70.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 CA$169

$89.5 SEK 887

33.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,239 CA$1,752

$579 SEK 5,738

113.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,157 CA$1,635

$425 SEK 4,208

172.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,032 CA$2,873

$762 SEK 7,546

166.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,882 CA$2,660

$665 SEK 6,593

182.77%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,708 CA$3,828

$1,945 SEK 19.3K

39.24%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,733 CA$3,863

$1,333 SEK 13.2K

104.96%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,989 CA$4,225

$3,144 SEK 31.1K

-4.93%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.6

3.37

36.50%

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

Last update for Hamilton: October 19, 2026

Last update for Gavle: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Hamilton

$1.2K 50.2%

Gavle

$425 29.5% 63.3% $732

Groceries & Markets

Hamilton

$336 14.6%

Gavle

$351 24.4% 4.4% $15

Eating Out

Hamilton

$272 11.8%

Gavle

$261 18.1% 3.9% $11

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Hamilton

$248 10.7%

Gavle

$117 8.1% 52.7% $130

Clothing & Footwear

Hamilton

$129 5.6%

Gavle

$121 8.4% 5.6% $7.2

Getting Around

Hamilton

$107 4.6%

Gavle

$86 6% 19.9% $21

Sport & Entertainment

Hamilton

$58 2.5%

Gavle

$78 5.4% 33% $19

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,239 in Hamilton and $579 in Gavle. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Gavle pays 5% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $67.0 in Hamilton vs $79.0 in Gavle for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $336 vs $351 per month, with Hamilton cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Hamilton

🇸🇪 Gavle

🕒 Local time

03:41 3:41 AM

09:41 9:41 AM

6 h ahead of Hamilton

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

519,949

100,000

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.707 USD

1 CAD = 0.629 EUR

100 SEK = 10.09 USD

100 SEK = 8.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SEK, USD, EUR to CAD – Canadian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 1.41 CAD (1 CAD = 0.707 USD). 1 EUR = 1.59 CAD (1 CAD = 0.629 EUR).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 9.91 SEK (1 SEK = 0.101 USD). 1 EUR = 11.14 SEK (100 SEK = 8.98 EUR).

USD to CAD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Hamilton Gavle 6,270 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Hamilton
Gavle

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

Hamilton vs Gavle: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Hamilton and Gavle differ by about 60% in total monthly costs ($2,306 vs $1,439 including rent). Gavle is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 5% lower in Gavle. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,239 in Hamilton versus $579 in Gavle. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Gavle runs roughly 44% less than in Hamilton. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $610 in Hamilton versus $133 in Gavle. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,439 in Gavle versus $2,306 in Hamilton, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Gavle but tight or insufficient in Hamilton. 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, Hamilton and Gavle 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 60% less than in Hamilton. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.