Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Jessheim and Arendal

For one person, living is cheaper in Arendal: $2,723 a month against $2,917 in Jessheim, rent and utilities included – about $2,300 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Jessheim outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

140

Cost of Living Index in Jessheim
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Jessheim Living Index
132

Cost of Living Index in Arendal
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Arendal Living Index

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Jessheim

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,917

/mo nomad

Arendal

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,723

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Jessheim and in Arendal

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,917 in Jessheim versus $2,723 in Arendal.

Jessheim $2,917
Arendal $2,723

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,171 in Jessheim versus $3,887 in Arendal.

Jessheim $4,171
Arendal $3,887

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,424 in Jessheim versus $5,051 in Arendal.

Jessheim $5,424
Arendal $5,051

Living in Jessheim is roughly 7% more expensive than in Arendal, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Jessheim 115% above, Arendal 101% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.85 NOK 196

$20.04 NOK 189

4.04%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$80.8 NOK 761

$66.9 NOK 630

20.78%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$15.84 NOK 149

$15.74 NOK 148

0.64%

Cappuccino

$5.81 NOK 54.7

$5.71 NOK 53.7

1.75%

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

$3.91 NOK 36.82

$3.70 NOK 34.85

5.68%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.09 NOK 29.12

$3.19 NOK 30.04

-3.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$10.83 NOK 102

$11.82 NOK 111

-8.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$12.55 NOK 118

$10.75 NOK 101

16.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.53 NOK 23.82

$2.52 NOK 23.75

0.40%

White Bread (500g)

$4.25 NOK 40.00

$3.48 NOK 32.77

22.13%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.61 NOK 24.56

$3.92 NOK 36.88

-33.42%

Eggs

$3.83 NOK 36.07

$4.77 NOK 44.87

-19.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.70 NOK 138

$14.96 NOK 141

-1.74%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$15.98 NOK 150

$15.06 NOK 142

6.11%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$31.25 NOK 294

$34.40 NOK 324

-9.16%

Apples (1kg)

$3.30 NOK 31.08

$3.51 NOK 33.02

-5.98%

Banana (1kg)

$2.72 NOK 25.64

$2.72 NOK 25.61

Oranges (1kg)

$3.51 NOK 33.00

$3.53 NOK 33.25

-0.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.36 NOK 41.06

$4.75 NOK 44.74

-8.21%

Potato (1kg)

$2.68 NOK 25.26

$2.59 NOK 24.42

3.47%

Onion (1kg)

$2.96 NOK 27.90

$3.17 NOK 29.86

-6.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.09 NOK 29.06

$2.85 NOK 26.80

8.42%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.39 NOK 22.51

$2.32 NOK 21.84

3.02%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$19.47 NOK 183

$17.55 NOK 165

10.94%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.90 NOK 159

$14.86 NOK 140

13.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.41 NOK 32.10

$3.74 NOK 35.20

-8.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.32 NOK 40.63

$4.49 NOK 42.22

-3.79%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.71 NOK 44.33

$3.83 NOK 36.03

22.98%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$100 NOK 942

$90.7 NOK 854

10.32%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$11.88 NOK 112

$6.32 NOK 59.5

87.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.81 NOK 17.07

$1.70 NOK 16.01

6.47%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$71.7 NOK 675

$105 NOK 984

-31.40%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.36 NOK 22.25

$2.25 NOK 21.19

4.89%

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

$49.3K NOK 464.6K

$49.2K NOK 463.1K

0.31%

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

$40.6K NOK 382.1K

$42.5K NOK 399.8K

-4.43%

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

$430 NOK 4,052

$261 NOK 2,454

65.07%

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

$33.26 NOK 313

$34.82 NOK 328

-4.48%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.2 NOK 520

$79.7 NOK 750

-30.71%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.56 NOK 354

Cinema Ticket

$16.32 NOK 154

$16.23 NOK 153

0.55%

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

$236 NOK 2,219

$325 NOK 3,059

-27.45%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.0K NOK 150.4K

$14.4K NOK 135.3K

11.19%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 NOK 958

$128 NOK 1,204

-20.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$61.1 NOK 575

$43.77 NOK 412

39.62%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$129 NOK 1,215

$129 NOK 1,219

-0.35%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$161 NOK 1,511

$207 NOK 1,945

-22.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,353 NOK 12.7K

$1,145 NOK 10.8K

18.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,136 NOK 10.7K

$1,043 NOK 9,820

8.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,934 NOK 18.2K

$1,564 NOK 14.7K

23.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,747 NOK 16.4K

$1,491 NOK 14.0K

17.11%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$8,446 NOK 79.5K

$4,223 NOK 39.7K

100.01%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,136 NOK 29.5K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,862 NOK 36.4K

$4,080 NOK 38.4K

-5.34%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.94

4.68

5.56%

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

Last update for Jessheim: October 19, 2026

Last update for Arendal: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Jessheim

$1.1K 39%

Arendal

$1K 38.3% 8.2% $93

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Jessheim

$519 17.8%

Arendal

$375 13.8% 27.7% $144

Groceries & Markets

Jessheim

$495 17%

Arendal

$501 18.4% 1.2% $6.2

Eating Out

Jessheim

$391 13.4%

Arendal

$384 14.1% 1.8% $7

Clothing & Footwear

Jessheim

$204 7%

Arendal

$229 8.4% 12.2% $25

Getting Around

Jessheim

$140 4.8%

Arendal

$121 4.4% 13.6% $19

Sport & Entertainment

Jessheim

$33 * 1.1%

Arendal

$70 2.6% 115% $37

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 $1,353 in Jessheim and $1,145 in Arendal. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Arendal pays 6% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $81.0 in Jessheim vs $67.0 in Arendal. Groceries flip the comparison at $495 vs $501, with Jessheim cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇳🇴 Jessheim

🇳🇴 Arendal

🕒 Local time

02:07 2:07 AM

Same time as Jessheim

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

24,547

46,406

💱 Currency

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 NOK = 10.62 USD

100 NOK = 9.45 EUR

100 NOK = 10.62 USD

100 NOK = 9.45 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Jessheim Arendal 230 km

From you

Jessheim
Arendal

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

Jessheim vs Arendal: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Jessheim and Arendal differ by about 7% in total monthly costs ($2,917 vs $2,723 including rent). Arendal is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 6% lower in Arendal. 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: $1,353 in Jessheim versus $1,145 in Arendal. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $236 in Jessheim versus $325 in Arendal. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Jessheim pay roughly 1% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Both cities are expensive relative to $3,000. Arendal is the more realistic option, but even there you'll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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, Jessheim and Arendal 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 Arendal gentler on the wallet – expenses run 7% less than in Jessheim. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.