Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Middlesbrough and Kalmar

For one person, living is cheaper in Kalmar: $1,907 a month against $2,089 in Middlesbrough, rent and utilities included – about $2,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

102

Cost of Living Index in Middlesbrough
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Middlesbrough Living Index
93

Cost of Living Index in Kalmar
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Kalmar Living Index

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Middlesbrough

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,089

/mo nomad

Kalmar

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,907

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Middlesbrough and in Kalmar

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

A single person spends $2,089 per month in Middlesbrough vs $1,907 in Kalmar, rent included.

Middlesbrough $2,089
Kalmar $1,907

A couple spends around $3,001 per month in Middlesbrough vs $2,844 in Kalmar, rent included.

Middlesbrough $3,001
Kalmar $2,844

A family of three spends $3,913 per month in Middlesbrough vs $3,781 in Kalmar, rent included.

Middlesbrough $3,913
Kalmar $3,781

Middlesbrough costs about 10% more than Kalmar, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Middlesbrough and Kalmar sit above the global median – Middlesbrough by 55%, Kalmar by 41%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$23.80 £17.85

$14.70 SEK 146

61.90%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$72.5 £54.4

$71.0 SEK 704

2.03%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.73 £8.05

$10.27 SEK 102

4.48%

Cappuccino

$4.69 £3.52

$4.65 SEK 46.09

0.86%

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

$2.41 £1.81

$2.82 SEK 27.99

-14.54%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.79 £1.35

$2.59 SEK 25.71

-30.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.70 £3.53

$9.66 SEK 95.7

-51.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.17 £5.38

$7.03 SEK 69.7

1.99%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.22 £0.92

$1.47 SEK 14.61

-17.01%

White Bread (500g)

$1.41 £1.06

$3.01 SEK 29.83

-53.16%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.45 £1.84

$2.92 SEK 28.97

-16.10%

Eggs

$3.70 £2.77

$4.59 SEK 45.43

-19.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.68 £5.76

$16.24 SEK 161

-52.71%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.29 £5.47

$10.97 SEK 109

-33.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.41 £10.81

$21.76 SEK 216

-33.78%

Apples (1kg)

$2.48 £1.86

$2.46 SEK 24.38

0.81%

Banana (1kg)

$2.38 £1.79

$2.63 SEK 26.06

-9.51%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.57 £1.93

$3.40 SEK 33.69

-24.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.60 £1.95

$4.27 SEK 42.33

-39.11%

Potato (1kg)

$1.78 £1.34

$1.63 SEK 16.12

9.20%

Onion (1kg)

$1.54 £1.15

$2.30 SEK 22.82

-33.04%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.16 £0.87

$1.84 SEK 18.19

-36.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$3.03 £2.27

$1.66 SEK 16.43

82.53%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.39 £16.79

$7.97 SEK 79.0

180.93%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.42 £7.07

$9.19 SEK 91.1

2.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.43 £3.32

$1.96 SEK 19.44

126.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 £2.76

$2.51 SEK 24.87

46.61%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$5.53 £4.15

$3.33 SEK 33.01

66.07%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$92.6 £69.5

$76.6 SEK 759

20.83%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.39 £3.29

$9.70 SEK 96.1

-54.74%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.66 SEK 16.40

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$25.94 £19.46

$46.98 SEK 466

-44.79%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.99 £1.49

$1.70 SEK 16.81

17.06%

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

$37.6K £28.2K

$29.9K SEK 296.3K

25.89%

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

$39.8K £29.9K

$28.7K SEK 284.4K

38.83%

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

$346 £260

$142 SEK 1,403

144.60%

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

$16.93 £12.70

$26.84 SEK 266

-36.92%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.87 £31.41

$31.79 SEK 315

31.71%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.69 £37.28

$30.76 SEK 305

61.54%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$32.46 £24.35

$26.42 SEK 262

22.86%

Cinema Ticket

$14.43 £10.83

$14.67 SEK 145

-1.64%

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

$795 £596

$138 SEK 1,367

476.08%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$40.4K £30.3K

$4,914 SEK 48.7K

722.33%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$106 £79.8

$50.5 SEK 501

110.61%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.8 £40.36

$42.32 SEK 419

27.13%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 £82.7

$79.8 SEK 791

38.14%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$104 £78.2

$101 SEK 998

3.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$997 £748

$914 SEK 9,056

9.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$683 £513

$751 SEK 7,440

-9.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$961 £721

$1,294 SEK 12.8K

-25.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$955 £716

$1,107 SEK 11.0K

-13.79%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,041 SEK 40.0K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,682 SEK 26.6K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,303 £1,728

$2,878 SEK 28.5K

-19.98%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.64

3.93

43.51%

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

Last update for Middlesbrough: October 12, 2026

Last update for Kalmar: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Middlesbrough

$683 32.7%

Kalmar

$751 39.4% 9.9% $68

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Middlesbrough

$405 19.4%

Kalmar

$200 10.5% 50.6% $205

Eating Out

Middlesbrough

$334 16%

Kalmar

$288 15.1% 13.6% $45

Groceries & Markets

Middlesbrough

$301 14.4%

Kalmar

$377 19.8% 25% $75

Clothing & Footwear

Middlesbrough

$169 8.1%

Kalmar

$123 6.5% 27% $46

Getting Around

Middlesbrough

$119 * 5.7%

Kalmar

$108 5.7% 9.4% $11

Sport & Entertainment

Middlesbrough

$79 3.8%

Kalmar

$60 3.2% 23.5% $18

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $997 in Middlesbrough versus $914 in Kalmar. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 25% higher in Kalmar, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $72.0 in Middlesbrough versus $71.0 in Kalmar. Groceries tell a different story – $301 in Middlesbrough vs $377 in Kalmar – so Middlesbrough wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Middlesbrough

🇸🇪 Kalmar

🕒 Local time

06:27 6:27 AM

07:27 7:27 AM

1 h ahead of Middlesbrough

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

139,000

35,170

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

100 SEK = 10.09 USD

100 SEK = 8.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SEK, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 9.91 SEK (1 SEK = 0.101 USD). 1 EUR = 11.14 SEK (100 SEK = 8.98 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Middlesbrough Kalmar 1,130 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Middlesbrough
Kalmar

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

Middlesbrough vs Kalmar: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $2,089 in Middlesbrough, $1,907 in Kalmar – roughly 10% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,134 per month in Middlesbrough and $2,861 in Kalmar. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Kalmar, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Kindergarten costs $795 per month in Middlesbrough and $138 in Kalmar. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 25% cheaper in Middlesbrough – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

A $3,000 monthly budget goes further in Kalmar, where all-in costs run around $1,907, than in Middlesbrough at $2,089. In Kalmar it covers expenses comfortably, while in Middlesbrough it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Kalmar – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Kalmar. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Middlesbrough makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.