Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Umea and Haifa

For one person, living is cheaper in Umea: $1,633 a month against $2,457 in Haifa, rent and utilities included – about $9,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Umea
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Umea Living Index
118

Cost of Living Index in Haifa
Learn more

Haifa Living Index

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Umea

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,633

/mo nomad

Haifa

🇮🇱 Israel

$2,457

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Umea and in Haifa

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,633 in Umea versus $2,457 in Haifa.

Umea $1,633
Haifa $2,457

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,596 in Umea versus $3,680 in Haifa.

Umea $2,596
Haifa $3,680

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,558 in Umea versus $4,904 in Haifa.

Umea $3,558
Haifa $4,904

Living in Umea costs roughly 34% less than in Haifa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Umea 21% above, Haifa 82% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.23 SEK 151

$25.88 ₪80.5

-41.15%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$79.0 SEK 782

$106 ₪330

-25.58%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 SEK 117

$19.58 ₪60.9

-39.84%

Cappuccino

$4.02 SEK 39.79

$4.56 ₪14.20

-11.84%

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

$3.12 SEK 30.86

$3.61 ₪11.24

-13.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.36 SEK 23.31

$3.19 ₪9.93

-26.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.71 SEK 86.2

$10.64 ₪33.11

-18.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.33 SEK 72.6

$10.64 ₪33.10

-31.11%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.63 SEK 16.16

$2.56 ₪7.98

-36.33%

White Bread (500g)

$3.30 SEK 32.61

$3.76 ₪11.69

-12.23%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.00 SEK 39.60

$3.78 ₪11.77

5.82%

Eggs

$3.86 SEK 38.17

$5.01 ₪15.58

-22.95%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.16 SEK 110

$17.62 ₪54.8

-36.66%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.65 SEK 105

$12.67 ₪39.41

-15.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.95 SEK 168

$23.83 ₪74.1

-28.87%

Apples (1kg)

$2.54 SEK 25.09

$4.34 ₪13.51

-41.47%

Banana (1kg)

$2.16 SEK 21.42

$2.98 ₪9.26

-27.52%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.82 SEK 27.93

$2.33 ₪7.24

21.03%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.15 SEK 41.06

$2.60 ₪8.09

59.62%

Potato (1kg)

$1.61 SEK 15.92

$2.08 ₪6.46

-22.60%

Onion (1kg)

$1.66 SEK 16.46

$1.75 ₪5.44

-5.14%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.48 SEK 24.53

$2.43 ₪7.57

2.06%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 SEK 12.44

$2.70 ₪8.40

-53.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.02 SEK 69.5

$13.21 ₪41.09

-46.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.76 SEK 96.6

$15.35 ₪47.77

-36.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.28 SEK 22.61

$3.23 ₪10.03

-29.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.33 SEK 23.10

$4.95 ₪15.41

-52.93%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.98 SEK 29.45

$2.67 ₪8.29

11.61%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.0 SEK 555

$101 ₪315

-44.58%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.80 SEK 67.3

$4.19 ₪13.04

62.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$4.86 SEK 48.11

$1.26 ₪3.92

285.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$36.97 ₪115

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.66 SEK 16.42

$2.56 ₪7.96

-35.16%

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

$33.1K SEK 327.8K

$57.8K ₪179.9K

-42.73%

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

$33.6K SEK 332.1K

$57.2K ₪178.1K

-41.38%

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

$83.2 SEK 823

$264 ₪822

-68.50%

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

$32.84 SEK 325

$11.58 ₪36.02

183.59%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.82 SEK 265

$35.35 ₪110

-24.13%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.77 SEK 483

$83.9 ₪261

-41.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.57 SEK 342

$25.08 ₪78.0

37.84%

Cinema Ticket

$16.39 SEK 162

$15.78 ₪49.09

3.87%

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

$137 SEK 1,354

$1,140 ₪3,548

-88.00%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$100 SEK 992

$114 ₪355

-12.10%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$36.16 SEK 358

$71.0 ₪221

-49.06%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 SEK 1,166

$135 ₪421

-12.96%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$141 SEK 1,393

$154 ₪478

-8.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$758 SEK 7,503

$1,057 ₪3,288

-28.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$502 SEK 4,968

$816 ₪2,538

-38.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,107 SEK 11.0K

$1,640 ₪5,104

-32.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$834 SEK 8,255

$1,183 ₪3,681

-29.50%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,556 SEK 45.1K

$9,291 ₪28.9K

-50.97%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,965 SEK 29.3K

$6,147 ₪19.1K

-51.77%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,654 SEK 26.3K

$4,372 ₪13.6K

-39.30%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.65

5.04

-27.58%

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

Last update for Umea: October 10, 2026

Last update for Haifa: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Umea

$502 30.7%

Haifa

$816 33.2% 62.5% $314

Groceries & Markets

Umea

$345 21.1%

Haifa

$457 18.6% 32.4% $112

Eating Out

Umea

$286 17.5%

Haifa

$422 17.2% 47.9% $137

Clothing & Footwear

Umea

$178 10.9%

Haifa

$213 8.7% 20% $36

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Umea

$143 8.8%

Haifa

$311 12.7% 118% $168

Getting Around

Umea

$99 6.1%

Haifa

$122 5% 23.4% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Umea

$82 5%

Haifa

$115 4.7% 41.6% $34

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $758 in Umea and $1,057 in Haifa. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Haifa pays 65% 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: $79.0 in Umea vs $106 in Haifa for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $345 vs $457 per month, with Umea cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇪 Umea

🇮🇱 Haifa

🕒 Local time

13:33 1:33 PM

14:33 2:33 PM

1 h ahead of Umea

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,594

279,591

💱 Currency

Swedish Krona SEK kr

Israeli New Shekel ILS ₪

📈 Exchange rate

100 SEK = 10.1 USD

100 SEK = 8.99 EUR

1 ILS = 0.321 USD

1 ILS = 0.286 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ILS, USD, EUR to SEK – Swedish Krona Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇪 Swedish Krona (kr)

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 9.9 SEK (1 SEK = 0.101 USD). 1 EUR = 11.13 SEK (100 SEK = 8.99 EUR).

Israeli New Shekel exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 3.11 ILS (1 ILS = 0.321 USD). 1 EUR = 3.5 ILS (1 ILS = 0.286 EUR).

USD to SEK in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Umea Haifa 3,600 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Umea
Haifa

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

Umea vs Haifa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Umea is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 50% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 65% lower in Haifa. 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: $758 in Umea versus $1,057 in Haifa. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,633 per month in Umea versus $2,457 in Haifa – a 50% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Umea runs roughly 80% less than in Haifa. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,633 in Umea versus $2,457 in Haifa, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Umea but tight or insufficient in Haifa. The gap between the two cities makes Umea the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Umea is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Haifa, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Umea and Haifa 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 Umea gentler on the wallet – expenses run 50% less than in Haifa. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.