Salary Equivalence

Stockholm vs Sydney

Quick answer
kr120,000 in Stockholm β‰ˆ kr120,923 in Sydney

Salary equivalence calculator

kr120,923

Price-level ratio 1.008. Adjust to recalculate.

MetricStockholmSydneyDifference
Price level index (NYC=100)78.078.6+0.8%
Rent index (NYC=100)58.064.9+11.9%
Equivalent of kr120,000kr120,000kr120,923costlier
  • Sydney is about 1% more expensive than Stockholm, so you need a higher nominal salary to break even.

How far does your salary go in Sydney?

Moving from Stockholm to Sydney changes your cost of living in ways a currency conversion can't capture. What matters is purchasing power: how much the same basket of housing, food, transport and services costs in each place. On our index, where New York City = 100, Stockholm sits at 78.0 and Sydney at 78.6.

That makes Sydney roughly 1% more expensive. A salary of kr120,000 in Stockholm translates to about kr120,923 in Sydney. Above that and you gain in real terms; below it and you take an effective pay cut.

Housing drives the gap

Rent is the largest and most variable line in most budgets. Sydney's rent index is 64.9 versus Stockholm's 58.0.

Common mistakes

  • Converting currency instead of purchasing power.
  • Ignoring taxes, which vary by jurisdiction.
  • Forgetting one-off relocation costs.

Bottom line

Sydney is about 1% more expensive than Stockholm, so you need a higher nominal salary to break even. Use the calculator to plug in your real salary and compare against any concrete offer.

Rent equivalence: Stockholm vs Sydney

kr2,238

Based on the rent-index ratio of 1.119 (Stockholm 58.0 vs Sydney 64.9, NYC = 100).

Housing is usually the biggest single difference between two cities, and it moves independently of the overall price level. Renting the equivalent home in Sydney costs about 12% more than in Stockholm. Enter your actual rent above to see what a like-for-like place would cost after you move β€” a more honest gauge of affordability than a raw salary conversion, since renters and owners feel very different impacts.

Frequently asked questions

What salary do I need in Sydney to match Stockholm?

To keep the same standard of living as kr120,000 in Stockholm, you would need roughly kr120,923 in Sydney, a price-level ratio of 1.01.

Is Sydney more expensive than Stockholm?

Yes, by about 1% on the overall price level.

How much is rent in Sydney compared to Stockholm?

Rent in Sydney is about 12% higher than in Stockholm (rent indices 58.0 vs 64.9, NYC = 100). Use the rent calculator on this page for your exact figure.

How is the equivalent salary calculated?

We multiply your salary by the ratio of the two cities' composite price-level indices (housing, food, transport, services), benchmarked so New York City = 100.

Methodology

We build a composite price-level index for each city from official regional price parities and international purchasing-power parities across housing, food, transport and services, normalized so New York City = 100. The equivalent salary is your salary multiplied by the ratio of the destination index to the origin index. It estimates the income needed to hold real purchasing power constant and does not model taxes.

DE
Dr. Elena Vasquez
Lead Economist, Cost-of-Living Research

Elena holds a PhD in Economics and has spent 12 years modelling purchasing-power parity and regional price indices.

PhD Economics, LSEFormer OECD statistics fellow
βœ“ Reviewed by Priya Nair, Data Quality Reviewer.
Last updated 2026-06-01
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