American dev who moved from SF area to Europe, comparing my salary and life to the US

Some background: I'm a 26 year old dev currently living in Stockholm, Sweden. I am a dual EU and US citizen but I lived in the US from age 2 to 24 when my parents moved from Europe to California. I did my BSCS at UC Berkeley, worked for two years as a developer for a company in Palo Alto, and then moved to Sweden at age 24 to study do my MSCS at KTH Royal Institute of Technology. I now work as a software engineer in Sweden.

I've seen a couple of posts on here with American devs wanting to move to Europe so I thought I would share my experience and some information about my salary.

Working in SF area

  • Gross Annual Salary: $105000/year
  • Gross Monthly Salary: $8750/year
  • Monthly Taxes: $1550 Federal Income Tax + $542 Social Security + $126 Medicare + $616 California Income Tax + $87 California SDI = $2921/month
  • Net Monthly Salary: $5829/month
  • Tax Rate: 33.3%

Note: My US paycheck was actually biweekly but here in Sweden its monthly. I just converted the biweekly amounts to monthly amounts for easier comparison.

Working in Stockholm area

  • Gross Monthly Salary: 53882 SEK/month ($6056/month) (note this is BEFORE payroll taxes. In Sweden it is more common to state your salary after payroll taxes but before income taxes. For example, my salary in Sweden is 41000 SEK/month which is after payroll taxes but before income taxes)
  • Monthly Taxes: 10721 SEK ($1205) Federal & Communal Tax + 12882 SEK ($1448) Payroll Tax = $2653/month
  • Net Monthly Salary: 30279 SEK/month ($3403/month)
  • Tax Rate: 43.8%

So in Stockholm my taxes are around 10.5 percentage points more than in the SF Bay Area. However, I you get an insane amount more from your taxes here in Sweden compared to what I got in the US.

  • Healthcare is 100% government subsidized after your annual 1100 SEK ($123) out of pocket maximum. Perscription medication is 100% government subsidized after your annual 2200 SEK ($246) out of pocket maximum. In the US I was paying around $126 each month for my employer health insurance plan (it was a non-HDHP plan as I am injured often since I play a lot of sports so I see the doctor a lot. I had 2 surgeries in my one year of working in the US after college alone) and my out of pocket maximum was $2500 annually.
  • I don't have kids just yet (luckily) but day-care is extremely heavily subsidized by the Swedish government. Many of my coworkers in the US were paying $1200+ for their child's day care. Public schools are 100% free (just like in the US). University is 100% free for your bachelor's and master's and the government gives you around $325 each month just for being in school. You can also take out a low interest loan from the government if you want (under 1% interest rate per year). For PhD studies the stipend is quite high and actually enough to live on comfortably. At my school the average stipend was around 30000 SEK/month (after payroll, but before income tax) or 23248 SEK/month net ($2613/month).
  • I could go on but the above are just two points that are definitely quite nice perks!

In the end, I have slightly less disposable income compared to what I was making in the US after accounting for medical/dental/vision insurance and bills, transportation, food, phone plan, etc. I haven't worked in the US or Sweden long enough to give a definite amount, but currently I have around 15% less disposable income after my monthly costs ( after accounting for retirement savings). Here are a few bullet points explaining why:

  • Having a car is not necessary in Stockholm and actually can be somewhat of a pain in the ass. I was paying a lot for gas, my car finance payment, the bridge toll, and car insurance in the US. Total it was around $500/month for these. Here in Stockholm I am paying under 9010 SEK/year ($84/month) for the public transport pass which includes access to busses, the metro, the commuter train, the land train, and I believe two ferries. Its extremely easy to get from one place to another and the public transit system is simply amazing.
  • Of course, medical/dental/vision are significantly cheaper in Sweden as already explained
  • People here eat out way less than in the US. Almost everyone at my office and in general everyone I know here in the work force takes their lunch with them to work and eats at home during the week. Eating out is reserved for weekends on occasion or with friends/family.
  • Gyms and phone plans are much cheaper
  • Renting rooms is cheaper. You can rent a room in an apartment or someone's house in Stockholm for 4000 - 5000 SEK/month ($450 - $560 per month) versus $1250 - $1500 per month in the Mountain View and Palo Alto area.

The downsides so far have been that electronics are more expensive here (sometimes up to 25% more expensive) and clothes are more expensive too. Also, Swedish people are definitely not as outgoing and open as Americans but once you get to know them they are great people.

Overall, I have enjoyed my time here in Sweden quite a lot! I definitely wouldn't mind moving back to the US at some point and spending some more time in the SF Bay Area as I loved it there too, but I could definitely see myself settling down here in Europe when I get older, especially when I have kids.

Hopefully this helps if anyone is planning on moving to Europe! I know every European country is a bit different but Finland, Norway, and Denmark are all very similar to the above (except you can make a bit more money in Denmark and Norway than here in Sweden). Feel free to ask any questions if you have any.