Sweden
Gothenburg makes sense if
- A calmer day-to-day safety profile matters most to you.
- Access to stronger healthcare matters most to you.
- You want the broader career options in this comparison.
Gothenburg vs Malmö
Gothenburg and Malmö are similarly priced Swedish choices. Gothenburg leads safety, career, culture and food, and public life, while both tie on healthcare and housing; Malmö offers a compact southern alternative.
The grey shape is all 283 cities; each row says whether lower or higher is better. Ratings out of 10 are our reviewed estimates; the rest is published data. How we measure
The choice in one minute
Malmö makes sense if
- Malmö works for a compact, international routine with Copenhagen nearby, but its safety score is weaker.
What matters to you
Set how much each area counts. The ranking updates as you go. Climate and values are left out because there is no better or worse there, only your taste.
Money
Nature & outdoors
City life
Safety & health
Work & family
Moving & settling in
- 1Gothenburg70
Leads on nature & outdoors and work & family; stands out for forests and hiking.
- 2Malmö67
Leads on moving & settling in; stands out for running & cycling routes and cycling infrastructure.
Scores out of 100, averaged from the areas you weighted. For a ranking built around your own situation, take the quiz.
Side by side
Money
Rent on a new lease, everyday prices and tax.
Section score out of 100
Gothenburg66Malmö66
One-bedroom rent
Per month, new lease, citywide
SEK 1,303/moSEK 23.7K/mo
- SEK 10.6K/mo
- SEK 9,938/mo
Rent as share of local pay
One-bedroom rent vs. typical net local pay
21%120%
- ~33%
- ~31%
Everyday prices
Excluding rent · United States = 100
25131
- 95
- 95
Income tax + social contributions
Range: average-wage rate to top marginal rate; the dot marks its midpoint
0%46%
- 23–52%
- 23–52%
Climate
The year month by month. Whether it suits you is yours to judge.
Solid line: average daytime high. Dashed: night-time low. Point at the chart for any month; point at a city name to shade its range.
Bright days
Under 80% cloud and under 1 mm rain
30 days347 days
- 159 days
- 166 days
Muggy days
Days that feel sticky (dew point)
0 days365 days
- 9 days
- 15 days
Air pollution
Annual mean fine particles (PM2.5)
4.6 µg/m³84 µg/m³
- 8.1 µg/m³
- 9.3 µg/m³
Nature & outdoors
How easily you get to water, mountains and green space.
Section score out of 100
Gothenburg62Malmö47
Beach & sea
110
- 8/10, leads
- 7/10
Mountains
110
- 3/10, leads
- 1/10
City parks
110
- 8/10
- 8/10
Weekend escapes
110
- 7/10, leads
- 6/10
City life
Getting around on foot, food, culture and the feel of the streets.
Section score out of 100
Gothenburg77Malmö75
Walkability
110
- 7/10
- 8/10, leads
Public transport
110
- 8/10, leads
- 7/10
Restaurants
110
- 8/10
- 8/10
Public spaces
110
- 9/10
- 9/10
Safety & health
Crime, how safe people feel, and the care you would get.
Section score out of 100
Gothenburg77Malmö74
Homicide rate
Per 100,000 residents per year
0.247
- 1.2
- 1.2
Feels safe day to day
110
- 7/10
- 7/10
Healthcare quality
110
- 9/10, leads
- 8/10
English-speaking care
110
- 9/10
- 9/10
Work & family
Jobs, working culture, schools and raising kids.
Section score out of 100
Gothenburg75Malmö71
Job market
110
- 7/10, leads
- 6/10
Jobs in English
110
- 8/10
- 8/10
Work–life balance
110
- 9/10
- 9/10
Schools
110
- 8/10
- 8/10
Moving & settling in
Visas, language, paperwork and staying connected.
Section score out of 100
Malmö70Gothenburg65
Visa & residence difficulty
Typical case; your passport changes this
110
- 7/10
- 7/10
Language barrier
For an English speaker
110
- 2/10
- 2/10
Openness to newcomers
110
- 6/10
- 7/10, leads
Flight connections
110
- 7/10
- 8/10, leads
Society & values
Where each city sits. There is no right end of these scales.
Social attitudes
ConservativeLiberal
- 9/10
- 10/10
LGBTQ+ acceptance
LowHigh
- 9/10
- 9/10
Diversity
HomogeneousDiverse
- 8/10
- 9/10
Religion in public life
ReligiousSecular
- 10/10
- 10/10
Life in each city
Daily life
Gothenburg
The centre is walkable, neighbourhoods are well kept, and the pace is slow, so this suits people who want calm over intensity. Density is modest and you rarely feel hemmed in, though housing inside the city can run tight on space.
Malmö
Housing space is reasonable and neighbourhoods are usable beyond the centre. The trade-off is a slow city tempo rather than metropolitan buzz.
Safety
Gothenburg
Among the safer cities a relocator could pick. Violent crime is rare, traffic is calmly managed and unusually safe by European standards, and walking around at night feels comfortable in most areas.
Malmö
Day-to-day perceived safety, petty crime and night-time comfort are solidly fine rather than spotless, with the city carrying a reputation in Sweden that its actual figures soften. Political stability is reassuring.
Work and healthcare
Gothenburg
Gothenburg offers a substantial professional market, with industry and technology providing a solid base. Care quality is high and the system runs reliably, with strong emergency services and low out-of-pocket exposure once a person is in it.
Malmö
Malmö offers a workable market, but it is not especially deep. Care quality is high and out-of-pocket exposure is low, the usual Nordic public-system strengths.
Culture and public life
Gothenburg
The food scene punches above the city's size, with strong restaurants, a serious cafe culture, and plenty of vegan and vegetarian options. Gothenburg is a clean, well-kept Swedish city with only minor grit.
Malmö
A walkable food and cafe scene with notably good vegetarian and vegan options and a steady stream of museums and events. Malmo is mostly clean, with a few rougher, more diverse districts breaking the pattern.
Summary
Choose Gothenburg for the safer, broader west-coast city and stronger public realm. Malmö works for a compact, international routine with Copenhagen nearby, but its safety score is weaker.
Read on
Which of these fits you?
These numbers treat everyone the same. The quiz weighs them by your budget, climate taste, family and work, and ranks all 283 cities for you.