Household expences

We are going to take a closer look on the normal household expences in Norway, and to better understand the way people manage the costs, we need to say a few words about the wages first.

Norwegian wages

The average salary per hour for Norwegian workers is EUR 23.90, or US$ 32.70, which is twice as high as the average workers payment in the rest of Europe.

An average annual salary in Norway is about NOK 450.000, which is something like US $ 79.000.

That leads to high prices, and household expences far higher than other European countries.

Then back to the expences

An average Norwegian household are using 12% of their income on food and non-alcoholic beverages, and 2,6% on alcohol and tobacco.

Clothing and footwear makes 5,5% of the expences, while furniture and household articles takes 6% if our income.

Health? Would you believe that an average Norwegian household spends only 2,5% of their income on health?

Well, the reason is of course, that most health services are free, where you as a pasient only pays a small fee each time you go to a doctor, and nothing when you are in hospital.

Education? Maybe just as astonishing, is the fact that we are using only 0,2% on education from our private money.

Education in Norway is paid by the State, and at least the first 13 years of education does not cost the average household anything.

Someone chooses private schools and has to pay a fee, but as for the most of us, it costs nothing.

Then, let's tell you what really costs money. Transportation is one example. A prepaid bus-ticket in Oslo starts on NOK 28 (US$ 5) but if you buy your ticket on the bus it is NOK 44 (US$ 7.50)!

Norway has long distances, and many outskirts with few people, so the transport costs gets high, and an average Norwegian family are using 16% on transport expences.

That also includes the use of private cars, of course, and we will tell you about prices on cars, and the fuel costs.

An average car, let's take the popular Toyota Avensis, costs from NOK 300.000 to 450.000, which in dollars is around $ 52.000 to $ 79.000.

That's an average family car. If I choose a BMW, let's say a 5'model, the price starts at NOK 523.000, or in US$ 92.000.One liter of diesel costs $ 2.2, while gasoline costs $ 2.45 per liter.

The other day I bought 4 liters of full-synthetic Motor oil, which costed me $ 138.00.

Need to repair your car?

Be prepared to pay US $ 200.00 per hour, if you don’t go to a backyard repair shop. The average age of a car in Norway is 10.5 years old, and slowly increasing, at least over the last three years.

Another expence is of course housing, lighting and heating. An average family are using more than 31% of their income on these expences, and I believe much of it has it's reason in our climate.

The average price per m2 for a Norwegian house or apartment is NOK 25.200, which in US dollars is $ 4.350 per m2. These costs makes it hard for young people to get into the market, and it of course also makes the rental prices high.

And then it’s the warming of the house. Short, cold summers, and long, dark and cold winters, takes a lot of heating costs, and I believe the energy bill for most households is between $ 3.500 and $ 5.500 a year, with a cost per kWh of NOK 1.00 OR $ 0.2.

Another high cost is culture and leisure, which takes about 12.5% of the income. And restaurants and hotel costs are not included in that figures.

Around 20% of the population between 16 and 74 years of age are smoking. One package of 20 sigarettes costs $ 14.00 or NOK 80.00. If you are using tobacco, a package of 50 grams costs NOK 180.00 ($ 31.5).


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