Lausanne vs Västerås
for digital nomads
Under balanced weights Västerås edges it, 68 to 65, winning 5 of the 9 factors. Lausanne is stronger on nothing outright; Västerås on cost of living, internet. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.
Hilly lakeside city with Olympic and student life
Full Lausanne profile →Plan a trip to Lausanne →Engineering city on Lake Mälaren, under 1 h from Stockholm
Full Västerås profile →Plan a trip to Västerås →Where they differ
- Cost of living. Västerås leads on cost of living, 20 to 7, against Lausanne. Monthly cost, one person: $4,000 vs $3,050.
- Internet. Västerås leads on internet, 89 to 79, against Lausanne. Measured download: 60.6 Mbps vs 95.2 Mbps.
- Safety. Lausanne leads on safety, 90 to 83, against Västerås. Homicides per 100,000: 0.5 vs 0.87.
Where they are close. Within five points on quality of life, healthcare, air quality, getting there & around, visa ease, climate.
Pick Lausanne if you want
- the safer country figures
Pick Västerås if you want
- to spend about $950 less a month
- faster internet (95.2 Mbps measured)
Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)
| Metric | Lausanne | Västerås |
|---|---|---|
| Cost of living | 7 | 20 ✓ |
| Safety | 90 ✓ | 83 |
| Healthcare | 92 ✓ | 90 |
| Internet | 79 | 89 ✓ |
| Visa ease | 61 | 61 |
| Getting there & around | 47 | 49 ✓ |
| Climate | 25 | 25 |
| Air quality | 95 | 97 ✓ |
| Quality of life | 94 | 97 ✓ |
Cost
| Metric | Lausanne | Västerås |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one city | $4,000 | $3,050 ✓ |
| Central one-bedroom rent | no data | no data |
Safety and health (country-level)
| Metric | Lausanne | Västerås |
|---|---|---|
| Homicides per 100k | 0.5 ✓ | 0.87 |
| Political stability (0–100) | 85.2 ✓ | 80.5 |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | 87 ✓ | 85 |
| Life expectancy | 83.8 yrs ✓ | 82.9 yrs |
Internet (M-Lab measured medians)
| Metric | Lausanne | Västerås |
|---|---|---|
| Download | 60.6 Mbps | 95.2 Mbps ✓ |
| Upload | 29.5 Mbps | 72.3 Mbps ✓ |
Visa
| Metric | Lausanne | Västerås |
|---|---|---|
| Nomad visa | none listed | none listed |
| Minimum income for the visa | no data | no data |
| Entry, US passport | 90 days | 90 days |
| Entry, EU passport | unlimited | unlimited |
| Entry, UK passport | 90 days | 90 days |
Getting there and around
| Metric | Lausanne | Västerås |
|---|---|---|
| Non-stop airport destinations | 151 | 166 ✓ |
| Walkability (1–5, editorial) | 3 | 4 ✓ |
| Transit (1–5, editorial) | 4 ✓ | 3 |
Climate and air
| Metric | Lausanne | Västerås |
|---|---|---|
| Comfortable months per year | 3 | 3 |
| Annual mean PM2.5 | 7.3 µg/m³ | 6.2 µg/m³ ✓ |
✓ marks the better value in each row; ties and missing data are left unmarked.
Frequently asked
- Which is cheaper, Lausanne or Västerås?
- Västerås is cheaper: about $3,050 per month versus $4,000 for one person.
- Is Lausanne or Västerås safer?
- Lausanne scores higher on safety (90 vs 83), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
- Where is the internet faster, Lausanne or Västerås?
- Västerås: a measured median of 95.2 Mbps versus 60.6 Mbps (M-Lab, 2024).
More comparisons
Sources: Cost of Living Global 2026 (city rows); 2026 Cost of Living Index (country level); Digital Nomad Visas 2026; Worldwide Governance Indicators — Political Stability and Absence of Violence (score 0–100); Victims of intentional homicide per 100,000 population (national data, latest year); UHC service coverage index; Life expectancy at birth (years), both sexes; M-Lab NDT statistics (city aggregates, 2024); Airport destinations (Wikipedia airline and destination tables); NASA POWER climatology (2001–2020 monthly means); WHO Ambient Air Quality Database, June 2026 update (V8); SatPM2.5 satellite-derived annual PM2.5 (V6.GL.02.04); Human Development Index (HDR 2025, HDI 2023); EF English Proficiency Index 2024 (band); Walkability and transit ratings (editorial); Passport Index dataset (visa requirements, 199 passports × 199 destinations); OpenStreetMap restaurants (Overpass API); Starlink availability map. Dataset 2026.11.2. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.