Uppsala vs Västerås
for digital nomads
Under balanced weights Uppsala edges it, 69 to 68, winning 3 of the 9 factors. Neither leads on any factor by 10 points or more. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.
Sweden's oldest university city, 18 minutes from Arlanda
Full Uppsala profile →Plan a trip to Uppsala →Engineering city on Lake Mälaren, under 1 h from Stockholm
Full Västerås profile →Plan a trip to Västerås →Where they differ
- Getting there & around. Uppsala leads on getting there & around, 54 to 49, against Västerås. Non-stop airport destinations: 166 vs 166.
Where they are close. Within five points on air quality, internet, cost of living, safety, healthcare, visa ease, climate, quality of life.
Pick Uppsala if you want
- no clear edge over Västerås in the data
Pick Västerås if you want
- no clear edge over Uppsala in the data
Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)
| Metric | Uppsala | Västerås |
|---|---|---|
| Cost of living | 20 | 20 |
| Safety | 83 | 83 |
| Healthcare | 90 | 90 |
| Internet | 90 ✓ | 89 |
| Visa ease | 61 | 61 |
| Getting there & around | 54 ✓ | 49 |
| Climate | 25 | 25 |
| Air quality | 100 ✓ | 97 |
| Quality of life | 97 | 97 |
Cost
| Metric | Uppsala | Västerås |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one city | $3,050 | $3,050 |
| Central one-bedroom rent | no data | no data |
Safety and health (country-level)
| Metric | Uppsala | Västerås |
|---|---|---|
| Homicides per 100k | 0.87 | 0.87 |
| Political stability (0–100) | 80.5 | 80.5 |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | 85 | 85 |
| Life expectancy | 82.9 yrs | 82.9 yrs |
Internet (M-Lab measured medians)
| Metric | Uppsala | Västerås |
|---|---|---|
| Download | 96.9 Mbps ✓ | 95.2 Mbps |
| Upload | 88.5 Mbps ✓ | 72.3 Mbps |
Visa
| Metric | Uppsala | 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 | Uppsala | Västerås |
|---|---|---|
| Non-stop airport destinations | 166 | 166 |
| Walkability (1–5, editorial) | 4 | 4 |
| Transit (1–5, editorial) | 4 ✓ | 3 |
Climate and air
| Metric | Uppsala | Västerås |
|---|---|---|
| Comfortable months per year | 3 | 3 |
| Annual mean PM2.5 | 4.2 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, Uppsala or Västerås?
- Uppsala and Västerås cost about the same: roughly $3,050 per month for one person.
- Is Uppsala or Västerås safer?
- Uppsala and Västerås score the same on safety (83), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
- Where is the internet faster, Uppsala or Västerås?
- Uppsala: a measured median of 96.9 Mbps versus 95.2 Mbps (M-Lab, 2024).
More comparisons
- Uppsala vs Linköping
- Uppsala vs Helsingborg
- Västerås vs Linköping
- Västerås vs Helsingborg
- All 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); 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.