Cost of Living in Oslo: Monthly Budget for One Person (2026)

What it costs to live in Oslo

This page builds a monthly budget for one person in Oslo from official figures only: rents from Statistics Norway (SSB), a household budget from SIFO, the consumption research institute at OsloMet, fares from Ruter, health costs from helsenorge.no, barnehage prices from Udir (the Norwegian education directorate) and price levels from Eurostat. Each figure is labelled with its source and year. Where no official figure could be found, the page gives none. For the same figures for Bergen, Trondheim and Stavanger, see the cost of living in Norway.

Rent

SSB's rental market survey measures the rents paid by private tenants. SSB collects them mainly in October each year by web questionnaire; about 10,000 questionnaires are completed. SSB reports Oslo and Bærum municipalities together as one price zone. The figures below are average monthly rents for 2025, published on 22 December 2025.

Average monthly rent for a rented dwelling, 2025 (SSB)

• What counts as a room: SSB counts bedrooms and living rooms. Kitchens, bathrooms and storage rooms are not counted.
• Electricity and heating: some rents include electricity or heating, and SSB makes no adjustment for this. Ask the landlord what the rent covers.

Sources: SSB rental market survey, table 09895.

Deposit

A deposit is not automatic: the landlord and tenant must agree on one. The Rent Disputes Tribunal (Husleietvistutvalget) sets out the rules (HTU):

• the deposit cannot be more than six months' rent;
• it must be placed in a locked bank account in the tenant's name;
• the landlord pays the cost of opening the deposit account;
• it may not be paid in cash to the landlord or into the landlord's own bank account. If it was, the tenant can demand the money back at any time.

For finding a flat and checking a contract, see renting in Oslo and Norwegian rental contracts.

Living costs: SIFO's budget for one adult

SIFO's reference budget (referansebudsjettet) is updated every year; the 2026 edition gives prices for February 2026 (SIFO report 9-2026). For one adult aged 25–50 living alone, per month:

The food figures assume every meal is eaten at home, from a menu that follows the health authorities' dietary advice; SIFO prices the food basket in stores of the three largest discount grocery chains. SIFO says the budget is an example of what experts consider an acceptable level of consumption, not a statistical average of what households actually spend (SIFO).

SIFO's budget does not include housing, electricity and other housing costs; tobacco and alcohol; health services beyond one GP and one dentist visit a year; expensive hobbies; holidays; or going out.

Example: a month in Oslo for one person

The table adds three official figures: SSB's 2025 average rent for Oslo and Bærum, the SIFO total above for one adult aged 25–50 living alone (SIFO's own public transport line is left out), and Ruter's adult 30-day ticket for zone 1 at the price from 1 November 2026.

What the totals include: rent (with electricity or heating only where the rent covers them), food cooked at home, clothes, personal care with one GP visit and one dental check-up a year, leisure, household items, furniture, internet, TV, contents insurance, and public transport in zone 1.

What they do not include: electricity and heating not covered by the rent, income tax, other health costs, alcohol and tobacco, eating out and going out, holidays, childcare, a car, and the cost of furnishing a home from scratch.

Before 1 November 2026 the 30-day ticket costs NOK 655, so each total is 160 kroner higher. Without any ticket, the two-room totals are NOK 26,840 for a woman and NOK 27,150 for a man, the Oslo figures on the cost of living in Norway page.

Public transport (Ruter)

Ruter is the public transport company for Oslo and Akershus. Its tickets are valid on Ruter's buses, trams, metro and boats and on Vy's trains in Oslo and Akershus (Ruter).

Adult tickets for zone 1 (Oslo), Ruter's price list from 1 August 2026

Source: Ruter price list (PDF).

From 1 November 2026, the adult 30-day ticket for zone 1 drops by 160 kroner to NOK 495. Ruter says the cut is funded by the City of Oslo and Akershus County Municipality through a temporary government grant scheme, initially set to remain in effect until April 2027, and applies only to the 30-day ticket; the 365-day ticket keeps its price, so while the new price lasts an annual ticket costs about the same as 15 monthly tickets. Ruter also adjusts ticket prices every January in line with inflation (Ruter, cheaper monthly pass from 1 November).

For zones, apps and travel cards, see public transport in Oslo.

If you run a car

SIFO's 2026 budget also gives running costs for a small car in a household of one to four people, based on 10,000 km a year:

The figures cover insurance, fuel, maintenance, servicing and repairs for a new car. They leave out depreciation and interest on the money tied up in the car, and they assume you use public transport to get to work. SIFO adjusted 2024 data from OFV (Opplysningsrådet for veitrafikken) to February 2026 prices, so a temporary cut in road-use tax on petrol and diesel from April 2026 is not reflected (SIFO report 9-2026).

Electricity

SIFO's budget does not include electricity, and SSB's rents include it only where the landlord does. This page gives no electricity price. For spot prices in Norway, see the Nordic electricity prices tool; for getting connected, see setting up utilities in Norway.

Healthcare

User fees (egenandeler) for public health services count towards a yearly ceiling of NOK 3,278 in 2026. Once your approved user fees reach it, you get an exemption card (frikort) and pay no more user fees covered by the scheme for the rest of the calendar year (helsenorge).

User fees at the GP (helsenorge, 2026)

The National Insurance Scheme covers most of the cost of a GP appointment, but only if your GP has an agreement with Helfo (helsenorge). For registering with a doctor, see how to find a GP in Norway.

Childcare (barnehage)

Parents pay at most the maximum price (makspris) for a barnehage place, whether the barnehage is public or private: NOK 1,200 a month from 1 August 2025. A municipality may charge less, and barnehager may charge for food on top (Udir). In Oslo's municipal barnehager, food costs NOK 320 a month in 2026 (SIFO).

With more than one child in barnehage in the same municipality, the second child's fee is at least 30 percent lower and the third and later children go free, and no household pays more than 6 percent of its income per child (Udir). For applying for a place, see childcare in Norway.

Eating out and alcohol

No official figure for restaurant prices in Oslo was found, so this page gives none. Eurostat compares price levels between countries: in 2025, with the EU average at 100, Norway's price level was 139.7 for restaurants and accommodation services and 226.4 for alcoholic beverages (Eurostat).

Vinmonopolet has the exclusive right to sell spirits, wine and beer with more than 4.7% alcohol to consumers in Norway (Vinmonopolet). Under the Alcohol Act (alkoholloven):

• Shops may sell alcoholic drinks with at most 4.7% alcohol no later than 20.00 on weekdays and 18.00 on the day before a Sunday or public holiday. The municipality sets the hours within that limit.
• Vinmonopolet may sell from 08.30 to 18.00, and from 10.00 to 16.00 on the day before a Sunday or public holiday.
• No sales on Sundays and public holidays or on 1 and 17 May; Vinmonopolet also may not sell on Christmas Eve.

For groceries and supermarket chains, see supermarkets and food in Norway.

Tax and take-home pay

This page does not restate tax rates or salaries. To see what a gross salary leaves after tax, use the Norway salary calculator, and read how the Norwegian tax system works and what salary to expect in Norway. For moving money into or out of Norway, see using Wise in Norway.

How Norway compares

Eurostat's price level indices compare countries, not cities. In 2025, with the EU average at 100, Norway's price level for household consumption was 128.6, against 139.7 in Denmark, 121.0 in Sweden and 120.8 in Finland. For food and non-alcoholic beverages Norway was at 133.1 (Eurostat).