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How much does an optician earn in Sweden?

Opticians. 2,000 people employed in Sweden.

46,200SEK

per month is the median salary for an optician in Sweden in 2025. That is 21% higher than the median across all jobs in the country, 38,300 SEK.

+1.5% since 2024

≈ €4,100 / $4,750 at September 2026 exchange rates, before tax.

That is roughly 35,972 SEK after tax in an average municipality, without the church fee.

≈ 267 SEK an hour · 554,400 SEK a year

The hourly figure is the monthly salary divided by 173.3 hours (40 hours a week × 52 weeks / 12 months); the yearly figure is twelve times the monthly salary.

The mean monthly salary for an optician in Sweden is 46,100 SEK (2025). The median salary is 46,200 SEK. The lowest-paid 10% earn under 39,400 SEK and the highest-paid 10% over 57,100 SEK.

Figures are gross monthly salary before tax, converted to full time. Income tax in Sweden is roughly 30–34% for most earners, plus a national surtax on income above about 51,000 SEK a month.

Average pay
46,100 SEK
Mean gross monthly salary
Lowest 10%
39,400 SEK
Earn less than this
Highest 10%
57,100 SEK
Earn more than this
People employed
2,000
Statistics Sweden's occupational register 2024

The pay range

How monthly salaries are distributed among opticians in Sweden. The same scale is used in the tables further down.

39,400 SEKLowest 10%46,200 SEKMedian57,100 SEKHighest 10%
Light band: the middle 80 per cent. Dark band: the middle half, earning 40,300–48,100 SEK. The red line is the median salary across all jobs in Sweden.

Optician starting salary

Statistics Sweden publishes no starting-salary figures. The closest proxies are what the youngest people in the job earn and where the lower end of the pay distribution sits.

The youngest in the job, aged 25–34, earn 41,400 SEK a month on average — roughly 32,700 SEK after tax in an average municipality.

Starting-salary proxies, before and after tax
Before tax After tax
Average, aged 25–34 41,400 SEK 32,740 SEK
Lowest 10% earn less than 39,400 SEK 31,357 SEK
Lowest 25% earn less than 40,300 SEK 31,999 SEK

These are proxies, not starting salaries. An age band holds both people who have just started and people ten years into the job, and the lowest paid are not always newcomers. The collective-agreement minimum and an individual offer can sit above or below.

Optician pay in the private and public sector

What opticians earn depends a great deal on who the employer is.

Monthly salary by sector and gender
Sector Average pay Median pay Men Women
All sectors 46,100 SEK 46,200 SEK – 46,400 SEK
Private sector 46,100 SEK 46,200 SEK – 46,400 SEK

Optician salary after tax in Sweden

What opticians actually take home depends on which municipality they live in. The table shows what 46,200 SEK a month comes to after tax in a few of them.

That is roughly 35,972 SEK after tax in an average municipality, without the church fee.

46,200 SEK a month after tax, by municipality
Municipality Municipal and regional tax After tax
Average municipality 32.38% 35,972 SEK
Stockholm 30.55% 36,643 SEK
Göteborg 32.60% 35,903 SEK
Malmö 32.42% 35,959 SEK
Österåker (lowest tax) 28.93% 37,050 SEK
Dorotea (highest tax) 35.65% 34,949 SEK
  • The youngest in the job, aged 25–34 years, earn 41,400 SEK before tax — roughly 32,740 SEK after.
  • The best paid 10% earn more than 57,100 SEK, which is roughly 42,897 SEK after tax.

Calculate the salary after tax for an optician

The figures assume an average municipality, no church fee and an age under 66. The calculator takes your own municipality into account.

And if the job goes? Work out unemployment benefit for an optician

Pay for men and women

Women's average salary is 117% of men's average salary in this job.

Statistics Sweden calculates the ratio on average monthly salary, while the table above shows median salaries, so the two do not line up exactly. The figure is also unadjusted: it does not account for differences in age, sector or position.

Optician salary by age

Pay for opticians normally rises with years in the job.

Monthly salary by age
Age 40,000 55,000 Average pay Men Women Number
25–34 years 41,400 SEK – 41,600 SEK –
35–44 years 46,900 SEK – 46,900 SEK –
45–54 years 46,800 SEK – – –

Pay by level of education

Monthly salary by level of education
Level of education 40,000 55,000 Average pay Men Women Number
Post-secondary education 3 years or more (ISCED97 5A) 45,200 SEK 43,300 SEK 45,600 SEK –

Optician salary by region

Statistics Sweden reports pay by job at the level of national areas (NUTS 2), not by county.

Monthly salary by region
Region 40,000 55,000 Average pay Men Women Number
Stockholm 50,200 SEK – 50,300 SEK –
West Sweden 43,700 SEK – – –

Optician pay growth 2016–2025

Median salary per year. Years with no reported median are skipped. The dashed line marks the break between the older and the newer series at Statistics Sweden; comparisons across it should be made with care.

From 34,300 SEK in 2016 to 46,200 SEK in 2025, +35% in total. Nominal figures, not adjusted for inflation. The lighter part of the line, the years before 2023, comes from an older set of statistics at Statistics Sweden and is not fully comparable with the later years.

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Swedish job titles in this occupation

Statistics Sweden files the following Swedish job titles under SSYK 2284, “optiker”. These are the titles you will actually meet in Swedish job ads.

  • Glasögonoptiker
  • Kontaktlinsoptiker
  • Optiker, legitimerad
  • Optometrist
  • Specialoptiker

Frequently asked questions

How much does an optician earn in 2026?

The latest figures are Statistics Sweden's salary structure statistics for 2025, published on 16 June 2026. The median salary was then 46,200 SEK a month before tax, against 45,500 SEK the year before (2024) — +1.5%. Figures for 2026 are normally published in June 2027; until then the 2025 figures are the latest there are, and we do not project our own.

What is the median salary for an optician in Sweden?

The median salary for an optician in Sweden is 46,200 SEK per month before tax (2025). That means half earn less and half earn more. The median across all jobs in Sweden is 38,300 SEK, so opticians sit 21% higher than the typical job.

How much does an optician earn after tax?

The median salary for an optician is 46,200 SEK a month before tax. In an average Swedish municipality, without the church fee and for someone under 66, that works out at roughly 36,000 SEK after tax. The exact figure depends on which municipality you live in — our salary-after-tax calculator works it out.

What is the difference between average and median pay for opticians?

The average (46,100 SEK) is the mean of every salary and is pulled upwards by the highest earners. The median (46,200 SEK) is the salary in the middle of the scale and usually gives a better picture of what opticians typically earn.

What is the starting salary for an optician in Sweden?

Statistics Sweden does not publish starting salaries as such. The closest figure is the youngest people in the job: opticians aged 25–34 years earn 41,400 SEK per month on average. The lowest-paid 10% in the job earn less than 39,400 SEK. More in the section “Optician starting salary” above.

How high can the salary go for opticians?

The highest-paid 10% in the job earn more than 57,100 SEK per month. Pay is shaped by sector, experience, level of education and where in the country you work.

Where in Sweden does an optician earn the most?

Pay is highest in Stockholm, where opticians earn 50,200 SEK per month on average.

Jobs with similar pay

Other jobs in specialists in health care not elsewhere classified

See the whole occupational group Specialists in health care not elsewhere classified or occupations requiring advanced level of higher education