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How much does a specialist nurse earn in Sweden?

Nurses - operation. 3,100 people employed in Sweden.

51,100SEK

per month is the median salary for a specialist nurse in Sweden in 2025. That is 33% higher than the median across all jobs in the country, 38,300 SEK.

+4.5% since 2024

≈ €4,500 / $5,250 at September 2026 exchange rates, before tax.

That is roughly 39,271 SEK after tax in an average municipality, without the church fee.

≈ 295 SEK an hour · 613,200 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.

A specialist nurse earns 51,000 SEK per month on average in Sweden (2025). The median salary is 51,100 SEK. The lowest-paid 10% earn under 41,300 SEK and the highest-paid 10% over 60,400 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
51,000 SEK
Mean gross monthly salary
Lowest 10%
41,300 SEK
Earn less than this
Highest 10%
60,400 SEK
Earn more than this
People employed
3,100
In this job in Sweden

The pay range

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

41,300 SEKLowest 10%51,100 SEKMedian60,400 SEKHighest 10%
Light band: the middle 80 per cent. Dark band: the middle half, earning 45,800–55,200 SEK. The red line is the median salary across all jobs in Sweden.

Specialist nurse 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 42,600 SEK a month on average — roughly 33,500 SEK after tax in an average municipality.

Starting-salary proxies, before and after tax
Before tax After tax
Average, aged 25–34 42,600 SEK 33,548 SEK
Lowest 10% earn less than 41,300 SEK 32,673 SEK
Lowest 25% earn less than 45,800 SEK 35,703 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.

Specialist nurse pay in the private and public sector

What nurses - operation 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 51,000 SEK 51,100 SEK 49,500 SEK 51,100 SEK
Private sector 52,900 SEK – – 51,100 SEK
Public sector 50,600 SEK 50,100 SEK 49,500 SEK 50,100 SEK
Municipalities 53,200 SEK 53,200 SEK – 53,200 SEK
Regions (health care) 50,600 SEK 50,000 SEK 49,500 SEK 50,000 SEK

Specialist nurse salary after tax in Sweden

What nurses - operation actually take home depends on which municipality they live in. The table shows what 51,100 SEK a month comes to after tax in a few of them.

That is roughly 39,271 SEK after tax in an average municipality, without the church fee.

51,100 SEK a month after tax, by municipality
Municipality Municipal and regional tax After tax
Average municipality 32.38% 39,271 SEK
Stockholm 30.55% 40,043 SEK
Göteborg 32.60% 39,191 SEK
Malmö 32.42% 39,256 SEK
Österåker (lowest tax) 28.93% 40,518 SEK
Dorotea (highest tax) 35.65% 38,088 SEK
  • The youngest in the job, aged 25–34 years, earn 42,600 SEK before tax — roughly 33,548 SEK after.
  • The best paid 10% earn more than 60,400 SEK, which is roughly 44,459 SEK after tax.

Calculate the salary after tax for a specialist nurse

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 a specialist nurse

Pay for men and women

Median salary for men and women
Gender 40,000 60,000 Median pay Number
Men 49,500 SEK 200
Women 51,100 SEK 2,900

Women's average salary is 102% 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.

Specialist nurse salary by age

Pay for nurses - operation normally rises with years in the job.

Monthly salary by age
Age 40,000 60,000 Average pay Men Women Number
25–34 years 42,600 SEK – 42,400 SEK 330
35–44 years 47,300 SEK – 47,200 SEK 700
45–54 years 51,900 SEK – 51,800 SEK –
55–64 years 54,900 SEK – 54,900 SEK 850

Pay by level of education

Monthly salary by level of education
Level of education 40,000 60,000 Average pay Men Women Number
Post-secondary education, less than 3 years (ISCED97 4+5B) 56,600 SEK – 56,600 SEK 440
Post-secondary education 3 years or more (ISCED97 5A) 50,100 SEK 49,500 SEK 50,100 SEK 2,700

Specialist nurse 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 60,000 Average pay Men Women Number
Stockholm 54,900 SEK – 55,100 SEK 600
East-Central Sweden 50,700 SEK – 50,800 SEK –
Småland and islands 49,300 SEK – 49,200 SEK 200
South Sweden 51,000 SEK – 51,000 SEK 460
West Sweden 50,200 SEK – 50,400 SEK 650
North-Central Sweden 47,200 SEK – 47,300 SEK 220
Upper Norrland 49,200 SEK – 48,900 SEK 160

Specialist nurse pay growth 2014–2025

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 33,800 SEK in 2014 to 51,100 SEK in 2025, +51% 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 2231, “operationssjuksköterskor”. These are the titles you will actually meet in Swedish job ads.

  • Operationsassistent
  • Operationssjuksköterska
  • Operationssköterska
  • Sjuksköterska, operation

Frequently asked questions

How much does a specialist nurse 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 51,100 SEK a month before tax, against 48,900 SEK the year before (2024) — +4.5%. 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 a specialist nurse in Sweden?

The median salary for a specialist nurse in Sweden is 51,100 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 nurses - operation sit 33% higher than the typical job.

How much does a specialist nurse earn after tax?

The median salary for a specialist nurse is 51,100 SEK a month before tax. In an average Swedish municipality, without the church fee and for someone under 66, that works out at roughly 39,300 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 nurses - operation?

The average (51,000 SEK) is the mean of every salary and is pulled upwards by the highest earners. The median (51,100 SEK) is the salary in the middle of the scale and usually gives a better picture of what nurses - operation typically earn.

What is the starting salary for a specialist nurse in Sweden?

Statistics Sweden does not publish starting salaries as such. The closest figure is the youngest people in the job: nurses - operation aged 25–34 years earn 42,600 SEK per month on average. The lowest-paid 10% in the job earn less than 41,300 SEK. More in the section “Specialist nurse starting salary” above.

How high can the salary go for nurses - operation?

The highest-paid 10% in the job earn more than 60,400 SEK per month. Pay is shaped by sector, experience, level of education and where in the country you work.

Is there a gender pay gap among nurses - operation in Sweden?

Women's average salary is 102% of men's in this job. The median salary is 49,500 SEK for men and 51,100 SEK for women. The figure is not adjusted for differences in age, sector or working hours.

Where in Sweden does a specialist nurse earn the most?

Pay is highest in Stockholm, where nurses - operation earn 54,900 SEK per month on average.

Jobs with similar pay

Other jobs in nursing professionals (cont.)

See the whole occupational group Nursing professionals (cont.) or occupations requiring advanced level of higher education