Uppsala County

Uppsala County is one city in the middle and seven municipalities that each turn towards it in their own way. Just over 410,000 people live here, almost 250,000 of them in Uppsala municipality. Around the city lie the Mälaren shore to the south, the Uppland coast to the east, forest and farmland to the west and the Dalälven river to the north. It is a county where it matters less which municipality you choose than which town within it, and how close to the railway you live.

A county with a clear centre of gravity

Uppsala is the county's centre of gravity, and no other municipality resembles it. The city is built on the university, the hospital and research, and almost every other adult has at least three years of post-secondary education, among the highest shares in the country. There are a couple of hundred restaurants, several cinemas, theatres, museums and shopping centres, and much of it can be reached by bike. The towns around the city, such as Storvreta, Björklinge and Vattholma, have the essentials and turn to Uppsala for the rest.

Incomes are broadly around the national average, but the spread is wide. The median income ranges from just over SEK 317,000 in Heby to almost SEK 422,000 in Knivsta. Unemployment is largely below the national average, but ranges from just under three per cent in Östhammar to just over six in Älvkarleby.

The county is growing faster than any other in Sweden, but not everywhere. Knivsta grew by almost seven per cent between 2021 and 2024, and Uppsala grew too. Tierp, Älvkarleby and Östhammar shrank. The average age follows the same pattern. Knivsta has one of the youngest populations in the county, while Östhammar is the oldest municipality.

The commuter county

Being close to Stockholm shapes almost everything. The train from Uppsala takes just over half an hour, and housing is clearly cheaper than in the capital. Knivsta has its own station served by both commuter and regional trains, and three in four people who live there work in another municipality. Håbo comes close behind, where two in three commute out. From Bålsta the train runs in towards Stockholm, but because Håbo is in Uppsala County the Stockholm transport pass is only valid on the commuter train, and the municipal tax is noticeably higher than in the Stockholm municipalities.

Enköping is a commuter town on the E18 motorway, around fifty minutes from jobs in the Stockholm area, but the regional trains do not run at night. Tierp and Älvkarleby sit on the corridor towards Gävle with trains in both directions, and there you get more home for your money than closer to Uppsala. Heby has no clear centre and faces east. Almost everyone who commutes from Östervåla heads for Uppsala, and the area has long wanted to belong there.

Commuting has a price. Train disruptions and expensive passes wear you down more than the journey time suggests, and anyone tied to a particular departure notices it.

The downsides

A car becomes a necessity as soon as you leave the larger towns. In Östhammar, Tierp, Heby and Älvkarleby distances are part of everyday life, services are spread out, and for wider shopping and entertainment you have to travel to Uppsala, Gävle or Västerås. Östhammar's coastal towns live mostly in summer and go quiet in winter.

The divides also run within municipalities. Uppsala has the county's only police-designated vulnerable area, Gottsunda, and the streets of detached houses are only a kilometre or so away. In Enköping, Romberga stands out with low incomes and many households with tight finances. Söderfors in Tierp and central Skutskär in Älvkarleby are the weakest in their municipalities, and Älvkarleby has the county's highest unemployment. Tierp also has thin wallets, with clearly more people than average living on a low economic standard. Reported crimes are fewer in Östhammar than in any other municipality and most numerous in Älvkarleby, but such a small municipality produces big swings per resident.

The housing question has two faces. In Uppsala the student housing market is tough, with years spent as a lodger. In Knivsta it is newly built and quiet but uneventful, with most of life happening somewhere else.

The county suits those who want work and amenities in Uppsala or Stockholm but want to live with a house, forest and water outside town, and who accept that the train runs their daily life. Anyone looking for big-city buzz or a broad local job market in the countryside should think twice.