Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in South Dakota instead of Iceland, you would:

Health

be 60.4% more likely to be obese

In Iceland, 22.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In South Dakota, that number is 35.6% of people as of 2022.

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Economy

be 33.7% less likely to be unemployed

In Iceland, 3.6% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In South Dakota, that number is 2.4% as of 2025.

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make 37.2% less money

Iceland has a GDP per capita of $98,323 as of 2025, while in South Dakota, the GDP per capita is $61,724 as of 2024.

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Sources: World Bank (2025), World Health Organization (2024), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (PLACES) (2022), Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025), Bureau of Economic Analysis (2024). How we calculate this

Compare further: Iceland vs. South Dakota

Cost of Living Comparison · 7 categories - 2026 data
South Dakota is 38.6% cheaper than Iceland overall
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Size Comparison · See true size
Iceland is about 1.9 times smaller than South Dakota.
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