Cost of living comparison
compared to
Iceland vs. California Cost of Living Summary
Iceland is 6.8% more expensive than California.
Iceland vs. California Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Iceland instead of California, you would:
pay 42.9% more for restaurants
|
California
|
Iceland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$22.31
|
$28.88
ISK3,527
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.78
|
$22.83
ISK2,789
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.96
|
$3.25
ISK396
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.26
|
$3.01
ISK368
|
|
California vs. Iceland - Cost of restaurants
pay 3.0% more for groceries
|
California
|
Iceland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.33
|
$3.55
ISK434
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.51
|
$10.11
ISK1,235
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.92
|
$7.79
ISK952
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.18
|
$6.92
ISK846
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.10
|
$11.01
ISK1,345
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.32
|
$1.43
ISK174
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.94
|
$1.23
ISK150
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.02
|
$1.42
ISK173
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.60
|
$2.60
ISK318
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.61
|
$1.71
ISK209
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.39
|
$0.76
ISK92
|
|
California vs. Iceland - Cost of groceries
pay 35.9% more for transportation
|
California
|
Iceland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$5.53
|
$8.09
ISK988
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$64.45
|
$80.58
ISK9,843
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,604.61
|
$48,967.53
ISK6M
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$20.97
|
$26.24
ISK3,205
|
|
California vs. Iceland - Cost of transportation
pay 16.1% less for housing
|
California
|
Iceland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$69.16
|
$98.24
ISK12,000
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,414.89
|
$2,335.24
ISK285K
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,061.17
|
$1,824.40
ISK223K
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$172.98
|
$72.34
ISK8,836
|
|
California vs. Iceland - Cost of housing
pay 32.6% less for childcare
|
California
|
Iceland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,659.26
|
$833.66
ISK102K
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$30,706.19
|
$27,752.37
ISK3M
|
|
California vs. Iceland - Cost of childcare
pay 25.5% more for entertainment and sports
|
California
|
Iceland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.15
|
$11.37
ISK1,389
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.63
|
$5.90
ISK720
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.42
|
$13.85
ISK1,692
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$65.06
|
$83.64
ISK10,217
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.07
|
$17.92
ISK2,189
|
|
California vs. Iceland - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 79.5% more for clothing
|
California
|
Iceland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$58.89
|
$134.47
ISK16,425
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$43.96
|
$63.25
ISK7,726
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$91.63
|
$159.03
ISK19,425
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$130.37
|
$237.19
ISK28,972
|
|
California vs. Iceland - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this
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Compare further: California vs. Iceland
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cost of living in United States vs. Iceland.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within United States and Iceland.
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