Cost of living comparison
compared to
Reykjavik vs. Chicago Cost of Living Summary
Reykjavik is 26.1% more expensive than Chicago.
- Restaurants
-
pay 38.1% more in Reykjavik
- Groceries
-
pay 25.7% more in Reykjavik
- Transportation
-
pay 77.0% more in Reykjavik
- Housing
-
pay 4.7% less in Reykjavik
- Childcare
-
pay 52.8% less in Reykjavik
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 19.7% more in Reykjavik
- Clothing
-
pay 79.8% more in Reykjavik
The cost of clothing, transportation, restaurants, groceries, and entertainment and sports in Reykjavik are more expensive than in Chicago. Expenses including childcare and housing are lower in Reykjavik. Notably, clothing and transportation are significantly more expensive in Reykjavik.
Reykjavik vs. Chicago Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Reykjavik instead of Chicago, you would:
pay 38.1% more for restaurants
|
Chicago
|
Reykjavik
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.50
|
$27.48
ISK3,517
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$22.76
ISK2,913
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.96
|
$3.34
ISK427
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.33
|
$2.70
ISK345
|
|
Chicago vs. Reykjavik - Cost of restaurants
pay 25.7% more for groceries
|
Chicago
|
Reykjavik
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.01
|
$4.63
ISK593
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.05
|
$9.44
ISK1,208
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.30
|
$7.63
ISK976
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.02
|
$6.50
ISK832
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.55
|
$11.29
ISK1,445
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.31
|
$1.59
ISK204
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.79
|
$1.17
ISK150
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.85
|
$1.49
ISK190
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.09
|
$2.54
ISK325
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.16
|
$1.70
ISK217
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.26
|
$1.13
ISK145
|
|
Chicago vs. Reykjavik - Cost of groceries
pay 77.0% more for transportation
|
Chicago
|
Reykjavik
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.81
|
$9.66
ISK1,236
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$75.00
|
$88.58
ISK11,337
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,691.85
|
$50,771.00
ISK6,497,672
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.43
|
$28.07
ISK3,592
|
|
Chicago vs. Reykjavik - Cost of transportation
pay 4.7% less for housing
|
Chicago
|
Reykjavik
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$65.83
|
$81.97
ISK10,490
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,418.00
|
$2,259.48
ISK289,169
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,692.50
|
$2,034.90
ISK260,427
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$141.41
|
$60.87
ISK7,791
|
|
Chicago vs. Reykjavik - Cost of housing
pay 52.8% less for childcare
|
Chicago
|
Reykjavik
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,050.00
|
$327.78
ISK41,949
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$39,114.29
|
$30,711.08
ISK3,930,404
|
|
Chicago vs. Reykjavik - Cost of childcare
pay 19.7% more for entertainment and sports
|
Chicago
|
Reykjavik
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.00
|
$13.12
ISK1,680
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.53
|
$6.17
ISK790
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$17.00
|
$13.94
ISK1,783
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$71.80
|
$87.35
ISK11,179
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$18.00
|
$17.18
ISK2,199
|
|
Chicago vs. Reykjavik - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 79.8% more for clothing
|
Chicago
|
Reykjavik
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$64.24
|
$145.10
ISK18,569
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$49.62
|
$63.97
ISK8,187
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$99.48
|
$193.43
ISK24,755
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$146.50
|
$248.79
ISK31,840
|
|
Chicago vs. Reykjavik - Cost of clothing
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you.
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world.
Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025
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