Cost of living comparison

compared to
California vs. Iceland Cost of Living Summary

California is 71.2% more expensive than Iceland overall.

Restaurants
pay 5.1% less in California
Groceries
pay 20.6% more in California
Transportation
pay 22.6% less in California
Housing
pay 64.3% more in California
Childcare
pay 5.8 times more in California
Entertainment and Sports
pay 1.5% less in California
Clothing
pay 41.0% less in California

The cost of childcare, housing, and groceries in California are more expensive than in Iceland. Expenses including clothing, transportation, restaurants, and entertainment and sports are lower in California. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in California.

California vs. Iceland Cost Breakdown

If you lived in California instead of Iceland, you would:

pay 5.1% less for restaurants

 
Iceland
California
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $19.40
ISK2,717
$21.02
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$16.94
ISK2,373
$11.52
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.81
ISK394
$2.71
 

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pay 20.6% more for groceries

 
Iceland
California
Bread
1 loaf
$2.95
ISK414
$4.14
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $7.27
ISK1,017
$6.95
 
Milk (1 gallon) $6.01
ISK841
$4.61
 

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pay 22.6% less for transportation

 
Iceland
California
Gasoline (1 gallon) $8.36
ISK1,171
$4.83
 
Monthly public transit pass $71.28
ISK9,983
$62.05
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $40,660.66
ISK5,694,526
$30,005.28
 

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pay 64.3% more for housing

 
Iceland
California
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$72.17
ISK10,108
$68.54
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,838.04
ISK257,417
$2,371.29
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,497.77
ISK209,763
$2,055.18
 

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pay 5.8 times more for childcare

 
Iceland
California
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $258.16
ISK36,156
$1,682.51
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $5,993.99
ISK839,459
$30,905.75
 

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pay 1.5% less for entertainment and sports

 
Iceland
California
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $9.19
ISK1,287
$7.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $4.65
ISK651
$5.34
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$11.76
ISK1,646
$10.91
 

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pay 41.0% less for clothing

 
Iceland
California
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$111.23
ISK15,578
$52.77
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$59.69
ISK8,359
$40.15
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$148.00
ISK20,727
$85.15
 

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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: February 2025
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