Cost of living comparison

compared to

District of Columbia vs. Iceland Cost of Living Summary

District of Columbia is 46.1% more expensive than Iceland overall.

Restaurants: pay 11.0% less in District of Columbia
Groceries: pay 7.7% more in District of Columbia
Transportation: pay 32.0% less in District of Columbia
Housing: pay 31.0% more in District of Columbia
Childcare: pay 4.6 times more in District of Columbia
Entertainment and Sports: pay 1.5% more in District of Columbia
Clothing: pay 35.9% less in District of Columbia

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

District of Columbia vs. Iceland Cost Breakdown

If you lived in District of Columbia instead of Iceland, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 11.0% less for restaurants

	Iceland	District of Columbia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$26.52 ISK3,352	$25.00	-5.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$21.32 ISK2,694	$12.00	-43.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.11 ISK393	$3.20	+2.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.72 ISK344	$2.79	+2.5%
Average			-11.0%

Iceland vs. District of Columbia - Cost of restaurants

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pay 7.7% more for groceries

	Iceland	District of Columbia
Bread 1 loaf	$3.80 ISK481	$4.43	+16.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$9.44 ISK1,193	$8.04	-14.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.78 ISK983	$4.19	-46.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$6.71 ISK848	$4.55	-32.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$11.22 ISK1,418	$7.74	-31.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.50 ISK189	$2.95	+97.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.15 ISK145	$0.92	-19.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.41 ISK179	$2.20	+55.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.34 ISK296	$3.00	+28.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.65 ISK208	$1.35	-18.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.09 ISK138	$1.64	+49.6%
Average			+7.7%

Iceland vs. District of Columbia - Cost of groceries

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pay 32.0% less for transportation

	Iceland	District of Columbia
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$9.65 ISK1,220	$3.53	-63.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$79.56 ISK10,056	$77.50	-2.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$49,144.25 ISK6,211,833	$35,699.74	-27.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$25.55 ISK3,230	$16.73	-34.5%
Average			-32.0%

Iceland vs. District of Columbia - Cost of transportation

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pay 31.0% more for housing

	Iceland	District of Columbia
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$95.65 ISK12,090	$69.41	-27.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,289.17 ISK289,351	$2,568.48	+12.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,830.04 ISK231,318	$2,088.16	+14.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$65.15 ISK8,235	$146.54	+124.9%
Average			+31.0%

Iceland vs. District of Columbia - Cost of housing

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pay 4.6 times more for childcare

	Iceland	District of Columbia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$334.67 ISK42,302	$2,650.00	+691.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$30,711.08 ISK3,881,881	$40,166.67	+30.8%
Average			+361.3%

Iceland vs. District of Columbia - Cost of childcare

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pay 1.5% more for entertainment and sports

	Iceland	District of Columbia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$11.14 ISK1,408	$8.00	-28.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.62 ISK711	$6.07	+7.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$13.90 ISK1,756	$13.00	-6.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$78.17 ISK9,881	$103.76	+32.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$16.75 ISK2,118	$16.75
Average			+1.5%

Iceland vs. District of Columbia - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 35.9% less for clothing

	Iceland	District of Columbia
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$130.91 ISK16,546	$76.00	-41.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$61.83 ISK7,815	$48.40	-21.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$163.81 ISK20,706	$104.31	-36.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$237.31 ISK29,996	$133.22	-43.9%
Average			-35.9%

Iceland vs. District of Columbia - Cost of clothing

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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: December 2025

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