Cost of living comparison

compared to

New York vs. Iceland Cost of Living Summary

New York is 14.4% more expensive than Iceland overall.

Restaurants: pay 30.2% less in New York
Groceries: pay 1.6% less in New York
Transportation: pay 24.6% less in New York
Housing: pay 12.5% more in New York
Childcare: pay 3.1 times more in New York
Entertainment and Sports: pay 15.9% less in New York
Clothing: pay 47.5% less in New York

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

New York vs. Iceland Cost Breakdown

If you lived in New York instead of Iceland, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 30.2% less for restaurants

	Iceland	New York
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$26.52 ISK3,394	$20.39	-23.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$21.32 ISK2,728	$11.80	-44.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.11 ISK398	$2.45	-21.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.72 ISK348	$1.86	-31.8%
Average			-30.2%

Iceland vs. New York - Cost of restaurants

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pay 1.6% less for groceries

	Iceland	New York
Bread 1 loaf	$3.80 ISK487	$3.78	-0.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$9.44 ISK1,208	$7.84	-16.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.78 ISK996	$4.25	-45.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$6.71 ISK859	$4.76	-29.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$11.22 ISK1,436	$5.49	-51.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.50 ISK191	$2.39	+60.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.15 ISK147	$0.88	-23.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.41 ISK181	$2.16	+52.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.34 ISK300	$2.38	+1.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.65 ISK211	$1.43	-13.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.09 ISK140	$1.63	+48.7%
Average			-1.6%

Iceland vs. New York - Cost of groceries

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pay 24.6% less for transportation

	Iceland	New York
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$9.65 ISK1,235	$3.32	-65.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$79.56 ISK10,182	$95.86	+20.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$49,144.25 ISK6,289,481	$33,821.80	-31.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$25.55 ISK3,270	$19.88	-22.2%
Average			-24.6%

Iceland vs. New York - Cost of transportation

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pay 12.5% more for housing

	Iceland	New York
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$95.65 ISK12,241	$65.63	-31.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,289.17 ISK292,968	$1,876.02	-18.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,830.04 ISK234,209	$1,567.68	-14.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$65.15 ISK8,338	$139.14	+113.6%
Average			+12.5%

Iceland vs. New York - Cost of housing

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pay 3.1 times more for childcare

	Iceland	New York
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$334.67 ISK42,830	$1,788.00	+434.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$30,711.08 ISK3,930,404	$24,966.76	-18.7%
Average			+207.8%

Iceland vs. New York - Cost of childcare

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pay 15.9% less for entertainment and sports

	Iceland	New York
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$11.14 ISK1,426	$6.28	-43.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.62 ISK720	$5.14	-8.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$13.90 ISK1,778	$14.22	+2.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$78.17 ISK10,004	$63.27	-19.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$16.75 ISK2,144	$14.99	-10.5%
Average			-15.9%

Iceland vs. New York - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 47.5% less for clothing

	Iceland	New York
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$130.91 ISK16,753	$49.49	-62.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$61.83 ISK7,913	$44.18	-28.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$163.81 ISK20,965	$85.00	-48.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$237.31 ISK30,371	$115.57	-51.3%
Average			-47.5%

Iceland vs. New York - 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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