Cost of living comparison

compared to

Palo Alto vs. Iceland Cost of Living Summary

Palo Alto is 62.7% more expensive than Iceland overall.

Restaurants: pay 8.7% less in Palo Alto
Groceries: pay 28.5% more in Palo Alto
Transportation: pay 21.8% less in Palo Alto
Housing: pay 69.2% more in Palo Alto
Childcare: pay 4.9 times more in Palo Alto
Entertainment and Sports: pay 23.5% more in Palo Alto
Clothing: pay 41.8% less in Palo Alto

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

Palo Alto vs. Iceland Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Palo Alto instead of Iceland, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 8.7% less for restaurants

	Iceland	Palo Alto
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$26.52 ISK3,352	$30.00	+13.1%
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	$3.30	+6.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.72 ISK344	$2.44	-10.4%
Average			-8.7%

Iceland vs. Palo Alto - Cost of restaurants

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pay 28.5% more for groceries

	Iceland	Palo Alto
Bread 1 loaf	$3.80 ISK481	$5.06	+33.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$9.44 ISK1,193	$11.39	+20.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.78 ISK983	$5.85	-24.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$6.71 ISK848	$6.26	-6.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$11.22 ISK1,418	$6.63	-40.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.50 ISK189	$3.22	+115.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.15 ISK145	$1.18	+2.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.41 ISK179	$2.37	+67.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.34 ISK296	$3.01	+28.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.65 ISK208	$1.94	+17.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.09 ISK138	$2.19	+100.5%
Average			+28.5%

Iceland vs. Palo Alto - Cost of groceries

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pay 21.8% less for transportation

	Iceland	Palo Alto
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$9.65 ISK1,220	$4.84	-49.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$79.56 ISK10,056	$90.00	+13.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$49,144.25 ISK6,211,833	$36,753.89	-25.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$25.55 ISK3,230	$19.06	-25.4%
Average			-21.8%

Iceland vs. Palo Alto - Cost of transportation

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pay 69.2% more for housing

	Iceland	Palo Alto
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$95.65 ISK12,090	$68.78	-28.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,289.17 ISK289,351	$3,600.00	+57.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,830.04 ISK231,318	$3,148.75	+72.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$65.15 ISK8,235	$179.63	+175.7%
Average			+69.2%

Iceland vs. Palo Alto - Cost of housing

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pay 4.9 times more for childcare

	Iceland	Palo Alto
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$334.67 ISK42,302	$2,823.00	+743.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$30,711.08 ISK3,881,881	$42,000.00	+36.8%
Average			+390.1%

Iceland vs. Palo Alto - Cost of childcare

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pay 23.5% more for entertainment and sports

	Iceland	Palo Alto
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$11.14 ISK1,408	$8.00	-28.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.62 ISK711	$5.83	+3.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$13.90 ISK1,756	$11.50	-17.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$78.17 ISK9,881	$206.33	+163.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$16.75 ISK2,118	$16.00	-4.5%
Average			+23.5%

Iceland vs. Palo Alto - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 41.8% less for clothing

	Iceland	Palo Alto
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$130.91 ISK16,546	$67.50	-48.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$61.83 ISK7,815	$46.00	-25.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$163.81 ISK20,706	$88.89	-45.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$237.31 ISK29,996	$125.00	-47.3%
Average			-41.8%

Iceland vs. Palo Alto - 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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