Cost of living comparison

compared to
Iceland vs. Illinois Cost of Living Summary

Iceland is 17.0% more expensive than Illinois.

Restaurants
pay 26.8% more in Iceland
Groceries
pay 20.1% more in Iceland
Transportation
pay 49.2% more in Iceland
Housing
pay 4.0% more in Iceland
Childcare
pay 78.5% less in Iceland
Entertainment and Sports
pay 22.0% more in Iceland
Clothing
pay 75.6% more in Iceland

The cost of clothing, transportation, restaurants, entertainment and sports, groceries, and housing in Iceland are more expensive than in Illinois. Notably, clothing is significantly more expensive in Iceland.

Iceland vs. Illinois Cost Breakdown

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

pay 26.8% more for restaurants

 
Illinois
Iceland
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $16.03
 
$19.40
ISK2,584
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$10.33
 
$16.94
ISK2,257
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.49
 
$2.81
ISK374

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pay 20.1% more for groceries

 
Illinois
Iceland
Bread
1 loaf
$3.19
 
$2.95
ISK394
Local cheese (8 oz) $5.63
 
$7.27
ISK968
Milk (1 gallon) $3.30
 
$6.01
ISK800

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pay 49.2% more for transportation

 
Illinois
Iceland
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.61
 
$8.36
ISK1,114
Monthly public transit pass $72.95
 
$71.28
ISK9,494
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $28,096.73
 
$40,660.66
ISK5,416,000

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pay 4.0% more for housing

 
Illinois
Iceland
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$65.96
 
$72.17
ISK9,614
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,375.37
 
$1,838.04
ISK244,827
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,146.99
 
$1,497.77
ISK199,503

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pay 78.5% less for childcare

 
Illinois
Iceland
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,394.11
 
$258.16
ISK34,388
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $24,405.00
 
$5,993.99
ISK798,400

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pay 22.0% more for entertainment and sports

 
Illinois
Iceland
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.17
 
$9.19
ISK1,224
Cappuccino in mid-range area $4.81
 
$4.65
ISK619
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$9.79
 
$11.76
ISK1,566

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pay 75.6% more for clothing

 
Illinois
Iceland
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$51.50
 
$111.23
ISK14,816
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$41.59
 
$59.69
ISK7,951
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$80.60
 
$148.00
ISK19,713

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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: March 2025
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