Cost of living comparison
compared to
Iceland vs. Illinois Cost of Living Summary
Iceland is 43.4% more expensive than Illinois.
- Restaurants
-
pay 57.9% more in Iceland
- Groceries
-
pay 40.7% more in Iceland
- Transportation
-
pay 76.0% more in Iceland
- Housing
-
pay 27.9% more in Iceland
- Childcare
-
pay 29.9% less in Iceland
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 43.9% more in Iceland
- Clothing
-
pay 87.2% 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 and transportation are significantly more expensive in Iceland.
Iceland vs. Illinois Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Iceland instead of Illinois, you would:
pay 57.9% more for restaurants
|
Illinois
|
Iceland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$16.12
|
$26.52
ISK3,244
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.72
|
$21.32
ISK2,607
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.52
|
$3.11
ISK380
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.88
|
$2.72
ISK333
|
|
Illinois vs. Iceland - Cost of restaurants
pay 40.7% more for groceries
|
Illinois
|
Iceland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.11
|
$3.80
ISK465
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.06
|
$9.44
ISK1,154
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.41
|
$7.78
ISK951
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.89
|
$6.71
ISK821
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.13
|
$11.22
ISK1,372
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.38
|
$1.50
ISK183
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.74
|
$1.15
ISK140
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.20
|
$1.41
ISK173
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.89
|
$2.34
ISK286
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.05
|
$1.65
ISK202
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.24
|
$1.09
ISK134
|
|
Illinois vs. Iceland - Cost of groceries
pay 76.0% more for transportation
|
Illinois
|
Iceland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.32
|
$9.65
ISK1,181
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$69.58
|
$79.56
ISK9,731
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$31,159.60
|
$49,144.25
ISK6M
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$18.08
|
$25.55
ISK3,126
|
|
Illinois vs. Iceland - Cost of transportation
pay 27.9% more for housing
|
Illinois
|
Iceland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$72.20
|
$95.65
ISK11,699
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,332.19
|
$2,289.17
ISK280K
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,112.01
|
$1,830.04
ISK224K
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$151.79
|
$65.15
ISK7,968
|
|
Illinois vs. Iceland - Cost of housing
pay 29.9% less for childcare
|
Illinois
|
Iceland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,386.42
|
$334.67
ISK40,933
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$26,426.10
|
$30,711.08
ISK4M
|
|
Illinois vs. Iceland - Cost of childcare
pay 43.9% more for entertainment and sports
|
Illinois
|
Iceland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.38
|
$11.14
ISK1,363
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.01
|
$5.62
ISK688
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$10.78
|
$13.90
ISK1,700
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$54.91
|
$78.17
ISK9,561
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.02
|
$16.75
ISK2,049
|
|
Illinois vs. Iceland - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 87.2% more for clothing
|
Illinois
|
Iceland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$55.71
|
$130.91
ISK16,011
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$43.50
|
$61.83
ISK7,562
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$91.99
|
$163.81
ISK20,036
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$122.66
|
$237.31
ISK29,025
|
|
Illinois vs. Iceland - Cost of clothing
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 2026
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