Cost of living comparison

compared to

Reykjavik vs. Iowa City Cost of Living Summary

Reykjavik is 71.1% more expensive than Iowa City.

Restaurants: pay 78.0% more in Reykjavik
Groceries: pay 66.5% more in Reykjavik
Transportation: pay 2.9 times more in Reykjavik
Housing: pay 29.5% more in Reykjavik
Childcare: pay 24.6% less in Reykjavik
Entertainment and Sports: pay 67.3% more in Reykjavik
Clothing: pay 87.3% more in Reykjavik

The cost of transportation, clothing, restaurants, entertainment and sports, groceries, and housing in Reykjavik are more expensive than in Iowa City. Notably, transportation, clothing, and restaurants are significantly more expensive in Reykjavik.

Reykjavik vs. Iowa City Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Reykjavik instead of Iowa City, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 78.0% more for restaurants

	Iowa City	Reykjavik
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$15.00	$27.48 ISK3,420	+83.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.00	$22.76 ISK2,833	+152.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.62	$3.34 ISK415	+27.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.81	$2.70 ISK336	+48.8%
Average			+78.0%

Iowa City vs. Reykjavik - Cost of restaurants

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pay 66.5% more for groceries

	Iowa City	Reykjavik
Bread 1 loaf	$2.68	$4.63 ISK577	+72.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.65	$9.44 ISK1,175	+102.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.27	$7.63 ISK950	+133.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.13	$6.50 ISK809	+57.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.77	$11.29 ISK1,406	+136.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.52	$1.59 ISK198	+4.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.54	$1.17 ISK146	+116.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.24	$1.49 ISK185	+20.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.23	$2.54 ISK316	+13.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.92	$1.70 ISK211	+85.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.29	$1.13 ISK141	-12.2%
Average			+66.5%

Iowa City vs. Reykjavik - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.9 times more for transportation

	Iowa City	Reykjavik
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.01	$9.66 ISK1,202	+221.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$16.00	$88.58 ISK11,027	+453.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$29,454.22	$50,771.00 ISK6M	+72.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$21.90	$28.07 ISK3,494	+28.2%
Average			+193.9%

Iowa City vs. Reykjavik - Cost of transportation

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pay 29.5% more for housing

	Iowa City	Reykjavik
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$72.85	$81.97 ISK10,203	+12.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,231.25	$2,259.48 ISK281K	+83.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,100.00	$2,034.90 ISK253K	+85.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$163.91	$60.87 ISK7,578	-62.9%
Average			+29.5%

Iowa City vs. Reykjavik - Cost of housing

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pay 24.6% less for childcare

	Iowa City	Reykjavik
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,266.67	$327.78 ISK40,802	-74.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$24,601.00	$30,711.08 ISK4M	+24.8%
Average			-24.6%

Iowa City vs. Reykjavik - Cost of childcare

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pay 67.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Iowa City	Reykjavik
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.00	$13.12 ISK1,634	+162.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.38	$6.17 ISK768	+14.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$9.00	$13.94 ISK1,735	+54.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$49.33	$87.35 ISK10,874	+77.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$13.50	$17.18 ISK2,139	+27.3%
Average			+67.3%

Iowa City vs. Reykjavik - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 87.3% more for clothing

	Iowa City	Reykjavik
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$70.00	$145.10 ISK18,062	+107.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$48.33	$63.97 ISK7,963	+32.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$100.00	$193.43 ISK24,078	+93.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$115.00	$248.79 ISK30,970	+116.3%
Average			+87.3%

Iowa City vs. Reykjavik - 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: April 2026

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