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:
pay 78.0% more for restaurants
|
Iowa City
|
Reykjavik
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$15.00
|
$27.48
ISK3,517
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.00
|
$22.76
ISK2,913
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.62
|
$3.34
ISK427
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.81
|
$2.70
ISK345
|
|
Iowa City vs. Reykjavik - Cost of restaurants
pay 66.5% more for groceries
|
Iowa City
|
Reykjavik
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.68
|
$4.63
ISK593
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.65
|
$9.44
ISK1,208
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.27
|
$7.63
ISK976
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.13
|
$6.50
ISK832
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.77
|
$11.29
ISK1,445
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.52
|
$1.59
ISK204
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.54
|
$1.17
ISK150
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.24
|
$1.49
ISK190
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.23
|
$2.54
ISK325
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.92
|
$1.70
ISK217
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.29
|
$1.13
ISK145
|
|
Iowa City vs. Reykjavik - Cost of groceries
pay 2.9 times more for transportation
|
Iowa City
|
Reykjavik
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.01
|
$9.66
ISK1,236
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$16.00
|
$88.58
ISK11,337
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$29,454.22
|
$50,771.00
ISK6,497,672
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$21.90
|
$28.07
ISK3,592
|
|
Iowa City vs. Reykjavik - Cost of transportation
pay 29.5% more for housing
|
Iowa City
|
Reykjavik
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$72.85
|
$81.97
ISK10,490
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,231.25
|
$2,259.48
ISK289,169
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,100.00
|
$2,034.90
ISK260,427
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$163.91
|
$60.87
ISK7,791
|
|
Iowa City vs. Reykjavik - Cost of housing
pay 24.6% less for childcare
|
Iowa City
|
Reykjavik
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,266.67
|
$327.78
ISK41,949
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$24,601.00
|
$30,711.08
ISK3,930,404
|
|
Iowa City vs. Reykjavik - Cost of childcare
pay 67.3% more for entertainment and sports
|
Iowa City
|
Reykjavik
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.00
|
$13.12
ISK1,680
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.38
|
$6.17
ISK790
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.00
|
$13.94
ISK1,783
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$49.33
|
$87.35
ISK11,179
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.50
|
$17.18
ISK2,199
|
|
Iowa City vs. Reykjavik - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 87.3% more for clothing
|
Iowa City
|
Reykjavik
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$70.00
|
$145.10
ISK18,569
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$48.33
|
$63.97
ISK8,187
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$100.00
|
$193.43
ISK24,755
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$115.00
|
$248.79
ISK31,840
|
|
Iowa City vs. Reykjavik - 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: December 2025
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