Cost of living comparison

United States

compared to

Iceland

Reykjavik vs. Jersey City Cost of Living Summary

Reykjavik is 7.5% more expensive than Jersey City.

Restaurants: pay 68.6% more in Reykjavik
Groceries: pay 0.8% more in Reykjavik
Transportation: pay 39.9% more in Reykjavik
Housing: pay 24.4% less in Reykjavik
Childcare: pay 24.1% less in Reykjavik
Entertainment and Sports: pay 47.5% more in Reykjavik
Clothing: pay 98.9% more in Reykjavik

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

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Reykjavik vs. Jersey City Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 68.6% more for restaurants

	Jersey City	Reykjavik
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$25.00	$31.06 ISK3,782	+24.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$11.00	$26.97 ISK3,284	+145.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.18	$3.31 ISK404	+52.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.56	$3.11 ISK378	+99.0%
Average			+68.6%

Jersey City vs. Reykjavik - Cost of restaurants

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pay 0.8% more for groceries

	Jersey City	Reykjavik
Bread 1 loaf	$4.28	$4.19 ISK511	-2.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.24	$10.93 ISK1,331	+75.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.92	$7.78 ISK947	+58.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.83	$7.08 ISK862	+21.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.37	$11.00 ISK1,340	+104.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.45	$1.50 ISK183	-38.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.79	$1.27 ISK154	+60.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.87	$1.46 ISK178	-49.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.81	$2.93 ISK357	+4.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$2.50	$1.78 ISK216	-28.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.73	$0.76 ISK92	-56.3%
Average			+0.8%

Jersey City vs. Reykjavik - Cost of groceries

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pay 39.9% more for transportation

	Jersey City	Reykjavik
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.13	$7.76 ISK946	+88.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$104.00	$94.80 ISK11,545	-8.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$36,651.00	$50,588.43 ISK6M	+38.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$19.40	$29.26 ISK3,563	+50.8%
Average			+39.9%

Jersey City vs. Reykjavik - Cost of transportation

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pay 24.4% less for housing

	Jersey City	Reykjavik
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$65.00	$86.01 ISK10,474	+32.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$3,506.67	$2,522.88 ISK307K	-28.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$2,260.00	$2,032.25 ISK247K	-10.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$162.62	$73.44 ISK8,943	-54.8%
Average			-24.4%

Jersey City vs. Reykjavik - Cost of housing

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pay 24.1% less for childcare

	Jersey City	Reykjavik
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$2,250.00	$1,185.23 ISK144K	-47.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$23,666.67	$25,853.51 ISK3M	+9.2%
Average			-24.1%

Jersey City vs. Reykjavik - Cost of childcare

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pay 47.5% more for entertainment and sports

	Jersey City	Reykjavik
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$8.00	$13.89 ISK1,692	+73.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.50	$6.74 ISK821	+22.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$11.41	$13.89 ISK1,692	+21.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$56.66	$100.25 ISK12,209	+76.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$14.50	$19.57 ISK2,384	+35.0%
Average			+47.5%

Jersey City vs. Reykjavik - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 98.9% more for clothing

	Jersey City	Reykjavik
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$41.25	$149.01 ISK18,147	+261.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$57.50	$65.79 ISK8,012	+14.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$76.25	$181.84 ISK22,145	+138.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$156.67	$248.81 ISK30,300	+58.8%
Average			+98.9%

Jersey City vs. Reykjavik - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

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