Cost of living comparison

compared to

Iceland vs. North Carolina Cost of Living Summary

Iceland is 47.4% more expensive than North Carolina.

Restaurants: pay 61.1% more in Iceland
Groceries: pay 24.9% more in Iceland
Transportation: pay 82.4% more in Iceland
Housing: pay 19.9% more in Iceland
Childcare: pay 24.4% less in Iceland
Entertainment and Sports: pay 60.7% more in Iceland
Clothing: pay 2.1 times more in Iceland

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

Iceland vs. North Carolina Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Iceland instead of North Carolina, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 61.1% more for restaurants

	North Carolina	Iceland
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$17.06	$26.52 ISK3,394	+55.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.47	$21.32 ISK2,728	+103.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.28	$3.11 ISK398	+36.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.82	$2.72 ISK348	+49.1%
Average			+61.1%

North Carolina vs. Iceland - Cost of restaurants

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pay 24.9% more for groceries

	North Carolina	Iceland
Bread 1 loaf	$3.79	$3.80 ISK487	+0.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.80	$9.44 ISK1,208	+38.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.73	$7.78 ISK996	+108.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.98	$6.71 ISK859	+68.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.20	$11.22 ISK1,436	+115.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.47	$1.50 ISK191	-39.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.71	$1.15 ISK147	+62.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.20	$1.41 ISK181	-35.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.38	$2.34 ISK300	-1.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.74	$1.65 ISK211	-5.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.80	$1.09 ISK140	-39.3%
Average			+24.9%

North Carolina vs. Iceland - Cost of groceries

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pay 82.4% more for transportation

	North Carolina	Iceland
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.98	$9.65 ISK1,235	+224.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$60.67	$79.56 ISK10,182	+31.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$33,588.64	$49,144.25 ISK6,289,481	+46.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$19.99	$25.55 ISK3,270	+27.8%
Average			+82.4%

North Carolina vs. Iceland - Cost of transportation

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pay 19.9% more for housing

	North Carolina	Iceland
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$72.77	$95.65 ISK12,241	+31.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,488.15	$2,289.17 ISK292,968	+53.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,261.77	$1,830.04 ISK234,209	+45.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$132.31	$65.15 ISK8,338	-50.8%
Average			+19.9%

North Carolina vs. Iceland - Cost of housing

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pay 24.4% less for childcare

	North Carolina	Iceland
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,261.89	$334.67 ISK42,830	-73.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$24,633.15	$30,711.08 ISK3,930,404	+24.7%
Average			-24.4%

North Carolina vs. Iceland - Cost of childcare

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pay 60.7% more for entertainment and sports

	North Carolina	Iceland
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.12	$11.14 ISK1,426	+117.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.82	$5.62 ISK720	+16.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$7.77	$13.90 ISK1,778	+78.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$48.40	$78.17 ISK10,004	+61.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$12.98	$16.75 ISK2,144	+29.1%
Average			+60.7%

North Carolina vs. Iceland - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.1 times more for clothing

	North Carolina	Iceland
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$49.30	$130.91 ISK16,753	+165.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.76	$61.83 ISK7,913	+63.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$88.37	$163.81 ISK20,965	+85.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$111.01	$237.31 ISK30,371	+113.8%
Average			+107.1%

North Carolina vs. Iceland - 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: December 2025

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