Cost of living comparison
compared to
Charleston vs. Reykjavik Cost of Living Summary
Charleston is 17.1% cheaper than Reykjavik.
Charleston vs. Reykjavik Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Charleston instead of Reykjavik, you would:
pay 40.8% less for restaurants
|
Reykjavik
|
Charleston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$31.06
ISK3,813
|
$20.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$26.97
ISK3,312
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.31
ISK407
|
$2.92
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$3.11
ISK381
|
$2.31
|
|
Reykjavik vs. Charleston - Cost of restaurants
pay 6.6% more for groceries
|
Reykjavik
|
Charleston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.19
ISK515
|
$4.12
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$10.93
ISK1,342
|
$11.45
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$7.78
ISK955
|
$4.29
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$7.08
ISK869
|
$5.41
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$11.00
ISK1,351
|
$6.58
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.50
ISK185
|
$3.66
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.27
ISK156
|
$0.82
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.46
ISK179
|
$2.30
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.93
ISK360
|
$3.15
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.78
ISK218
|
$2.32
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.76
ISK93
|
$1.70
|
|
Reykjavik vs. Charleston - Cost of groceries
pay 43.5% less for transportation
|
Reykjavik
|
Charleston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.76
ISK953
|
$3.76
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$94.80
ISK11,641
|
$57.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$50,588.43
ISK6M
|
$35,112.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$29.26
ISK3,593
|
$12.94
|
|
Reykjavik vs. Charleston - Cost of transportation
pay 3.0% more for housing
|
Reykjavik
|
Charleston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$86.01
ISK10,561
|
$84.89
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,522.88
ISK310K
|
$2,324.88
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,032.25
ISK250K
|
$1,708.67
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$73.44
ISK9,018
|
$176.85
|
|
Reykjavik vs. Charleston - Cost of housing
pay 6.6% more for childcare
|
Reykjavik
|
Charleston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,185.23
ISK146K
|
$1,264.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$25,853.51
ISK3M
|
$27,566.67
|
|
Reykjavik vs. Charleston - Cost of childcare
pay 38.9% less for entertainment and sports
|
Reykjavik
|
Charleston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$13.89
ISK1,706
|
$6.50
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$6.74
ISK828
|
$5.88
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.89
ISK1,706
|
$10.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$100.25
ISK12,310
|
$45.71
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$19.57
ISK2,403
|
$14.00
|
|
Reykjavik vs. Charleston - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 40.8% less for clothing
|
Reykjavik
|
Charleston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$149.01
ISK18,297
|
$77.50
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$65.79
ISK8,078
|
$46.25
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$181.84
ISK22,328
|
$112.33
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$248.81
ISK30,551
|
$135.00
|
|
Reykjavik vs. Charleston - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this
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Compare further: Reykjavik vs. Charleston
Compare countries by overall cost of living
See the
cost of living in Iceland vs. United States.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Iceland and United States.
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