Cost of living comparison

Iceland

compared to

United States

Jersey City vs. Reykjavik Cost of Living Summary

Jersey City is 6.9% cheaper than Reykjavik.

Restaurants: pay 40.7% less in Jersey City
Groceries: pay 0.8% less in Jersey City
Transportation: pay 28.5% less in Jersey City
Housing: pay 32.2% more in Jersey City
Childcare: pay 31.8% more in Jersey City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 32.2% less in Jersey City
Clothing: pay 49.7% less in Jersey City

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

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Jersey City vs. Reykjavik Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 40.7% less for restaurants

	Reykjavik	Jersey City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$31.06 ISK3,782	$25.00	-19.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$26.97 ISK3,284	$11.00	-59.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.31 ISK404	$2.18	-34.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$3.11 ISK378	$1.56	-49.7%
Average			-40.7%

Reykjavik vs. Jersey City - Cost of restaurants

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pay 0.8% less for groceries

	Reykjavik	Jersey City
Bread 1 loaf	$4.19 ISK511	$4.28	+2.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$10.93 ISK1,331	$6.24	-42.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.78 ISK947	$4.92	-36.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$7.08 ISK862	$5.83	-17.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$11.00 ISK1,340	$5.37	-51.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.50 ISK183	$2.45	+63.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.27 ISK154	$0.79	-37.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.46 ISK178	$2.87	+96.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.93 ISK357	$2.81	-4.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.78 ISK216	$2.50	+40.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.76 ISK92	$1.73	+128.8%
Average			-0.8%

Reykjavik vs. Jersey City - Cost of groceries

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pay 28.5% less for transportation

	Reykjavik	Jersey City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.76 ISK946	$4.13	-46.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$94.80 ISK11,545	$104.00	+9.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$50,588.43 ISK6M	$36,651.00	-27.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$29.26 ISK3,563	$19.40	-33.7%
Average			-28.5%

Reykjavik vs. Jersey City - Cost of transportation

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pay 32.2% more for housing

	Reykjavik	Jersey City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$86.01 ISK10,474	$65.00	-24.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,522.88 ISK307K	$3,506.67	+39.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$2,032.25 ISK247K	$2,260.00	+11.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$73.44 ISK8,943	$162.62	+121.4%
Average			+32.2%

Reykjavik vs. Jersey City - Cost of housing

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pay 31.8% more for childcare

	Reykjavik	Jersey City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,185.23 ISK144K	$2,250.00	+89.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$25,853.51 ISK3M	$23,666.67	-8.5%
Average			+31.8%

Reykjavik vs. Jersey City - Cost of childcare

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pay 32.2% less for entertainment and sports

	Reykjavik	Jersey City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$13.89 ISK1,692	$8.00	-42.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$6.74 ISK821	$5.50	-18.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$13.89 ISK1,692	$11.41	-17.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$100.25 ISK12,209	$56.66	-43.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$19.57 ISK2,384	$14.50	-25.9%
Average			-32.2%

Reykjavik vs. Jersey City - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 49.7% less for clothing

	Reykjavik	Jersey City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$149.01 ISK18,147	$41.25	-72.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$65.79 ISK8,012	$57.50	-12.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$181.84 ISK22,145	$76.25	-58.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$248.81 ISK30,300	$156.67	-37.0%
Average			-49.7%

Reykjavik vs. Jersey City - 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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