Cost of living comparison

Iceland

compared to

United States

Mountain View vs. Reykjavik Cost of Living Summary

Mountain View is 0.9% more expensive than Reykjavik.

Restaurants: pay 40.2% less in Mountain View
Groceries: pay 1.3% less in Mountain View
Transportation: pay 18.8% less in Mountain View
Housing: pay 44.4% more in Mountain View
Childcare: pay 33.8% more in Mountain View
Entertainment and Sports: pay 27.3% less in Mountain View
Clothing: pay 28.4% less in Mountain View

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

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Mountain View vs. Reykjavik Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Mountain View instead of Reykjavik, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 40.2% less for restaurants

	Reykjavik	Mountain View
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$31.06 ISK3,784	$20.00	-35.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$26.97 ISK3,286	$12.00	-55.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.31 ISK404	$2.75	-17.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$3.11 ISK378	$2.70	-13.2%
Average			-40.2%

Reykjavik vs. Mountain View - Cost of restaurants

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pay 1.3% less for groceries

	Reykjavik	Mountain View
Bread 1 loaf	$4.19 ISK511	$4.30	+2.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$10.93 ISK1,332	$8.27	-24.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.78 ISK947	$4.90	-37.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$7.08 ISK862	$5.38	-24.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$11.00 ISK1,340	$5.33	-51.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.50 ISK183	$2.50	+66.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.27 ISK154	$0.88	-31.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.46 ISK178	$2.00	+37.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.93 ISK357	$2.66	-9.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.78 ISK216	$1.75	-1.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.76 ISK92	$2.60	+243.4%
Average			-1.3%

Reykjavik vs. Mountain View - Cost of groceries

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pay 18.8% less for transportation

	Reykjavik	Mountain View
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.76 ISK946	$5.78	-25.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$94.80 ISK11,550	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$50,588.43 ISK6M	$36,998.00	-26.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$29.26 ISK3,564	$43.77	+49.6%
Average			-18.8%

Reykjavik vs. Mountain View - Cost of transportation

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pay 44.4% more for housing

	Reykjavik	Mountain View
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$86.01 ISK10,478	$63.00	-26.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,522.88 ISK307K	$2,898.75	+14.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$2,032.25 ISK248K	$3,028.33	+49.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$73.44 ISK8,947	$224.96	+206.3%
Average			+44.4%

Reykjavik vs. Mountain View - Cost of housing

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pay 33.8% more for childcare

	Reykjavik	Mountain View
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,185.23 ISK144K	$2,285.25	+92.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$25,853.51 ISK3M	$24,000.00	-7.2%
Average			+33.8%

Reykjavik vs. Mountain View - Cost of childcare

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pay 27.3% less for entertainment and sports

	Reykjavik	Mountain View
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$13.89 ISK1,693	$7.00	-49.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$6.74 ISK821	$5.33	-20.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$13.89 ISK1,693	$11.71	-15.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$100.25 ISK12,214	$72.25	-27.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$19.57 ISK2,385	$17.00	-13.1%
Average			-27.3%

Reykjavik vs. Mountain View - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 28.4% less for clothing

	Reykjavik	Mountain View
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$149.01 ISK18,154	$51.67	-65.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$65.79 ISK8,015	$100.00	+52.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$181.84 ISK22,154	$150.00	-17.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$248.81 ISK30,313	$150.00	-39.7%
Average			-28.4%

Reykjavik vs. Mountain View - 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 November 2026). How we calculate this

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