Cost of living comparison

Iceland

compared to

United States

North Charleston vs. Reykjavik Cost of Living Summary

North Charleston is 26.7% cheaper than Reykjavik.

Restaurants: pay 40.1% less in North Charleston
Groceries: pay 10.2% less in North Charleston
Transportation: pay 46.2% less in North Charleston
Housing: pay 7.9% less in North Charleston
Childcare: pay 25.7% less in North Charleston
Entertainment and Sports: pay 52.7% less in North Charleston
Clothing: pay 44.3% less in North Charleston

Expenses including entertainment and sports, transportation, clothing, restaurants, childcare, and groceries are lower in North Charleston.

Planning a move to United States? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

North Charleston vs. Reykjavik Cost Breakdown

If you lived in North Charleston instead of Reykjavik, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 40.1% less for restaurants

	Reykjavik	North Charleston
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$31.06 ISK3,813	$20.00	-35.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$26.97 ISK3,312	$12.00	-55.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.31 ISK407	$3.00	-9.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$3.11 ISK381	$2.50	-19.5%
Average			-40.1%

Reykjavik vs. North Charleston - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 10.2% less for groceries

	Reykjavik	North Charleston
Bread 1 loaf	$4.19 ISK515	$3.67	-12.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$10.93 ISK1,342	$3.58	-67.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.78 ISK955	$3.88	-50.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$7.08 ISK869	$5.00	-29.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$11.00 ISK1,351	$6.58	-40.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.50 ISK185	$3.66	+143.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.27 ISK156	$0.82	-35.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.46 ISK179	$2.30	+57.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.93 ISK360	$2.83	-3.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.78 ISK218	$1.95	+9.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.76 ISK93	$1.46	+93.7%
Average			-10.2%

Reykjavik vs. North Charleston - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 46.2% less for transportation

	Reykjavik	North Charleston
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.76 ISK953	$3.60	-53.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$94.80 ISK11,641	$50.00	-47.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$50,588.43 ISK6M	$35,112.00	-30.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$29.26 ISK3,593	$12.94	-55.8%
Average			-46.2%

Reykjavik vs. North Charleston - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 7.9% less for housing

	Reykjavik	North Charleston
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$86.01 ISK10,561	$84.89	-1.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,522.88 ISK310K	$2,033.67	-19.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$2,032.25 ISK250K	$1,500.00	-26.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$73.44 ISK9,018	$169.89	+131.3%
Average			-7.9%

Reykjavik vs. North Charleston - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 25.7% less for childcare

	Reykjavik	North Charleston
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,185.23 ISK146K	$926.88	-21.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$25,853.51 ISK3M	$18,263.75	-29.4%
Average			-25.7%

Reykjavik vs. North Charleston - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 52.7% less for entertainment and sports

	Reykjavik	North Charleston
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$13.89 ISK1,706	$6.00	-56.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$6.74 ISK828	$6.00	-11.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$13.89 ISK1,706	$9.50	-31.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$100.25 ISK12,310	$17.49	-82.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$19.57 ISK2,403	$14.00	-28.5%
Average			-52.7%

Reykjavik vs. North Charleston - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 44.3% less for clothing

	Reykjavik	North Charleston
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$149.01 ISK18,297	$65.00	-56.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$65.79 ISK8,078	$44.33	-32.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$181.84 ISK22,328	$112.33	-38.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$248.81 ISK30,551	$131.67	-47.1%
Average			-44.3%

Reykjavik vs. North Charleston - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

Compare further: Reykjavik vs. North Charleston

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in North Charleston?

More cost comparisons

Reykjavik vs.

Dublin

Reykjavik vs.

Quito

Reykjavik vs.

Cairo

Reykjavik vs.

New York City

Reykjavik vs.

Toronto

Reykjavik vs.

Warsaw

Reykjavik vs.

Athens

Reykjavik vs.

Berlin

Share this

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.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Reykjavik

Add prices for North Charleston

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about North Charleston or Reykjavik. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.