Cost of living comparison

compared to

Palmerston North vs. Reykjavik Cost of Living Summary

Palmerston North is 27.6% cheaper than Reykjavik.

Restaurants: pay 39.7% less in Palmerston North
Groceries: pay 36.6% less in Palmerston North
Transportation: pay 36.5% less in Palmerston North
Housing: pay 42.5% less in Palmerston North
Childcare: pay 54.6% more in Palmerston North
Entertainment and Sports: pay 38.5% less in Palmerston North
Clothing: pay 54.3% less in Palmerston North

Expenses including clothing, housing, restaurants, entertainment and sports, groceries, and transportation are lower in Palmerston North.

Palmerston North vs. Reykjavik Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 39.7% less for restaurants

	Reykjavik	Palmerston North
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$27.48 ISK3,517	$14.42 NZ$24.97	-47.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$22.76 ISK2,913	$9.91 NZ$17.16	-56.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.34 ISK427	$2.36 NZ$4.08	-29.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.70 ISK345	$2.01 NZ$3.48	-25.4%
Average			-39.7%

Reykjavik vs. Palmerston North - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 36.6% less for groceries

	Reykjavik	Palmerston North
Bread 1 loaf	$4.63 ISK593	$1.99 NZ$3.45	-57.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$9.44 ISK1,208	$3.89 NZ$6.74	-58.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.63 ISK976	$7.12 NZ$12.32	-6.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$6.50 ISK832	$5.13 NZ$8.88	-21.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$11.29 ISK1,445	$3.99 NZ$6.91	-64.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.59 ISK204	$1.07 NZ$1.86	-32.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.17 ISK150	$0.80 NZ$1.39	-31.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.49 ISK190	$1.08 NZ$1.87	-27.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.54 ISK325	$1.48 NZ$2.55	-41.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.70 ISK217	$0.91 NZ$1.58	-46.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.13 ISK145	$0.95 NZ$1.65	-15.6%
Average			-36.6%

Reykjavik vs. Palmerston North - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 36.5% less for transportation

	Reykjavik	Palmerston North
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$9.66 ISK1,236	$6.11 NZ$10.57	-36.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$88.58 ISK11,337	$70.50 NZ$122.03	-20.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$50,771.00 ISK6,497,672	$22,211.80 NZ$38,448.69	-56.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$28.07 ISK3,592	$18.92 NZ$32.76	-32.6%
Average			-36.5%

Reykjavik vs. Palmerston North - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 42.5% less for housing

	Reykjavik	Palmerston North
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$81.97 ISK10,490	$45.43 NZ$78.65	-44.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,259.48 ISK289,169	$807.70 NZ$1,398.13	-64.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$2,034.90 ISK260,427	$663.47 NZ$1,148.47	-67.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$60.87 ISK7,791	$64.71 NZ$112.00	+6.3%
Average			-42.5%

Reykjavik vs. Palmerston North - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 54.6% more for childcare

	Reykjavik	Palmerston North
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$327.78 ISK41,949	$961.55 NZ$1,664.45	+193.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$30,711.08 ISK3,930,404	$4,843.04 NZ$8,383.31	-84.2%
Average			+54.6%

Reykjavik vs. Palmerston North - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 38.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Reykjavik	Palmerston North
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$13.12 ISK1,680	$6.44 NZ$11.14	-51.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$6.17 ISK790	$3.32 NZ$5.74	-46.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$13.94 ISK1,783	$17.88 NZ$30.96	+28.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$87.35 ISK11,179	$22.69 NZ$39.28	-74.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$17.18 ISK2,199	$8.65 NZ$14.98	-49.6%
Average			-38.5%

Reykjavik vs. Palmerston North - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 54.3% less for clothing

	Reykjavik	Palmerston North
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$145.10 ISK18,569	$66.35 NZ$114.85	-54.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$63.97 ISK8,187	$36.06 NZ$62.42	-43.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$193.43 ISK24,755	$87.26 NZ$151.05	-54.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$248.79 ISK31,840	$87.98 NZ$152.30	-64.6%
Average			-54.3%

Reykjavik vs. Palmerston North - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

More cost comparisons

Reykjavik vs.

Dodoma

Reykjavik vs.

London

Reykjavik vs.

Wellington

Reykjavik vs.

Manila

Reykjavik vs.

Athens

Reykjavik vs.

Bangkok

Reykjavik vs.

Dublin

Reykjavik vs.

Ankara

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Iceland vs. New Zealand. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Iceland and New Zealand.

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 Palmerston North

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

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