Cost of living comparison
compared to
Santa Monica vs. Reykjavik Cost of Living Summary
Santa Monica is 0.9% cheaper than Reykjavik.
- Restaurants
-
pay 26.4% less in Santa Monica
- Groceries
-
pay 6.7% less in Santa Monica
- Transportation
-
pay 28.8% less in Santa Monica
- Housing
-
pay 43.1% more in Santa Monica
- Childcare
-
pay 32.6% more in Santa Monica
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 21.0% less in Santa Monica
- Clothing
-
pay 39.1% less in Santa Monica
Santa Monica vs. Reykjavik Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Santa Monica instead of Reykjavik, you would:
pay 26.4% less for restaurants
|
Reykjavik
|
Santa Monica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$31.06
ISK3,763
|
$26.50
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$26.97
ISK3,268
|
$15.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.31
ISK402
|
$3.23
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$3.11
ISK376
|
$2.38
|
|
Reykjavik vs. Santa Monica - Cost of restaurants
pay 6.7% less for groceries
|
Reykjavik
|
Santa Monica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.19
ISK508
|
$4.68
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$10.93
ISK1,324
|
$7.99
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$7.78
ISK942
|
$5.24
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$7.08
ISK858
|
$5.84
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$11.00
ISK1,333
|
$6.33
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.50
ISK182
|
$2.15
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.27
ISK154
|
$1.03
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.46
ISK177
|
$1.83
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.93
ISK355
|
$2.57
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.78
ISK215
|
$1.46
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.76
ISK92
|
$1.30
|
|
Reykjavik vs. Santa Monica - Cost of groceries
pay 28.8% less for transportation
|
Reykjavik
|
Santa Monica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.76
ISK941
|
$5.65
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$94.80
ISK11,488
|
$67.50
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$50,588.43
ISK6M
|
$36,998.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$29.26
ISK3,545
|
$17.91
|
|
Reykjavik vs. Santa Monica - Cost of transportation
pay 43.1% more for housing
|
Reykjavik
|
Santa Monica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$86.01
ISK10,422
|
$65.20
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,522.88
ISK306K
|
$3,375.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,032.25
ISK246K
|
$2,833.33
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$73.44
ISK8,899
|
$166.32
|
|
Reykjavik vs. Santa Monica - Cost of housing
pay 32.6% more for childcare
|
Reykjavik
|
Santa Monica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,185.23
ISK144K
|
$1,676.09
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$25,853.51
ISK3M
|
$32,155.00
|
|
Reykjavik vs. Santa Monica - Cost of childcare
pay 21.0% less for entertainment and sports
|
Reykjavik
|
Santa Monica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$13.89
ISK1,684
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$6.74
ISK817
|
$5.86
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.89
ISK1,684
|
$11.71
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$100.25
ISK12,148
|
$72.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$19.57
ISK2,372
|
$19.75
|
|
Reykjavik vs. Santa Monica - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 39.1% less for clothing
|
Reykjavik
|
Santa Monica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$149.01
ISK18,058
|
$88.25
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$65.79
ISK7,972
|
$55.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$181.84
ISK22,035
|
$104.75
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$248.81
ISK30,151
|
$120.00
|
|
Reykjavik vs. Santa Monica - 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 October 2026). How we calculate this
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Compare further: Reykjavik vs. Santa Monica
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