Cost of living comparison
compared to
Reykjavik vs. San Mateo Cost of Living Summary
Reykjavik is 4.4% cheaper than San Mateo.
Reykjavik vs. San Mateo Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Reykjavik instead of San Mateo, you would:
pay 60.8% more for restaurants
|
San Mateo
|
Reykjavik
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.00
|
$31.06
ISK3,763
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$13.00
|
$26.97
ISK3,268
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.02
|
$3.31
ISK402
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.75
|
$3.11
ISK376
|
|
San Mateo vs. Reykjavik - Cost of restaurants
pay 8.9% less for groceries
|
San Mateo
|
Reykjavik
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$5.88
|
$4.19
ISK508
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.80
|
$10.93
ISK1,324
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.12
|
$7.78
ISK942
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$7.39
|
$7.08
ISK858
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$8.50
|
$11.00
ISK1,333
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.73
|
$1.50
ISK182
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.00
|
$1.27
ISK154
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.83
|
$1.46
ISK177
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.99
|
$2.93
ISK355
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.98
|
$1.78
ISK215
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.42
|
$0.76
ISK92
|
|
San Mateo vs. Reykjavik - Cost of groceries
pay 26.4% more for transportation
|
San Mateo
|
Reykjavik
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$5.75
|
$7.76
ISK941
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$96.00
|
$94.80
ISK11,488
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,753.89
|
$50,588.43
ISK6M
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$20.31
|
$29.26
ISK3,545
|
|
San Mateo vs. Reykjavik - Cost of transportation
pay 31.8% less for housing
|
San Mateo
|
Reykjavik
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$61.24
|
$86.01
ISK10,422
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$3,458.33
|
$2,522.88
ISK306K
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,743.00
|
$2,032.25
ISK246K
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$204.90
|
$73.44
ISK8,899
|
|
San Mateo vs. Reykjavik - Cost of housing
pay 40.7% less for childcare
|
San Mateo
|
Reykjavik
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$3,000.00
|
$1,185.23
ISK144K
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$29,000.00
|
$25,853.51
ISK3M
|
|
San Mateo vs. Reykjavik - Cost of childcare
pay 16.7% more for entertainment and sports
|
San Mateo
|
Reykjavik
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.25
|
$13.89
ISK1,684
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.66
|
$6.74
ISK817
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.71
|
$13.89
ISK1,684
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$110.00
|
$100.25
ISK12,148
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$18.00
|
$19.57
ISK2,372
|
|
San Mateo vs. Reykjavik - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 74.7% more for clothing
|
San Mateo
|
Reykjavik
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$63.17
|
$149.01
ISK18,058
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$46.63
|
$65.79
ISK7,972
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$118.50
|
$181.84
ISK22,035
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$136.50
|
$248.81
ISK30,151
|
|
San Mateo vs. Reykjavik - 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
Change currency:
Compare further: San Mateo vs. Reykjavik
Compare countries by overall cost of living
See the
cost of living in United States vs. Iceland.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within United States and Iceland.
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
Ask the Elsewhere Community
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Reykjavik or San Mateo. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.