Iceland vs. United States Cost of Living Summary

Iceland is 12.0% more expensive than United States overall.

Restaurants
pay 20.4% more in Iceland
Groceries
pay 4.5% more in Iceland
Transportation
pay 48.3% more in Iceland
Housing
pay 9.4% less in Iceland
Childcare
pay 77.0% less in Iceland
Entertainment and Sports
pay 20.3% more in Iceland
Clothing
pay 76.7% more in Iceland

The cost of clothing, transportation, restaurants, entertainment and sports, and groceries in Iceland are more expensive than in United States. Expenses including childcare and housing are lower in Iceland. Notably, clothing is significantly more expensive in Iceland.

Iceland vs. United States Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Iceland instead of United States, you would:

pay 20.4% more for restaurants

 
United States
Iceland
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $18.59
 
$19.40
ISK2,508
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$10.47
 
$16.94
ISK2,191
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.50
 
$2.81
ISK363

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pay 4.5% more for groceries

 
United States
Iceland
Bread
1 loaf
$3.49
 
$2.95
ISK382
Local cheese (8 oz) $6.33
 
$7.27
ISK939
Milk (1 gallon) $3.91
 
$6.01
ISK777

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pay 48.3% more for transportation

 
United States
Iceland
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.61
 
$8.36
ISK1,081
Monthly public transit pass $65.15
 
$71.28
ISK9,217
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $31,583.67
 
$40,660.66
ISK5,257,830

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pay 9.4% less for housing

 
United States
Iceland
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$67.50
 
$72.17
ISK9,333
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,655.99
 
$1,838.04
ISK237,677
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,423.40
 
$1,497.77
ISK193,677

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pay 77.0% less for childcare

 
United States
Iceland
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,351.84
 
$258.16
ISK33,383
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $22,265.44
 
$5,993.99
ISK775,083

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pay 20.3% more for entertainment and sports

 
United States
Iceland
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.78
 
$9.19
ISK1,188
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.04
 
$4.65
ISK601
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$9.68
 
$11.76
ISK1,520

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pay 76.7% more for clothing

 
United States
Iceland
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$50.38
 
$111.23
ISK14,383
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$40.66
 
$59.69
ISK7,718
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$85.52
 
$148.00
ISK19,138

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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: May 2025
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