Iceland vs. Washington Cost of Living Summary

Iceland is 20.6% more expensive than Washington.

Restaurants
pay 46.8% more in Iceland
Groceries
pay 14.5% more in Iceland
Transportation
pay 42.0% more in Iceland
Housing
pay 5.7% more in Iceland
Childcare
pay 34.2% less in Iceland
Entertainment and Sports
pay 34.6% more in Iceland
Clothing
pay 95.9% more in Iceland

The cost of clothing, restaurants, transportation, entertainment and sports, groceries, and housing in Iceland are more expensive than in Washington. Notably, clothing is significantly more expensive in Iceland.

Iceland vs. Washington Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Iceland instead of Washington, you would:

pay 46.8% more for restaurants

 
Washington
Iceland
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $22.26
 
$28.88
ISK3,518
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$12.24
 
$22.83
ISK2,782
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.75
 
$3.25
ISK395

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pay 14.5% more for groceries

 
Washington
Iceland
Bread
1 loaf
$4.04
 
$3.55
ISK433
Local cheese (8 oz) $7.06
 
$10.11
ISK1,232
Milk (1 gallon) $4.15
 
$7.79
ISK949

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pay 42.0% more for transportation

 
Washington
Iceland
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.99
 
$8.09
ISK985
Monthly public transit pass $70.32
 
$80.58
ISK9,817
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $34,567.40
 
$48,967.53
ISK6M

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pay 5.7% more for housing

 
Washington
Iceland
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$77.56
 
$98.24
ISK11,969
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,772.00
 
$2,335.24
ISK285K
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,547.68
 
$1,824.40
ISK222K

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pay 34.2% less for childcare

 
Washington
Iceland
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,891.11
 
$833.66
ISK102K
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $28,281.22
 
$27,752.37
ISK3M

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pay 34.6% more for entertainment and sports

 
Washington
Iceland
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $6.38
 
$11.37
ISK1,386
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.43
 
$5.90
ISK718
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$11.44
 
$13.85
ISK1,688

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pay 95.9% more for clothing

 
Washington
Iceland
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$54.08
 
$134.47
ISK16,382
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$40.93
 
$63.25
ISK7,705
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$89.87
 
$159.03
ISK19,374

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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

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