Cost of living in Iceland
129.7 with the United States at 100
Prices in Iceland are 30% dearer than the United States, and it ranks 6th of 204 countries by price level (dearest first). Figures are for 2025.
Against New Zealand it is 46% dearer.
Two agencies agree. For 2024, the World Bank's figure works out at 113.1 and Eurostat's at 116.6 — a gap of 3.5 points. Two independent programmes landing within 5 points is the strongest evidence available that the level is right.
Compared with its region
Iceland against the Europe & Central Asia countries closest to it on price level.
- Iceland 129.7
- Switzerland 128.2
- Denmark 104.5
- Faroe Islands 103.9
- Ireland 102.1
- Luxembourg 98.6
- Norway 96.2
- United Kingdom 92.4
- Finland 90.6
SOURCE·World Bank — International Comparison Program·PPP conversion factor for household final consumption, and the official market exchange rate. CC BY 4.0.·REVIEWED AUG 2026
What is dear and what is cheap
Eurostat prices 19 spending categories separately for Iceland (2024), again with the United States at 100. This is where a national average stops being one number: a country can be cheap to eat in and expensive to drive in.
- Alcoholic drinks 285.1
- Health 233.5
- Education 211.5
- Tobacco 183.2
- Meat 172.5
- Milk, cheese and eggs 171.7
- Restaurants and hotels 167.3
- Housing, water, electricity and fuel 164.0
- Communication 154.4
- Recreation and culture 154.2
- Bread and cereals 150.8
- Food and non-alcoholic drinks 143.9
- Clothing and footwear 143.4
- Fruit and vegetables 136.1
- Transport 135.7
- Non-alcoholic drinks 129.4
- Furnishings and household equipment 124.4
- Overall consumption (incl. government-funded services) 115.8
- Fish 110.1
SOURCE·Eurostat — purchasing power parities (prc_ppp_ind)·Price level indices by consumption category, published on an EU27=100 basis and rebased here to US=100. CC BY 4.0.·REVIEWED AUG 2026
What this figure is, and is not
- It is an index, not a price. 129.7 means the general level of consumer prices, with the US at 100. It is not a shopping bill and this site never quotes one.
- It is national, not city. Reykjavik is almost certainly dearer than this. National averages cannot answer a city question.
- It is not your budget. What you actually spend depends on rent, transport and habits far more than on the national average.
How the price level is worked out
- The World Bank publishes a purchasing power parity for household consumption — how much local currency buys the same basket as one US dollar — and the official market exchange rate for the same year.
- The price level is simply PPP ÷ exchange rate × 100. If a basket needs 1.50 New Zealand dollars per US dollar of purchasing power but the market hands you 1.65 New Zealand dollars for that dollar, New Zealand's prices sit at 1.50 ÷ 1.65 = 91% of the US level.
- Nothing is modelled, smoothed or estimated. You can reproduce every number on this site from two public figures.
- Where Eurostat also publishes a price level for the same country and year, the two are compared and the gap is printed — including when they disagree.
SOURCE·World Bank — International Comparison Program·PPP conversion factor for household final consumption, and the official market exchange rate. CC BY 4.0.·REVIEWED AUG 2026
SOURCE·World Bank ICP PPPs + Eurostat price level indices·price levels derived as PPP ÷ exchange rate, see method·REVIEWED AUG 2026