Cost of living comparison

Iceland

compared to

New Jersey, USA

New Jersey vs. Iceland Cost of Living Summary

New Jersey is 64.2% more expensive than Iceland overall.

Restaurants: pay 11.8% less in New Jersey
Groceries: pay 24.2% more in New Jersey
Transportation: pay 0.3% more in New Jersey
Housing: pay 29.2% more in New Jersey
Childcare: pay 5.5 times more in New Jersey
Entertainment and Sports: pay 4.5% less in New Jersey
Clothing: pay 36.8% less in New Jersey

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

New Jersey vs. Iceland Cost Breakdown

If you lived in New Jersey instead of Iceland, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 11.8% less for restaurants

	Iceland	New Jersey
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$19.40 ISK2,534	$19.00	-2.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$16.94 ISK2,213	$11.19	-33.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.81 ISK367	$2.49	-11.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.02 ISK264	$2.02	-0.1%
Average			-11.8%

Iceland vs. New Jersey - Cost of restaurants

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pay 24.2% more for groceries

	Iceland	New Jersey
Bread 1 loaf	$2.95 ISK386	$3.89	+31.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.27 ISK949	$7.30	+0.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.01 ISK784	$4.36	-27.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.42 ISK708	$3.63	-33.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$8.51 ISK1,111	$5.77	-32.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.22 ISK160	$2.60	+112.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.03 ISK134	$0.90	-12.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.17 ISK153	$2.10	+79.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.87 ISK245	$2.65	+41.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.23 ISK161	$1.28	+3.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.78 ISK102	$1.59	+102.7%
Average			+24.2%

Iceland vs. New Jersey - Cost of groceries

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pay 0.3% more for transportation

	Iceland	New Jersey
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$8.36 ISK1,092	$3.49	-58.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$71.28 ISK9,310	$133.88	+87.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$40,660.66 ISK5,310,689	$31,750.31	-21.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$22.04 ISK2,878	$20.65	-6.3%
Average			+0.3%

Iceland vs. New Jersey - Cost of transportation

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pay 29.2% more for housing

	Iceland	New Jersey
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$72.17 ISK9,427	$58.37	-19.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,838.04 ISK240,066	$2,167.23	+17.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,497.77 ISK195,624	$1,865.29	+24.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$58.01 ISK7,577	$112.29	+93.6%
Average			+29.2%

Iceland vs. New Jersey - Cost of housing

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pay 5.5 times more for childcare

	Iceland	New Jersey
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$258.16 ISK33,719	$1,618.98	+527.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,993.99 ISK782,876	$28,166.67	+369.9%
Average			+448.5%

Iceland vs. New Jersey - Cost of childcare

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pay 4.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Iceland	New Jersey
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$9.19 ISK1,200	$6.72	-26.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.65 ISK607	$4.97	+7.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$11.76 ISK1,535	$11.57	-1.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$61.46 ISK8,027	$54.75	-10.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$14.35 ISK1,874	$15.73	+9.6%
Average			-4.5%

Iceland vs. New Jersey - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 36.8% less for clothing

	Iceland	New Jersey
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$111.23 ISK14,528	$53.04	-52.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$59.69 ISK7,796	$45.58	-23.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$148.00 ISK19,330	$91.11	-38.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$184.49 ISK24,097	$124.03	-32.8%
Average			-36.8%

Iceland vs. New Jersey - Cost of clothing

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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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