Cost of living comparison

 Iceland
compared to
 Redwood City (CA), United States
Redwood City vs. Iceland Cost of Living Summary

Redwood City is 2.1 times more expensive than Iceland overall.

Restaurants
pay 1.1% more in Redwood City
Groceries
pay 14.0% more in Redwood City
Transportation
pay 19.7% less in Redwood City
Housing
pay 84.4% more in Redwood City
Childcare
pay 8.5 times more in Redwood City
Entertainment and Sports
pay 13.8% less in Redwood City
Clothing
pay 33.6% less in Redwood City

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

Redwood City vs. Iceland Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Redwood City instead of Iceland, you would:

pay 1.1% more for restaurants

 
Iceland
Redwood City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $19.40
ISK2,377
$25.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$16.94
ISK2,076
$12.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.81
ISK344
$2.75
 

Improve prices ·

pay 14.0% more for groceries

 
Iceland
Redwood City
Bread
1 loaf
$2.95
ISK362
$2.19
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $7.27
ISK890
$5.51
 
Milk (1 gallon) $6.01
ISK736
$5.43
 

Improve prices ·

pay 19.7% less for transportation

 
Iceland
Redwood City
Gasoline (1 gallon) $8.36
ISK1,025
$4.73
 
Monthly public transit pass $71.28
ISK8,734
$74.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $40,660.66
ISK4,982,151
$23,536.00
 

Improve prices ·

pay 84.4% more for housing

 
Iceland
Redwood City
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$72.17
ISK8,844
$60.00
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,838.04
ISK225,215
$4,000.00
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,497.77
ISK183,522
??

Improve prices ·

pay 8.5 times more for childcare

 
Iceland
Redwood City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $258.16
ISK31,633
$2,738.89
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $5,993.99
ISK734,444
$37,770.00
 

Improve prices ·

pay 13.8% less for entertainment and sports

 
Iceland
Redwood City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $9.19
ISK1,126
$4.50
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $4.65
ISK570
$5.05
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$11.76
ISK1,440
$8.89
 

Improve prices ·

pay 33.6% less for clothing

 
Iceland
Redwood City
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$111.23
ISK13,629
$62.33
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$59.69
ISK7,314
$50.00
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$148.00
ISK18,134
$90.00
 

Improve prices ·
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: July 2025
Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Iceland vs. United States. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Iceland and United States.

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 Redwood City or Iceland. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.