Cost of living comparison

Palo Alto (CA), United States

compared to

Reykjavik, Iceland

Reykjavik vs. Palo Alto Cost of Living Summary

Reykjavik is 1.8% cheaper than Palo Alto.

Restaurants: pay 8.8% more in Reykjavik
Groceries: pay 14.1% less in Reykjavik
Transportation: pay 32.0% more in Reykjavik
Housing: pay 36.0% less in Reykjavik
Childcare: pay 87.4% less in Reykjavik
Entertainment and Sports: pay 0.2% more in Reykjavik
Clothing: pay 83.8% more in Reykjavik

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

Reykjavik vs. Palo Alto Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Reykjavik instead of Palo Alto, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 8.8% more for restaurants

	Palo Alto	Reykjavik
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$27.50	$20.00 ISK2,644	-27.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$11.50	$18.02 ISK2,382	+56.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.00	$3.15 ISK417	+5.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.17	$2.19 ISK289	+0.9%
Average			+8.8%

Palo Alto vs. Reykjavik - Cost of restaurants

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pay 14.1% less for groceries

	Palo Alto	Reykjavik
Bread 1 loaf	$5.22	$3.61 ISK477	-30.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.45	$7.76 ISK1,025	-8.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.33	$6.40 ISK847	+20.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.50	$5.76 ISK761	+4.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$7.75	$9.45 ISK1,249	+21.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.30	$1.40 ISK185	-57.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.90	$1.01 ISK133	+12.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.60	$1.22 ISK161	-23.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$3.00	$2.22 ISK294	-25.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.89	$1.43 ISK190	-24.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.66	$0.93 ISK123	-43.7%
Average			-14.1%

Palo Alto vs. Reykjavik - Cost of groceries

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pay 32.0% more for transportation

	Palo Alto	Reykjavik
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.85	$8.50 ISK1,124	+75.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$90.00	$74.95 ISK9,908	-16.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$30,530.00	$42,450.45 ISK5,611,101	+39.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$18.41	$24.05 ISK3,179	+30.6%
Average			+32.0%

Palo Alto vs. Reykjavik - Cost of transportation

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pay 36.0% less for housing

	Palo Alto	Reykjavik
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$60.00	$69.87 ISK9,235	+16.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$3,397.50	$1,971.17 ISK260,549	-42.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$3,198.33	$1,803.44 ISK238,379	-43.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$213.87	$53.95 ISK7,132	-74.8%
Average			-36.0%

Palo Alto vs. Reykjavik - Cost of housing

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pay 87.4% less for childcare

	Palo Alto	Reykjavik
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$2,705.00	$252.14 ISK33,328	-90.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$37,770.00	$5,993.99 ISK792,286	-84.1%
Average			-87.4%

Palo Alto vs. Reykjavik - Cost of childcare

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pay 0.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Palo Alto	Reykjavik
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$8.00	$10.81 ISK1,429	+35.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.10	$5.31 ISK701	+4.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$11.00	$12.25 ISK1,619	+11.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$120.00	$69.95 ISK9,246	-41.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$15.99	$14.77 ISK1,953	-7.6%
Average			+0.2%

Palo Alto vs. Reykjavik - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 83.8% more for clothing

	Palo Alto	Reykjavik
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$45.00	$108.97 ISK14,404	+142.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$36.12	$49.72 ISK6,572	+37.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$80.00	$151.85 ISK20,072	+89.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$117.22	$194.16 ISK25,664	+65.6%
Average			+83.8%

Palo Alto vs. Reykjavik - 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: April 2025

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