Cost of living comparison

Reykjavik, Iceland

compared to

Palo Alto (CA), United States

Palo Alto vs. Reykjavik Cost of Living Summary

Palo Alto is 2.2 times more expensive than Reykjavik.

Restaurants: pay 1.1% less in Palo Alto
Groceries: pay 28.5% more in Palo Alto
Transportation: pay 18.6% less in Palo Alto
Housing: pay 2.1 times more in Palo Alto
Childcare: pay 8.5 times more in Palo Alto
Entertainment and Sports: pay 7.9% more in Palo Alto
Clothing: pay 43.2% less in Palo Alto

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

Palo Alto vs. Reykjavik Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 1.1% less for restaurants

	Reykjavik	Palo Alto
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$20.00 ISK2,482	$27.50	+37.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$18.02 ISK2,236	$11.50	-36.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.15 ISK391	$3.00	-4.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.19 ISK271	$2.17	-0.9%
Average			-1.1%

Reykjavik vs. Palo Alto - Cost of restaurants

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pay 28.5% more for groceries

	Reykjavik	Palo Alto
Bread 1 loaf	$3.61 ISK448	$5.22	+44.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.76 ISK963	$8.45	+8.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.40 ISK795	$5.33	-16.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.76 ISK714	$5.50	-4.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$9.45 ISK1,172	$7.75	-18.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.40 ISK174	$3.30	+135.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.01 ISK125	$0.90	-10.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.22 ISK151	$1.60	+31.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.22 ISK276	$3.00	+34.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.43 ISK178	$1.89	+31.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.93 ISK116	$1.66	+77.5%
Average			+28.5%

Reykjavik vs. Palo Alto - Cost of groceries

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pay 18.6% less for transportation

	Reykjavik	Palo Alto
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$8.50 ISK1,055	$4.85	-43.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$74.95 ISK9,302	$90.00	+20.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$42,450.45 ISK5,268,101	$30,530.00	-28.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$24.05 ISK2,985	$18.41	-23.4%
Average			-18.6%

Reykjavik vs. Palo Alto - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.1 times more for housing

	Reykjavik	Palo Alto
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$69.87 ISK8,670	$60.00	-14.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,971.17 ISK244,622	$3,397.50	+72.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,803.44 ISK223,807	$3,198.33	+77.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$53.95 ISK6,696	$213.87	+296.4%
Average			+108.0%

Reykjavik vs. Palo Alto - Cost of housing

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pay 8.5 times more for childcare

	Reykjavik	Palo Alto
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$252.14 ISK31,291	$2,705.00	+972.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,993.99 ISK743,855	$37,770.00	+530.1%
Average			+751.5%

Reykjavik vs. Palo Alto - Cost of childcare

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pay 7.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Reykjavik	Palo Alto
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$10.81 ISK1,342	$8.00	-26.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.31 ISK658	$5.10	-3.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$12.25 ISK1,520	$11.00	-10.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$69.95 ISK8,680	$120.00	+71.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$14.77 ISK1,834	$15.99	+8.2%
Average			+7.9%

Reykjavik vs. Palo Alto - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 43.2% less for clothing

	Reykjavik	Palo Alto
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$108.97 ISK13,523	$45.00	-58.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$49.72 ISK6,170	$36.12	-27.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$151.85 ISK18,845	$80.00	-47.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$194.16 ISK24,095	$117.22	-39.6%
Average			-43.2%

Reykjavik vs. Palo Alto - 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: June 2025

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