Country Overview

Wages and Prices in Iceland

Iceland appears with one of the highest wage and price references shown, showing how a high wage number can still require category-by-category price context.

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Wage history

How Wages Have Changed in Iceland

Explore Iceland’s PPP-adjusted annual wage history using a reported range rather than a filled-in series.

PPP-adjusted annual wage (USD)2000–2025 · touch or hover points for the selected range

Price levels

Price Levels in Iceland

Compare everyday price levels using the United States benchmark of 100.

Overall

112.00Above U.S.12.0% above U.S.

Food

127.00Above U.S.27.0% above U.S.

Clothing

129.00Above U.S.29.0% above U.S.

Housing

91.00Below U.S.9.0% below U.S.

Health

99.90Near U.S.0.1% below U.S.

Transport

144.00Above U.S.44.0% above U.S.

Recreation

128.00Above U.S.28.0% above U.S.

Restaurants

134.00Above U.S.34.0% above U.S.

How to Read This View

Use 100 as the reference

The United States is fixed at 100 for every category. A value of 112 means that Iceland’s price level is about 12.0% above the U.S. benchmark, while a value of 144 means it is approximately 44% higher.

Compare categories, not household bills

Each row represents a separate spending category. The values show relative price levels rather than the actual amount a household spends. A higher transport index does not necessarily mean that total living costs are higher by the same amount.

Check the selected year

The year buttons update all displayed categories together. Missing observations are shown as unavailable and are never replaced with values from another year.

Relative context

Iceland in Context

See how Iceland’s wage and selected price level compare with the OECD median and the United States.

Average Annual Wage

Iceland$100,605

OECD Median$60,690

United States$86,977

Selected Price Level

Iceland112.00

OECD Median67.25

United States100

Read the placement

Iceland’s 2025 PPP-adjusted annual wage is 65.8% above the OECD median. Its 2024 Overall price index of 112 is 12.0% above the U.S. benchmark, The two directions move together here, though they are separate measures.. Wage and price observations refer to separately labelled years and should not be read as a household affordability score.

Country note

Understanding Wages and Prices in Iceland

Iceland is shown with its current common-year wage and a separate price-year label. The chart exposes the selected historical span without interpolation, while the page avoids converting a measured change into a causal story.

Across the reported categories, Iceland shows its highest readings in Transport (144.00), Restaurants (134.00), and Clothing (129.00); the overall index remains above the United States reference. Each figure is a comparative index value rather than a household-cost forecast.