Iceland
Latest Average Wage
+21.6% · 5 years
$100,605
Country Comparison
Iceland vs Germany
Compare average wages, long-term wage changes and eight consumer price categories using OECD data.
At a Glance
Iceland
vs
Germany
$100,6052025
Latest Average Wage
Iceland +31.9%
(vs Germany)
$76,2852025
+21.6%2025
5-Year Wage Change
Iceland +19.6 pts
(vs Germany)
+2.0%2025
+34.6%2025
10-Year Wage Change
Iceland +27.5 pts
(vs Germany)
+7.1%2025
1122024
Overall Price Level
Iceland +40.5 index points
(vs Germany)
71.52024
Wages are PPP-adjusted average annual wages; price levels use the United States reference of 100. Years shown are each country's latest reported observation.
How Wages Have Changed
Follow PPP-adjusted average annual wages in constant prices across both economies.
USD PPP, constant prices · missing years shown as gaps, never interpolated
Germany
Latest Average Wage
+2.0% · 5 years
$76,285
Wage Milestones
Iceland
10 Years Ago
$74,730 (2015)
Historical Peak
$100,605 (2025)
Latest Wage
$100,605 (2025)
Germany
10 Years Ago
$71,244 (2015)
Historical Peak
$76,285 (2025)
Latest Wage
$76,285 (2025)
Compare Everyday Price Levels
See how eight consumer price categories compare with the United States reference value of 100.
United States = 100 · Differences shown in index points
Iceland (ISL)Germany (DEU)
Overall
+40.5 index points
100
112vs71.5
Food
+38.3 index points
100
127vs88.7
Clothing
+38.6 index points
100
129vs90.4
Housing
+26.9 index points
100
91vs64.1
Health
+49.2 index points
100
99.9vs50.7
Transport
+30.0 index points
100
144vs114
Recreation
+41.4 index points
100
128vs86.6
Restaurants & Accommodation
+42.9 index points
100
134vs91.1
What Stands Out
01
Latest Wage Gap
Iceland's latest average wage is $100,605 for 2025, about 31.9% higher than Germany's $76,285 for 2025 — a relative difference calculated from the two reported values. Per year, that works out to roughly $24,321 on the shared purchasing-power basis.
02
Stronger Recent Trend
On the latest one-year change, Germany shows the stronger movement at +1.9%, against +1.8% for Iceland. The five-year horizon reverses the ordering — Iceland at +21.6% and Germany at +2.0% — so the latest year is not the whole story. Both percentages are real, PPP-adjusted changes from the reported wage series.
03
Largest Price Gap
Health shows the widest price gap of the comparable categories in 2024: 99.9 for Iceland against 50.7 for Germany. Measured on the US=100 scale, the two readings for this category are 49.2 index points apart, Iceland above Germany. Index points are not percentages; the two scales answer different questions.
04
Closest Price Category
The closest category is Housing: Iceland reads 91 and Germany 64.1 for 2024, just 26.9 index points apart on the US=100 scale. The next closest is Transport at 30.0 index points apart. Two readings this close mean the category sits at nearly the same point of the US=100 scale for both.
Understanding the Comparison
Wage Position
Few pairings separate this cleanly — Iceland's latest average wage of $100,605 for 2025 stands well above Germany's $76,285 for 2025. The higher figure exceeds the lower one by 31.9% in relative terms — a percentage calculated from the two reported values — or roughly $24,321 a year. No extra conversion is needed here: each figure is already a purchasing-power-adjusted annual amount in constant prices. For scale, neither series has moved by that much within any single reported year, so the gap is structural rather than the product of one unusual observation. Over ten years Iceland recorded +34.6% and Germany +7.1%, so the two series have been moving in the same long-term direction.
Wage Direction
The five-year direction is shared here: both series rise, with different momentum on each side. Iceland sits at the highest point of its series — $100,605 in 2025 is also the historical peak, with a ten-year change of +34.6%. Germany sits at the highest point of its series — $76,285 in 2025 is also the historical peak, with a ten-year change of +7.1%. The shared direction still leaves room for different speeds: +21.6% for Iceland against +2.0% for Germany, so the distance between the two levels keeps shifting. All changes here are measured in real, PPP-adjusted terms, so they describe purchasing-power movement rather than nominal pay increases.
Price Profile
Iceland's overall consumer price level for 2024 reads 112, and Germany's reads 71.5, each measured against the United States reference of 100. Iceland reads higher in 8 of the 8 comparable categories, so the price profile leans consistently to one side. The widest separation is in Health: 99.9 for Iceland against 50.7 for Germany, a gap of 49.2 index points. At the other end, Housing brings the two closest — 91 versus 64.1, a gap of just 26.9 index points. Relative to the US benchmark, Iceland reads above 100 in 6 of its 8 reported categories, and Germany in 1 of its 8.
Wage and price data should not be combined into a verdict on which country is better to live in.
