Iceland
Latest Average Wage
+21.6% · 5 years
$100,605
Country Comparison
Iceland vs Luxembourg
Compare average wages, long-term wage changes and eight consumer price categories using OECD data.
At a Glance
Iceland
vs
Luxembourg
$100,6052025
Latest Average Wage
Iceland +2.1%
(vs Luxembourg)
$98,5302025
+21.6%2025
5-Year Wage Change
Iceland +13.3 pts
(vs Luxembourg)
+8.3%2025
+34.6%2025
10-Year Wage Change
Iceland +23.6 pts
(vs Luxembourg)
+11.0%2025
1122024
Overall Price Level
Iceland +15.4 index points
(vs Luxembourg)
96.62024
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
Luxembourg
Latest Average Wage
+8.3% · 5 years
$98,530
Wage Milestones
Iceland
10 Years Ago
$74,730 (2015)
Historical Peak
$100,605 (2025)
Latest Wage
$100,605 (2025)
Luxembourg
10 Years Ago
$88,737 (2015)
Historical Peak
$98,530 (2025)
Latest Wage
$98,530 (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)Luxembourg (LUX)
Overall
+15.4 index points
100
112vs96.6
Food
+21.0 index points
100
127vs106
Clothing
+29.3 index points
100
129vs99.7
Housing
−8.4 index points
100
91vs99.4
Health
+22.8 index points
100
99.9vs77.1
Transport
+43.0 index points
100
144vs101
Recreation
+30.9 index points
100
128vs97.1
Restaurants & Accommodation
+33.0 index points
100
134vs101
What Stands Out
01
Latest Wage Gap
Iceland's latest average wage is $100,605 for 2025, about 2.1% higher than Luxembourg's $98,530 for 2025 — a relative difference calculated from the two reported values. In annual terms the gap comes to about $2,076 on the same PPP basis.
02
Stronger Recent Trend
On the latest one-year change, Iceland shows the stronger movement at +1.8%, against +1.1% for Luxembourg. The five-year horizon keeps the same ordering: +21.6% against +8.3%. Both percentages are real, PPP-adjusted changes from the reported wage series.
03
Largest Price Gap
Transport shows the widest price gap of the comparable categories in 2024: 144 for Iceland against 101 for Luxembourg. Measured on the US=100 scale, the two readings for this category are 43.0 index points apart, Iceland above Luxembourg. The gap is stated in index points, which are not interchangeable with percentages.
04
Closest Price Category
The closest category is Housing: Iceland reads 91 and Luxembourg 99.4 for 2024, just 8.4 index points apart on the US=100 scale. The next closest is Overall at 15.4 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
Iceland and Luxembourg report nearly the same PPP-adjusted average annual wage: $100,605 for 2025, against $98,530 for 2025. The difference is 2.1% in relative terms — a percentage calculated from the two reported values — or roughly $2,076 a year, which is small next to either figure. Because both values already sit on the same USD PPP, constant-2025-price footing, the comparison adjusts for price-level differences between the two economies. Over ten years Iceland recorded +34.6% and Luxembourg +11.0%, so the two series have been moving in the same long-term direction. For most side-by-side readings the two wage levels can be treated as equivalent within this dataset.
Wage Direction
Both wage series rise over the five-year horizon, though not at the same pace. 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%. Luxembourg sits at the highest point of its series — $98,530 in 2025 is also the historical peak, with a ten-year change of +11.0%. Iceland's five-year change of +21.6% outpaces Luxembourg's +8.3% in magnitude, so the common direction does not mean the two levels are holding a fixed distance. Each percentage is a real, PPP-adjusted change; nominal pay movements are outside what this dataset reports.
Price Profile
Iceland's overall consumer price level for 2024 reads 112, and Luxembourg's reads 96.6, each measured against the United States reference of 100. One side of this pairing dominates the price profile: Iceland sits higher in 7 of the 8 comparable categories. Transport separates the two most: Iceland reads 144 and Luxembourg 101, 43.0 index points apart. The two sit closest in Housing (91 versus 99.4), only 8.4 index points apart. Counted against the US reference of 100, 6 of Iceland's 8 reported categories sit above the line, against 3 of Luxembourg's 8. These are index values for 2024, not currency amounts; categories without a reported value on either side are left out of the comparison.
Wage and price data should not be combined into a verdict on which country is better to live in.
