Iceland
Latest Average Wage
+21.6% · 5 years
$100,605
Country Comparison
Iceland vs United States
Compare average wages, long-term wage changes and eight consumer price categories using OECD data.
At a Glance
Iceland
vs
United States
$100,6052025
Latest Average Wage
Iceland +15.7%
(vs United States)
$86,9772025
+21.6%2025
5-Year Wage Change
Iceland +19.5 pts
(vs United States)
+2.1%2025
+34.6%2025
10-Year Wage Change
Iceland +21.7 pts
(vs United States)
+13.0%2025
1122024
Overall Price Level
Iceland +12.0 index points
(vs United States)
1002024
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
United States
Latest Average Wage
+2.1% · 5 years
$86,977
Wage Milestones
Iceland
10 Years Ago
$74,730 (2015)
Historical Peak
$100,605 (2025)
Latest Wage
$100,605 (2025)
United States
10 Years Ago
$76,999 (2015)
Historical Peak
$86,977 (2025)
Latest Wage
$86,977 (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)United States (USA)
Overall
+12.0 index points
100
112vs100
Food
+27.0 index points
100
127vs100
Clothing
+29.0 index points
100
129vs100
Housing
−9.0 index points
100
91vs100
Health
−0.1 index points
100
99.9vs100
Transport
+44.0 index points
100
144vs100
Recreation
+28.0 index points
100
128vs100
Restaurants & Accommodation
+34.0 index points
100
134vs100
What Stands Out
01
Latest Wage Gap
Iceland's latest average wage is $100,605 for 2025, about 15.7% higher than United States' $86,977 for 2025 — a percentage worked out directly from the two reported figures. That is roughly $13,628 a year on the same PPP basis.
02
Stronger Recent Trend
On the latest one-year change, Iceland shows the stronger movement at +1.8%, against +1.7% for United States. The five-year horizon keeps the same ordering: +21.6% against +2.1%. 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 100 for United States. That is a separation of 44.0 index points on the US=100 scale, with Iceland on the higher side and United States on the lower one. The gap is stated in index points, which are not interchangeable with percentages.
04
Closest Price Category
The closest category is Health: Iceland reads 99.9 and United States 100 for 2024 — effectively the same relative price level on the US=100 scale. The next closest is Housing at 9.0 index points apart. A gap this small leaves the category effectively tied on the shared US=100 scale.
Understanding the Comparison
Wage Position
Iceland holds a clear wage lead in this pairing: $100,605 for 2025, against United States' $86,977 for 2025. The higher figure exceeds the lower one by 15.7% in relative terms — a percentage calculated from the two reported values — or roughly $13,628 a year. Both figures are expressed in USD PPP at constant 2025 prices, so they can be set side by side without any further conversion. 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 United States +13.0%, so the two series have been moving in the same long-term direction.
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%. United States sits at the highest point of its series — $86,977 in 2025 is also the historical peak, with a ten-year change of +13.0%. Iceland's five-year change of +21.6% outpaces United States' +2.1% 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 United States' reads 100, each measured against the United States reference of 100. One side of this pairing dominates the price profile: Iceland sits higher in 6 of the 8 comparable categories. Transport separates the two most: Iceland reads 144 and United States 100, 44.0 index points apart. The two sit closest in Health (99.9 versus 100), only 0.1 index points apart. Counted against the US reference of 100, 6 of Iceland's 8 reported categories sit above the line, against 0 of United States' 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.
