Moving to Iceland
In Iceland, the median gross salary is €4,965 a month (2022) and a single worker on the average wage keeps 72.8% of gross pay after income tax and employee contributions (2025).
Iceland had GDP per capita of US$98,323 in 2025 and life expectancy of 82.8 years in 2024. The national unemployment rate was 4.5% in 2025. Average gross salary was €9,652 per month in 2025, and there were 4.373 doctors per 1,000 people in 2023.
Can I move to Iceland?
Across 198 passports, 93 passports enter visa-free and 105 passports need a visa for Iceland. Check your passport below.
- Visa-free
- 93
- Visa required
- 105
Choose citizenship and purpose to see the relevant entry steps.
Entry.
Living & working.
Official requirements [55] · Visitor-entry rules
Residence rules and exceptions
| Citizenship / situation | Starting point |
|---|---|
| EU / EEA citizenship | Free movement; longer residence has conditions.[54] |
| Swiss citizenship | Separate Swiss arrangements, including residence documentation for longer stays.[54] |
| Other citizenship | Check work, study or family requirements.[55] |
| Existing status or family rights | A passport alone cannot establish your eligibility. Check the relevant authority’s guidance. |
These are national starting points, not an eligibility decision. Long-stay residence, work authorisation and in-country application rules differ by route; a visa-free visit never settles them. Check the route that matches your purpose and circumstances with the responsible authority.
Visa and entry rules
Sources checked through 5 Sept 2026.
Work and income
What is the unemployment rate in Iceland?
The national unemployment rate was 4.5 % in 2025. Source: Eurostat — Unemployment by sex and age — annual data (une_rt_a)10
This is the Eurostat labour-force survey series used as the canonical national answer. Other published definitions exist and are shown in the table below.
What is the median gross salary in Iceland?
The median gross salary was 4,965 EUR/month in 2022.
Half of employees earn less than this. Mean gross and national-accounts averages use different definitions and are shown in the table below.
Public employment service in Iceland
Official job-search, registration, counselling and training routes. Private recruitment agencies are not included.
Directorate of Labour — Public employment service
A national service does not prove that an office exists in every city. City pages show an office only after an exact address is linked to that city. Sources checked through 10 Aug 2026.
Taxes in Iceland
National rates and comparable published scenarios. Personal tax depends on income, household and residence circumstances.
Benefits newcomers may qualify for in Iceland
Public schemes where an official source defines an eligible migration or residence status. Amounts and conditions are kept in their native terms.
| Programme | Published amount | Source and application |
|---|---|---|
Atvinnuleysisbætur — Unemployment support | 383,870 ISK / Monthly | |
Eligibility and amount detailsGross basic unemployment benefit at 100% benefit entitlement: ISK 383,870 per month. The official Ísland.is unemployment-benefit page states that an applicant must have worked in Iceland, be able to work in a general workplace, have legal domicile in Iceland and be in the country. This is the bounded profile of a worker with Icelandic work history and legal domicile in Iceland; the published age, fitness, unemployment and statutory entitlement conditions also apply. | ||
Basic services for applicants for international protection — Arrival and reception support | —–28,000 ISK / Weekly | |
Eligibility and amount detailsThe current official Ísland.is basic-services page states that applicants for international protection receive a weekly diet allowance paid by card; the amount varies by family size and is never more than ISK 28,000 per week. The official Ísland.is basic-services page states: ‘The Directorate of Labour provides basic services to applicants for international protection while the Directorate of Immigration processes the application.’ exact profile international Protection Applicant In Iceland With Application Processed By Directorate Of Labour. The source says the basic service is granted according to a specific process that begins when an individual or family submits an application for international protection at a police station; it includes housing, necessary healthcare and a weekly diet allowance for applicants who meet the source conditions. It does not generalize to recognized refugees, ordinary immigrants or every foreign resident. | ||
EEA child benefits — Family and child support | 345,000–514,500 ISK / Annual | |
Eligibility and amount detailsThe official 2026 table gives ISK 514,500 per child for single parents and ISK 345,000 per child for married couples and cohabiting partners, plus ISK 130,000 per child under 7; income reductions apply. The official Ísland.is EEA child-benefits page states that children resident outside Iceland may qualify when their supporter works in Iceland and is fully taxable in Iceland and a citizen of a country within the European Economic Area (EEA), a member state of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) or the Faroe Islands; when the supporter is resident abroad and insured in Iceland under the Social Security Act; or when the supporter works abroad for an employer that pays insurance tax in Iceland. The page requires the child to be resident in the EEA, an EFTA Member State or the Faroe Islands and states that only child supporters are entitled. three source-defined profiles and does not generalize to all foreign residents. | ||
Housing benefits — Housing support | 50,792–99,552 ISK / Monthly | |
Eligibility and amount detailsThe official Ísland.is table headed ‘Income limits from January 1st. 2026’ gives maximum monthly housing benefits of ISK 50,792 for a one-member household, ISK 67,553 for two, ISK 78,728 for three, ISK 85,331 for four, ISK 92,442 for five and ISK 99,552 for six or more; benefits cannot exceed 75% of the rental price. The official Ísland.is conditions page states: ‘To apply for housing benefits you need to have permanent registration in Iceland.’ It also states: ‘You need to live and be registered with legal address in your place of rent’ and that a person domiciled abroad is not eligible. With Permanent Registration In Iceland And Legal Rental Address and retains the age, lease, household, income, asset and rental conditions; it does not generalize to every foreign resident. | ||
Municipal financial aid (municipality-specific rules) — Minimum-income support | Amount set per household by formula / Monthly | |
Eligibility and amount detailsThe current official Ísland.is service states that each municipality has its own financial-assistance rules and publishes no single national amount. The official Reykjavík page gives a municipality-specific ceiling of up to ISK 259,951 per month for an individual and ISK 415,922 per month for married couples and common-law partners, subject to income, asset and household rules; this is a municipal example, not a national rate formula. The official Ísland.is municipal financial-aid service states that each municipality has its own rules on financial assistance under the laws on social services, and that an applicant can apply to the municipality where the applicant has legal residence. source-defined residence profile person With Legal Residence In Iceland For Municipal Financial Aid; it does not convert municipality-specific rules into a single national entitlement or amount. The service describes temporary aid for people without other income and requires the applicant to check other assistance first. Reykjavík’s official current financial-aid page separately states that a person with legal residence in Reykjavík may be eligible subject to its income and asset rules. | ||
ImmigrationDB shows published rules; it does not decide personal eligibility. Confirm your status, contribution record and household circumstances with the responsible authority before applying. Sources checked through 12 Aug 2026.
Can migrants receive medical care in Iceland?
Yes — migrants can receive medical care in Iceland when the official insurance or residence conditions are met.
Language courses and integration in Iceland
Government programmes, public integration services and exact provider records. The section expands only from fields present in the source; missing prices, refunds or contacts are not replaced with estimates.
Directorate of Labour Icelandic courses for registered foreign jobseekers — State Language Course
Directorate of Labour
For foreign jobseekers registered for unemployment benefits.
Recognised Icelandic teaching provider grant route — Other
Rannís and the Icelandic authorities
For recognised providers teaching Icelandic to foreigners.
Reykjavík refugee Icelandic course and civic orientation route — Integration course
City of Reykjavík and Directorate of Labour
For refugees receiving Reykjavík City financial assistance.
Living and moving context for Iceland
Iceland cities by population
The largest published cities appear first. Population is taken from the reusable official city layer; hub labels come from the existing city taxonomy.
All published cities in Iceland (14)
14 of 14 shownSearch all cities
Reports with this country
Accepted report pages with a row for this country.
What different occupation groups earn in Iceland
We hold earnings rows for 9 occupation groups in Iceland, but their earnings basis is still being verified against the source: the recorded magnitudes are not plausible as the EUR/month means they are labelled as, so no figure is shown and none of these groups is presented as comparable yet.
Held occupation groups (figures withheld pending unit verification): Managers, Professionals, Technicians and associate professionals, Clerical support workers, Service and sales workers, Skilled agricultural, forestry and fishery workers, Craft and related trades workers, Plant and machine operators, and assemblers, Elementary occupations.
Source: ILO (ILOSTAT mean earnings by occupation (EAR_EMTA_SEX_OCU_CUR_NB)) · observed 2020 · checked 2026-07-30.
Iceland facts
Current source-backed observations, grouped the way the city pages are, with geographic scope and observation periods.
Population and profile
How many people live in Iceland?
The published population was 386,506 people in 2024. Source: World Bank45
National, resident population scope. Foreign-resident and migration-background figures are separate metrics in the table below.
How many foreign residents live in Iceland?
The foreign-resident population was 70,555 people in January 2026. Source: Foreign citizens 1950-2026 (Statistics Iceland PxWeb table MAN04001)18
Residents without Iceland citizenship. The migration-background population is a broader measure and appears in the table below.
Legal, tax and other context
| Metric | Value | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rent deposit can be paid in instalments | 0 | 8 Oct 2026 | Húsaleigulög (Rent Act No. 36/1994)19Official · national figure |
| Typical rent deposit | 3 months | 8 Oct 2026 | Húsaleigulög (Rent Act No. 36/1994)19Official · national figure |
| Public healthcare access for foreign residents | Conditional | 3 Aug 2026 | Ísland.is — Sjúkratryggingar (Icelandic Health Insurance)25Official · national figure |
| Area | 103,000 km² | 31 Dec 2023 | World Bank46Official · national figure |
| Gross-to-net pay for a sample household | single person no children — 12,433,527 gross → 9,055,929 net a year (2025, national currency) | 31 Dec 2025 | Taxing Wages 2026 — labour taxation decomposition40Official · country household scenario |
| Population by year | 368,792 people (2021) | 1 Jan 2021 | Population on 1 January by age and sex (DEMO_PJAN)37Official · country annual series |
| Doctors per 1,000 residents | 4.37 per 1,000 | 31 Dec 2023 | World Bank indicator SH.MED.PHYS.ZS49Official · national figure |
| Household electricity price | 0.202 EUR/kWh | 31 Dec 2025 | Eurostat5Official · national figure |
| Employer social contribution rate | 6.35 % | 31 Dec 2025 | OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration30Official · national figure |
| People employed in agriculture, forestry and fishing | 6,910 people | 2025 | ec.europa.eu3Official · national figure |
| People employed in mining and quarrying | 150 people | 2025 | ec.europa.eu3Official · national figure |
| People employed in manufacturing | 21,610 people | 2025 | ec.europa.eu3Official · national figure |
| People employed in electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning | 1,900 people | 2025 | ec.europa.eu3Official · national figure |
| People employed in water supply, sewerage and waste management | 1,300 people | 2025 | ec.europa.eu3Official · national figure |
| People employed in construction | 19,060 people | 2025 | ec.europa.eu3Official · national figure |
| People employed in wholesale and retail trade; motor vehicle and motorcycle repair | 26,680 people | 2025 | ec.europa.eu3Official · national figure |
| People employed in transportation and storage | 13,510 people | 2025 | ec.europa.eu3Official · national figure |
| People employed in accommodation and food services | 16,110 people | 2025 | ec.europa.eu3Official · national figure |
| People employed in information and communication | 8,890 people | 2025 | ec.europa.eu3Official · national figure |
| People employed in finance and insurance | 5,710 people | 2025 | ec.europa.eu3Official · national figure |
| People employed in real estate | 2,010 people | 2025 | ec.europa.eu3Official · national figure |
| People employed in professional, scientific and technical services | 10,530 people | 2025 | ec.europa.eu3Official · national figure |
| People employed in administrative and support services | 11,010 people | 2025 | ec.europa.eu3Official · national figure |
| People employed in public administration, defence and compulsory social security | 15,300 people | 2025 | ec.europa.eu3Official · national figure |
School for children who move here. School is compulsory from age 6 to 16. Newly arrived pupils get support in the school language: íslenska sem annað tungumál (Icelandic as a second language instruction). How to enrol a child (menntamalaraduneyti.is).
Sources: eurydice.eacea.ec.europa.eu · 2026.
Settling-in index
How the conditions a newcomer meets in Iceland compare with the other 35 scored destinations: integration policy, getting by in English, an established foreign community and language courses. Every point comes from the component table below.
Above the median on the size of the foreign community; below it on integration policy; about the median on language courses.
| Component | Reading | Score (0–100) | Weight | Adds | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Integration policy (MIPEX) | 33 of 100 | 33 | 35 | 15.4 | MIPEX 2020 |
| An established foreign community | 18.3% of residents | 73 | 20 | 19.5 | Foreign citizens 1950-2026 (Statistics Iceland PxWeb table MAN04001) 2026; population 2024 |
| Language courses for newcomers | Directorate of Labour Icelandic courses for registered foreign jobseekers (Free) | 100 | 20 | 26.7 | Directorate of Labour Icelandic courses for registered foreign jobseekers |
Working as… in Iceland
Open a profession for its available regulation, recognition and work-route evidence.
Common questions
Answered from the published values on this page, each with its source and date.
What is the unemployment rate in Iceland?
The national unemployment rate was 4.5 % in 2025. Source: Eurostat — Unemployment by sex and age — annual data (une_rt_a).
How many people live in Iceland?
The published population was 386,506 people in 2024. Source: World Bank.
What is the median gross salary in Iceland?
The median gross salary was 4,965 EUR/month in 2022. Source: Eurostat (Structure of Earnings Survey, earn_ses_monthly).
Cite this page
Open a format to select or copy this ImmigrationDB compilation citation. The native disclosure and text fallback work without JavaScript.
APA citation
ImmigrationDB. (2026, October 16). Moving to Iceland: population, rent, salary, cost of living [ImmigrationDB compilation; version b6bed4115cd84f9ca5cad7794c4897fa]. ImmigrationDB. https://immigrationdb.com/countries/iceland/ Retrieved 2026-10-16. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/BibTeX citation
@misc{immigrationdb_immigrationdb_moving-to-iceland-population-rent-salary-cost-of-living_f1343e705377,
author = {ImmigrationDB},
title = {Moving to Iceland: population, rent, salary, cost of living},
publisher = {ImmigrationDB},
year = {2026},
date = {2026-10-16},
version = {b6bed4115cd84f9ca5cad7794c4897fa},
url = {https://immigrationdb.com/countries/iceland/},
note = {Retrieved 2026-10-16. ImmigrationDB compilation. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/},
}Markdown citation
[Moving to Iceland: population, rent, salary, cost of living](https://immigrationdb.com/countries/iceland/) — ImmigrationDB; ImmigrationDB; version b6bed4115cd84f9ca5cad7794c4897fa; retrieved 2026-10-16; built 2026-10-16.This citation identifies the ImmigrationDB compilation/page. Underlying source publishers and datasets retain their own terms; inspect the Sources section and cite those records separately. View the underlying source records.
Sources
Every number above comes from one of these records. Open the original source for its geographic scope and publication date.
- Act No. 88/1971 on a 40-hour working week, §2 althingi.is · checked 2026-09-25
- Average annual wages stats.oecd.org · checked 2026-07-26
- ec.europa.eu ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-12
- European Medicines Agency ema.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-03
- Eurostat ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-03
- Eurostat ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-07
- Eurostat ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-03
- Eurostat ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-05
- Eurostat ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-05
- Eurostat — Unemployment by sex and age — annual data (une_rt_a) Eurostat · ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-07-26
Show 45 more sources
- Eurostat (Structure of Earnings Survey, earn_ses_monthly) ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-03
- Eurostat crim off cat (ICCS0101, NR) ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-09-05
- Eurostat demo_pjan ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-09-05
- Eurostat hlth rs bds1 — total hospital beds Eurostat hlth rs bds1 · ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-09-20
- Eurostat hlth rs prs2 — practising physicians Eurostat hlth rs prs2 · ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-09-20
- Eurostat lfsta_ewhuis — Usual weekly hours of work of full-time employees (sex total, 15-64, employees, main job) Eurostat lfsta_ewhuis · ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-09-18
- Fees island.is · checked 2026-10-08
- Foreign citizens 1950-2026 (Statistics Iceland PxWeb table MAN04001) px.hagstofa.is · checked 2026-09-18
- Húsaleigulög (Rent Act No. 36/1994) althingi.is · checked 2026-10-08
- Iceland — compulsory education age range Iceland · eurydice.eacea.ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-09-20
- Iceland — school enrolment authority url Iceland · eurydice.eacea.ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-09-20
- Iceland — school language support programme Iceland · eurydice.eacea.ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-09-20
- ILOSTAT — Average monthly earnings of employees by sex, occupation and currency (annual) ILOSTAT · rplumber.ilo.org · checked 2026-07-30
- Income by sex and age 1990-2025 px.hagstofa.is · checked 2026-09-23
- Ísland.is — Sjúkratryggingar (Icelandic Health Insurance) Ísland.is · island.is · checked 2026-08-03
- Labour market and employment government.is · checked 2026-09-23
- Minimum wage statistics ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-09-17
- MIPEX mirovni-institut.si · checked 2026-08-03
- OECD sdmx-pp.oecd.org · checked 2026-08-03
- OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-08-03
- OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-08-03
- OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-08-03
- OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-08-07
- OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-08-07
- OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-08-07
- OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-08-05
- Population on 1 January by age and sex (DEMO_PJAN) ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-07-29
- Public holidays in Iceland 2026 indicators.cb.is · checked 2026-09-25
- Statistics Iceland MAN10001 — populations by religious and life stance organizations Statistics Iceland MAN10001 · px.hagstofa.is · checked 2026-07-30
- Taxing Wages 2026 — labour taxation decomposition Taxing Wages 2026 · sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-07-29
- Value-added tax skatturinn.is · checked 2026-09-20
- Visa Information visa.vfsglobal.com · checked 2026-10-08
- WHO GHO RS_196/RS_198 ghoapi.azureedge.net · checked 2026-09-05
- WHO GHO RS_196/RS_198 ghoapi.azureedge.net · checked 2026-09-05
- World Bank api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-08-02
- World Bank api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-08-02
- World Bank api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-08-02
- World Bank indicator NY.GDP.PCAP.CD api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-07-14
- World Bank indicator SH.MED.PHYS.ZS api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-07-14
- World Bank indicator SP.DYN.LE00.IN api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-07-14
- World Bank Open Data api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-08-07
- World Bank Open Data api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-08-07
- World Bank SP.POP.TOTL api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-09-05
- Iceland Directorate of Immigration — entry and residence starting point
Official Iceland starting point for EU/EEA/Swiss residence; national guidance only, not a personal eligibility decision.
- Iceland Directorate of Immigration — applications and forms
Official Iceland national residence and immigration guidance; not a personal eligibility decision.