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Average salary in Iceland

Gross and take-home pay, by industry and against other countries

#2 best-paid in Europe

Average salary

Take-home / mo

ISK 595,000

Gross / yr

ISK 9.8M

GrossISK 819,000/mo
NetISK 595,00073%
Tax & contributionsISK 224,00027%

Iceland is a small, prosperous economy where wages run high across the board, and a real career here earns near the top of the world. Pay leads its region too, and tax leaves most of it in your pocket, so the headline number holds up once the deductions are done.

Salaries in Iceland by industry

What you do matters, but only somewhat — this is a place where the spread between fields is narrower than the pay level alone would suggest. Finance, tech, and manufacturing sit at the top; education and hospitality trail, yet even the lower-paying work here pays decently by world standards.

take-home/mo · % vs national average
Finance & insurance
ISK 945,000+59%
IT & communication
ISK 750,000+26%
Manufacturing
ISK 722,000+22%
Real estate
ISK 679,000+14%
Hospitality & food
ISK 523,000-12%
Education
ISK 501,000-16%

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What you could earn in Iceland

Tell us what you do and what you earn today — we'll estimate what someone with your background could earn in Iceland, what your living costs might be, and what you could save

  • What someone in your field earns
  • What you could spend and save
  • How it compares with today
IT & communication

Take-home in Iceland

ISK 238,000/mo

vs ISK 149,000 in your country

Cost of living

ISK 254,000

vs ISK 99,500 in your country

Potential savings

−ISK 16,600

more than in your country

Standard of living

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How salaries in Iceland compare

Iceland earns more than almost anywhere and ranks at the top of Europe, and that comes from being a tiny, tight economy where labour is scarce and demand for it is steady. Few people, plenty of work, and wages pulled upward to match.

take-home/mo · % vs Iceland
1Iceland
ISK 595,000
2Norway
ISK 590,000-1%
3Ireland
ISK 527,000-11%
4United Kingdom
ISK 357,000-40%

Data source: Structure of Earnings Survey 2024 (Eurostat), adjusted to 2026 using IMF GDP-per-capita growth

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Frequently asked questions

What is the average salary in Iceland?

The average salary in Iceland is ISK 819,000 a month before tax, or ISK 595,000 take-home after tax and social contributions. Over a year that's ISK 9,830,000 before tax and ISK 7,130,000 after.

What is the average salary in Iceland in US dollars?

The average salary in Iceland in US dollars is about $79,020 a year before tax, or $4,781 a month after tax.

What salary do you need to live comfortably in Iceland?

A typical person in Iceland spends about ISK 482,000 a month, while the average take-home pay is ISK 595,000. How much you need to live comfortably depends on the city, your family situation, and how you usually spend. See the cost of living in Iceland for the full picture.

What are the highest-paying jobs in Iceland?

The highest-paying jobs in Iceland are in finance, IT, and manufacturing. Take-home pay in these industries averages around ISK 945,000 a month (about ISK 15,600,000 gross a year), roughly 59% above the national average.

What are the lowest-paying jobs in Iceland?

Education is the lowest-paying industry in Iceland. Pay there averages around ISK 501,000 a month take-home (about ISK 8,280,000 gross a year). For comparison, the highest-paying industries pay about 1.9 times more.

What is a good salary in Iceland?

A good salary in Iceland is generally one above the national average — more than ISK 595,000 take-home a month, or ISK 9,830,000 gross a year. But a lot depends on your spending, where you live, and your financial goals.

Is Iceland a high-salary country?

Yes. By average after-tax pay, Iceland is ahead of 98% of countries worldwide and ranks 2nd out of 41 countries in Europe.

Where to live?

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Living in Iceland

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