Localities of Iceland
Rank Name Population ( 2013 ) Population ( 2018 ) Change ( since 2013 ) Municipality Region
1 Reykjavík 118,918 124,847 5% Reykjavík Höfuðborgarsvæðið
2 Kópavogur 31,719 35,966 13.4% Kópavogur Höfuðborgarsvæðið
3 Hafnarfjörður 26,800 29,409 9.7% Hafnarfjörður Höfuðborgarsvæðið
4 Akureyri 17,693 18,542 4.8% Akureyri Norðurland eystra
5 Reykjanesbær 14,153 17,555 24% Reykjanesbær Suðurnes
6 Garðabær 11,421 12,912 13.1% Garðabær Höfuðborgarsvæðið
7 Mosfellsbær 8,651 10,225 18.2% Mosfellsbær Höfuðborgarsvæðið
8 Selfoss 6,510 7,564 16.2% Árborg Suðurland
9 Akranes 6,612 7,249 9.6% Akranes Vesturland
10 Seltjarnarnes 4,322 4,575 5.9% Seltjarnarnes Höfuðborgarsvæðið
11 Vestmannaeyjar 4,219 4,284 1.5% Vestmannaeyjar Suðurland
12 Grindavík 2,856 3,319 16.2% Grindavíkurbær Suðurnes
13 Ísafjörður 2,624 2,625 0% Ísafjarðarbær Vestfirðir
14 Álftanes 2,392 2,586 8.1% Garðabær Höfuðborgarsvæðið
15 Sauðárkrókur 2,575 2,574 0% Skagafjörður Norðurland vestra
16 Hveragerði 2,288 2,564 12.1% Hveragerði Suðurland
17 Egilsstaðir 2,303 2,464 7% Fljótsdalshérað Austurland
18 Húsavík 2,228 2,323 4.3% Norðurþing Norðurland eystra
19 Borgarnes 1,759 1,962 11.5% Borgarbyggð Vesturland
20 Sandgerði 1,546 1,753 13.4% Sandgerði / Garður Suðurnes
List of localities
Localities shaded in pale green in the table are their respective regional capitals . The majority of the functions that are carried out by local governments actually happen at the municipal level . However , most settlements in Iceland are broken down further into the `` locality '' level , which are mainly used for and information collection and statistical analysis purposes only—they are the regional equivalent of a census division .
This is a list of localities in Iceland. Most Icelandic municipalities consist of several cities or towns. For example, four localities (Selfoss, Stokkseyri, Eyrarbakki, and Tjarnabyggð) can all be found in the municipality of Árborg. A number of municipalities only contain a single locality, while there are also a few municipalities in which no localities exist. All localities in Iceland can only be located within a single municipality, i.e. they cannot straddle multiple municipality borders. Some municipalities, such as Hafnarfjörður and Akranes, also share the same name with a locality. However, these localities are not always situated in their namesake municipalities. In those cases, this does not necessarily mean that they there are no other localities included in that particular municipality. Even when they are the only locality there, they do not always encompass the span of that municipality's entire land area.