Albany, NY vs Portland, OR
Moving from Albany to Portland? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($370,533 → $552,022 median home) and taxes.
Albany vs Portland at a glance
Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.
To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Albany, NY, you'd need about $108,696 in Portland, OR (+$8,696).
Livability — Albany, NY: 58 · Portland, OR: 55 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,159 sqft in Albany vs 1,540 sqft in Portland ($232 vs $325 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Albany, NY | Portland, OR | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $20,172 | $21,564 | +$1,392 |
| Groceries | $4,868 | $5,240 | +$372 |
| Transportation | $3,895 | $3,680 | −$215 |
| Utilities | $3,180 | $1,704 | −$1,476 |
| Insurance | $1,600 | $900 | −$700 |
| Taxes | $18,849 | $14,382 | −$4,467 |
| Total | $52,564 | $47,470 | −$5,094 |
Side by side
| Metric | Albany, NY | Portland, OR |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.2 | 106.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.97% | 5.06% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.3% | 5.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 37 | 38 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.59 | $6.07 |
| Median home price | $370,533 | $552,022 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.4× | 6.1× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 5.5% | -1.1% |
| Price per square foot | $232 | $325 |
| Median rent | $1,681 | $1,797 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 15.9% | 10.8% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.52% | 0.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 10.90% | 9.90% |
| Property tax rate | 1.95% | 0.92% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,800 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $17,000 | $15,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 23 | 26 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,600 | $900 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,500 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $600 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 29.4 | 15.8 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.45 | 4.10 |
| Violent crime /100k | 350 | 340 |
| Avg summer high °F | 83 | 82 |
| Avg winter low °F | 16 | 34 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 4 |