Baltimore, MD vs Portland, ME
Moving from Baltimore to Portland? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($405,877 → $542,063 median home) and taxes.
Baltimore 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 Baltimore, MD, you'd need about $101,134 in Portland, ME (+$1,134).
Livability — Baltimore, MD: 57 · Portland, ME: 58 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,341 sqft in Baltimore vs 1,568 sqft in Portland ($214 vs $319 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Baltimore, MD | Portland, ME | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $23,028 | $27,840 | +$4,812 |
| Groceries | $5,075 | $4,917 | −$158 |
| Transportation | $3,685 | $2,775 | −$910 |
| Utilities | $2,388 | $3,072 | +$684 |
| Insurance | $1,400 | $1,000 | −$400 |
| Taxes | $11,584 | $12,997 | +$1,413 |
| Total | $47,160 | $52,601 | +$5,441 |
Side by side
| Metric | Baltimore, MD | Portland, ME |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 103.2 | 104.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.86% | 3.37% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 1.7% | 5.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.87 | $5.94 |
| Median home price | $405,877 | $542,063 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.3× | 6.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.8% | 1.0% |
| Price per square foot | $214 | $319 |
| Median rent | $1,919 | $2,320 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.3% | 12.4% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.00% | 5.50% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.75% | 7.15% |
| Property tax rate | 1.04% | 1.14% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,200 | $8,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 2.40% |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,400 | $1,000 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,000 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 22.1 | 28.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 3.35 |
| Natural gas / mo | $88 | $78 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $106 | $86 |
| Home internet / mo | $82 | $71 |
| Violent crime /100k | 450 | 110 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 80 |
| Avg winter low °F | 27 | 10 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 45.0 | 43.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 19.3 | 49.2 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 57% | 48% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 3 |