Denver, CO vs Portland, ME
Moving from Denver to Portland? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($573,221 → $542,063 median home) and taxes.
Denver 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 Denver, CO, you'd need about $98,663 in Portland, ME (−$1,337).
Livability — Denver, CO: 52 · Portland, ME: 58 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,657 sqft in Denver vs 1,568 sqft in Portland ($302 vs $319 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Denver, CO | Portland, ME | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,920 | $27,840 | +$4,920 |
| Groceries | $5,079 | $4,917 | −$162 |
| Transportation | $4,050 | $2,775 | −$1,275 |
| Utilities | $1,788 | $3,072 | +$1,284 |
| Insurance | $2,800 | $1,000 | −$1,800 |
| Taxes | $9,828 | $12,997 | +$3,170 |
| Total | $46,464 | $52,601 | +$6,136 |
Side by side
| Metric | Denver, CO | Portland, ME |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 105.8 | 104.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.26% | 3.37% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.7% | 5.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 64 | 39 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.02 | $5.94 |
| Median home price | $573,221 | $542,063 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.9× | 6.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.9% | 1.0% |
| Price per square foot | $302 | $319 |
| Median rent | $1,910 | $2,320 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.7% | 12.4% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.77% | 5.50% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.40% | 7.15% |
| Property tax rate | 0.52% | 1.14% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $8,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.79% | 2.40% |
| Avg commute (min) | 28 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,800 | $1,000 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,000 | $1,000 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $550 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.5 | 28.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 3.35 |
| Violent crime /100k | 490 | 110 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 80 |
| Avg winter low °F | 18 | 10 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 3 |