Denver, CO vs Portland, OR
Moving from Denver to Portland? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($573,221 → $552,022 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 $100,894 in Portland, OR (+$894).
Livability — Denver, CO: 52 · Portland, OR: 55 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,657 sqft in Denver vs 1,540 sqft in Portland ($302 vs $325 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Denver, CO | Portland, OR | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,920 | $21,564 | −$1,356 |
| Groceries | $5,079 | $5,240 | +$161 |
| Transportation | $4,050 | $3,680 | −$370 |
| Utilities | $1,788 | $1,704 | −$84 |
| Insurance | $2,800 | $900 | −$1,900 |
| Taxes | $9,828 | $14,382 | +$4,555 |
| Total | $46,464 | $47,470 | +$1,006 |
Side by side
| Metric | Denver, CO | Portland, OR |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 105.8 | 106.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.26% | 5.06% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.7% | 5.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.02 | $6.07 |
| Median home price | $573,221 | $552,022 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.9× | 6.1× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.9% | -1.1% |
| Price per square foot | $302 | $325 |
| Median rent | $1,910 | $1,797 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.7% | 10.8% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.77% | 0.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.40% | 9.90% |
| Property tax rate | 0.52% | 0.92% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $15,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.79% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 28 | 26 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,800 | $900 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,000 | $1,500 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $550 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $600 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.5 | 15.8 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 4.10 |
| Natural gas / mo | $65 | $58 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $120 | $224 |
| Home internet / mo | $87 | $82 |
| Violent crime /100k | 490 | 340 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 82 |
| Avg winter low °F | 18 | 34 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 15.4 | 43.7 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 49.0 | 3.4 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 69% | 48% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 4 |