Detroit, MI vs Salem, OR
Moving from Detroit to Salem? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($269,080 → $454,689 median home) and taxes.
Detroit vs Salem 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 Detroit, MI, you'd need about $104,351 in Salem, OR (+$4,351).
Livability — Detroit, MI: 62 · Salem, OR: 59 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,066 sqft in Detroit vs 1,869 sqft in Salem ($163 vs $268 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Detroit, MI | Salem, OR | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,000 | $19,536 | +$1,536 |
| Groceries | $4,896 | $5,239 | +$343 |
| Transportation | $4,575 | $3,680 | −$895 |
| Utilities | $2,316 | $1,704 | −$612 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $900 | −$400 |
| Taxes | $9,547 | $13,135 | +$3,588 |
| Total | $40,634 | $44,194 | +$3,560 |
Side by side
| Metric | Detroit, MI | Salem, OR |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.2 | 102.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.60% | 5.41% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 1.7% | 5.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.59 | $5.83 |
| Median home price | $269,080 | $454,689 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.7× | 6.3× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.8% | 0.4% |
| Price per square foot | $163 | $268 |
| Median rent | $1,500 | $1,628 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.0% | 10.8% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.00% | 0.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.25% | 9.90% |
| Property tax rate | 1.43% | 0.90% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,500 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $11,000 | $15,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 0.61% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $900 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,700 | $1,500 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $600 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $600 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 21.4 | 15.8 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.35 | 4.10 |
| Natural gas / mo | $78 | $58 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $74 | $224 |
| Home internet / mo | $78 | $82 |
| Violent crime /100k | 460 | 340 |
| Avg summer high °F | 83 | 82 |
| Avg winter low °F | 16 | 34 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 34.3 | 43.7 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 45.0 | 3.4 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 53% | 48% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 4 |