Merced, CA vs Portland, OR
Moving from Merced to Portland? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($419,171 → $552,022 median home) and taxes.
Merced 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 Merced, CA, you'd need about $107,123 in Portland, OR (+$7,123).
Livability — Merced, CA: 57 · Portland, OR: 55 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,790 sqft in Merced vs 1,540 sqft in Portland ($279 vs $325 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Merced, CA | Portland, OR | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $23,700 | $21,564 | −$2,136 |
| Groceries | $5,247 | $5,240 | −$7 |
| Transportation | $5,125 | $3,680 | −$1,445 |
| Utilities | $3,804 | $1,704 | −$2,100 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $900 | −$600 |
| Taxes | $18,715 | $14,382 | −$4,333 |
| Total | $58,091 | $47,470 | −$10,621 |
Side by side
| Metric | Merced, CA | Portland, OR |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 99.6 | 106.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 10.70% | 5.06% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.6% | 5.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.67 | $6.07 |
| Median home price | $419,171 | $552,022 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.5× | 6.1× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.4% | -1.1% |
| Price per square foot | $279 | $325 |
| Median rent | $1,975 | $1,797 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 13.5% | 10.8% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.82% | 0.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 13.30% | 9.90% |
| Property tax rate | 0.68% | 0.92% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,200 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $19,000 | $15,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 0.65% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 31 | 26 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $900 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,400 | $1,500 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $950 | $600 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 35.3 | 15.8 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.85 | 4.10 |
| Natural gas / mo | $72 | $58 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $138 | $224 |
| Home internet / mo | $83 | $82 |
| Violent crime /100k | 500 | 340 |
| Avg summer high °F | 84 | 82 |
| Avg winter low °F | 45 | 34 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 13.5 | 43.7 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 0.0 | 3.4 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 75% | 48% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 4 |