Nashville, TN vs Portland, ME
Moving from Nashville to Portland? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($455,958 → $542,063 median home) and taxes.
Nashville 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 Nashville, TN, you'd need about $107,555 in Portland, ME (+$7,555).
Livability — Nashville, TN: 63 · Portland, ME: 58 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,193 sqft in Nashville vs 1,568 sqft in Portland ($228 vs $319 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Nashville, TN | Portland, ME | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $21,576 | $27,840 | +$6,264 |
| Groceries | $4,715 | $4,917 | +$202 |
| Transportation | $3,130 | $2,775 | −$355 |
| Utilities | $1,608 | $3,072 | +$1,464 |
| Insurance | $2,200 | $1,000 | −$1,200 |
| Taxes | $5,231 | $12,997 | +$7,767 |
| Total | $38,459 | $52,601 | +$14,142 |
Side by side
| Metric | Nashville, TN | Portland, ME |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 97.0 | 104.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.80% | 3.37% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 8.8% | 5.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 51 | 39 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.52 | $5.94 |
| Median home price | $455,958 | $542,063 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.8× | 6.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -0.9% | 1.0% |
| Price per square foot | $228 | $319 |
| Median rent | $1,798 | $2,320 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 7.6% | 12.4% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.55% | 5.50% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 7.15% |
| Property tax rate | 0.55% | 1.14% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,300 | $8,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,000 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 2.40% |
| Avg commute (min) | 28 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,200 | $1,000 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,000 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $350 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.9 | 28.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.35 |
| Violent crime /100k | 600 | 110 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 80 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 10 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |