New York, NY vs Portland, ME
Moving from New York to Portland? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($727,625 → $542,063 median home) and taxes.
New York 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 New York, NY, you'd need about $92,640 in Portland, ME (−$7,360).
Livability — New York, NY: 44 · Portland, ME: 58 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,099 sqft in New York vs 1,568 sqft in Portland ($455 vs $319 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | New York, NY | Portland, ME | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $42,036 | $27,840 | −$14,196 |
| Groceries | $5,415 | $4,917 | −$498 |
| Transportation | $3,895 | $2,775 | −$1,120 |
| Utilities | $3,180 | $3,072 | −$108 |
| Insurance | $1,600 | $1,000 | −$600 |
| Taxes | $23,496 | $12,997 | −$10,499 |
| Total | $79,622 | $52,601 | −$27,021 |
Side by side
| Metric | New York, NY | Portland, ME |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 112.6 | 104.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.55% | 3.37% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -1.4% | 5.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 52 | 39 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.41 | $5.94 |
| Median home price | $727,625 | $542,063 |
| Home price ÷ income | 7.8× | 6.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 4.1% | 1.0% |
| Price per square foot | $455 | $319 |
| Median rent | $3,503 | $2,320 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 15.9% | 12.4% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.52% | 5.50% |
| Capital gains tax | 10.90% | 7.15% |
| Property tax rate | 1.74% | 1.14% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,800 | $8,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $17,000 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 2.40% |
| Avg commute (min) | 36 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,000 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,000 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 29.4 | 28.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.45 | 3.35 |
| Violent crime /100k | 350 | 110 |
| Avg summer high °F | 83 | 80 |
| Avg winter low °F | 16 | 10 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 3 |