New York, NY vs Portland, OR
Moving from New York to Portland? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($727,625 → $552,022 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 $94,735 in Portland, OR (−$5,265).
Livability — New York, NY: 44 · Portland, OR: 55 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,099 sqft in New York vs 1,540 sqft in Portland ($455 vs $325 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | New York, NY | Portland, OR | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $42,036 | $21,564 | −$20,472 |
| Groceries | $5,415 | $5,240 | −$175 |
| Transportation | $3,895 | $3,680 | −$215 |
| Utilities | $3,180 | $1,704 | −$1,476 |
| Insurance | $1,600 | $900 | −$700 |
| Taxes | $23,496 | $14,382 | −$9,114 |
| Total | $79,622 | $47,470 | −$32,152 |
Side by side
| Metric | New York, NY | Portland, OR |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 112.6 | 106.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.55% | 5.06% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -1.4% | 5.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 52 | 38 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.41 | $6.07 |
| Median home price | $727,625 | $552,022 |
| Home price ÷ income | 7.8× | 6.1× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 4.1% | -1.1% |
| Price per square foot | $455 | $325 |
| Median rent | $3,503 | $1,797 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 15.9% | 10.8% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.52% | 0.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 10.90% | 9.90% |
| Property tax rate | 1.74% | 0.92% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,800 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $17,000 | $15,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 36 | 26 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,600 | $900 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,500 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $600 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 29.4 | 15.8 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.45 | 4.10 |
| Violent crime /100k | 350 | 340 |
| Avg summer high °F | 83 | 82 |
| Avg winter low °F | 16 | 34 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 4 |