Pittsburgh, PA vs Portland, ME
Moving from Pittsburgh to Portland? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($231,356 → $542,063 median home) and taxes.
Pittsburgh 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 Pittsburgh, PA, you'd need about $110,187 in Portland, ME (+$10,187).
Livability — Pittsburgh, PA: 70 · Portland, ME: 58 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,782 sqft in Pittsburgh vs 1,568 sqft in Portland ($132 vs $319 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Pittsburgh, PA | Portland, ME | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,324 | $27,840 | +$9,516 |
| Groceries | $4,915 | $4,917 | +$2 |
| Transportation | $3,440 | $2,775 | −$665 |
| Utilities | $2,316 | $3,072 | +$756 |
| Insurance | $1,200 | $1,000 | −$200 |
| Taxes | $8,069 | $12,997 | +$4,928 |
| Total | $38,264 | $52,601 | +$14,337 |
Side by side
| Metric | Pittsburgh, PA | Portland, ME |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 94.7 | 104.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.09% | 3.37% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.7% | 5.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 53 | 39 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.39 | $5.94 |
| Median home price | $231,356 | $542,063 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.2× | 6.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.8% | 1.0% |
| Price per square foot | $132 | $319 |
| Median rent | $1,527 | $2,320 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.6% | 12.4% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.34% | 5.50% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.07% | 7.15% |
| Property tax rate | 1.44% | 1.14% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,000 | $8,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 2.40% |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,200 | $1,000 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,000 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 21.5 | 28.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.55 | 3.35 |
| Violent crime /100k | 390 | 110 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 80 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 10 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 3 |