Portland, ME vs Boston, MA
Moving from Portland to Boston? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($542,063 → $741,868 median home) and taxes.
Portland vs Boston 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 Portland, ME, you'd need about $105,787 in Boston, MA (+$5,787).
Livability — Portland, ME: 58 · Boston, MA: 48 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,568 sqft in Portland vs 1,146 sqft in Boston ($319 vs $436 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Portland, ME | Boston, MA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $27,840 | $38,532 | +$10,692 |
| Groceries | $4,917 | $5,040 | +$123 |
| Transportation | $2,775 | $3,210 | +$435 |
| Utilities | $3,072 | $3,180 | +$108 |
| Insurance | $1,000 | $1,800 | +$800 |
| Taxes | $12,997 | $17,694 | +$4,697 |
| Total | $52,601 | $69,455 | +$16,855 |
Side by side
| Metric | Portland, ME | Boston, MA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 104.4 | 110.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.37% | 5.02% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.2% | 2.9% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 39 | 43 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.94 | $6.28 |
| Median home price | $542,063 | $741,868 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.4× | 6.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.0% | 1.6% |
| Price per square foot | $319 | $436 |
| Median rent | $2,320 | $3,211 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.4% | 11.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 5.50% | 6.25% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.15% | 9.00% |
| Property tax rate | 1.14% | 1.14% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $8,000 | $8,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $21,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.40% | 2.25% |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 31 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,000 | $1,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,000 | $1,500 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 28.4 | 29.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.35 | 3.30 |
| Violent crime /100k | 110 | 330 |
| Avg summer high °F | 80 | 82 |
| Avg winter low °F | 10 | 22 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 4 |