Portland, ME vs Columbus, OH
Moving from Portland to Columbus? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($542,063 → $333,537 median home) and taxes.
Portland vs Columbus 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 $90,682 in Columbus, OH (−$9,318).
Livability — Portland, ME: 58 · Columbus, OH: 69 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,568 sqft in Portland vs 2,474 sqft in Columbus ($319 vs $202 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Portland, ME | Columbus, OH | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $27,840 | $18,288 | −$9,552 |
| Groceries | $4,917 | $4,706 | −$210 |
| Transportation | $2,775 | $3,025 | +$250 |
| Utilities | $3,072 | $2,100 | −$972 |
| Insurance | $1,000 | $1,300 | +$300 |
| Taxes | $12,997 | $9,711 | −$3,286 |
| Total | $52,601 | $39,130 | −$13,470 |
Side by side
| Metric | Portland, ME | Columbus, OH |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 104.4 | 94.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.37% | 4.20% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.2% | 5.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.94 | $5.38 |
| Median home price | $542,063 | $333,537 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.4× | 4.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.0% | 1.2% |
| Price per square foot | $319 | $202 |
| Median rent | $2,320 | $1,524 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.4% | 10.0% |
| Combined sales tax | 5.50% | 7.24% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.15% | 3.50% |
| Property tax rate | 1.14% | 1.46% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $8,000 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.40% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 24 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,000 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,000 | $1,300 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $600 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 28.4 | 19.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.35 | 3.25 |
| Natural gas / mo | $78 | $78 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $86 | $104 |
| Home internet / mo | $71 | $76 |
| Violent crime /100k | 110 | 300 |
| Avg summer high °F | 80 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 10 | 20 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 43.6 | 41.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 49.2 | 28.2 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 48% | 50% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |