Portland, ME vs Denver, CO
Moving from Portland to Denver? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($542,063 → $573,221 median home) and taxes.
Portland vs Denver 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 $101,355 in Denver, CO (+$1,355).
Livability — Portland, ME: 58 · Denver, CO: 52 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,568 sqft in Portland vs 1,657 sqft in Denver ($319 vs $302 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Portland, ME | Denver, CO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $27,840 | $22,920 | −$4,920 |
| Groceries | $4,917 | $5,079 | +$162 |
| Transportation | $2,775 | $4,050 | +$1,275 |
| Utilities | $3,072 | $1,788 | −$1,284 |
| Insurance | $1,000 | $2,800 | +$1,800 |
| Taxes | $12,997 | $9,828 | −$3,169 |
| Total | $52,601 | $46,464 | −$6,136 |
Side by side
| Metric | Portland, ME | Denver, CO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 104.4 | 105.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.37% | 4.26% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.2% | 5.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 39 | 64 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.94 | $6.02 |
| Median home price | $542,063 | $573,221 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.4× | 5.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.0% | -2.9% |
| Price per square foot | $319 | $302 |
| Median rent | $2,320 | $1,910 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.4% | 9.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 5.50% | 7.77% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.15% | 4.40% |
| Property tax rate | 1.14% | 0.52% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $8,000 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.40% | 1.79% |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 28 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,000 | $2,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,000 | $2,000 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $550 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 28.4 | 16.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.35 | 3.30 |
| Violent crime /100k | 110 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 80 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 10 | 18 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 3 |