Portland, ME vs Detroit, MI
Moving from Portland to Detroit? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($542,063 → $269,080 median home) and taxes.
Portland vs Detroit 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 $94,090 in Detroit, MI (−$5,910).
Livability — Portland, ME: 58 · Detroit, MI: 62 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,568 sqft in Portland vs 3,066 sqft in Detroit ($319 vs $163 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Portland, ME | Detroit, MI | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $27,840 | $18,000 | −$9,840 |
| Groceries | $4,917 | $4,896 | −$20 |
| Transportation | $2,775 | $4,575 | +$1,800 |
| Utilities | $3,072 | $2,316 | −$756 |
| Insurance | $1,000 | $1,300 | +$300 |
| Taxes | $12,997 | $9,547 | −$3,450 |
| Total | $52,601 | $40,634 | −$11,966 |
Side by side
| Metric | Portland, ME | Detroit, MI |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 104.4 | 98.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.37% | 6.60% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.2% | 1.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 39 | 55 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.94 | $5.59 |
| Median home price | $542,063 | $269,080 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.4× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.0% | 2.8% |
| Price per square foot | $319 | $163 |
| Median rent | $2,320 | $1,500 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.4% | 10.0% |
| Combined sales tax | 5.50% | 6.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.15% | 4.25% |
| Property tax rate | 1.14% | 1.43% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $8,000 | $6,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $11,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.40% | 0.61% |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,000 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,000 | $2,700 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $600 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 28.4 | 21.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.35 | 3.35 |
| Violent crime /100k | 110 | 460 |
| Avg summer high °F | 80 | 83 |
| Avg winter low °F | 10 | 16 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 3 |