Portland, ME vs Phoenix, AZ
Moving from Portland to Phoenix? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($542,063 → $448,352 median home) and taxes.
Portland vs Phoenix 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 $100,309 in Phoenix, AZ (+$309).
Livability — Portland, ME: 58 · Phoenix, AZ: 62 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,568 sqft in Portland vs 2,063 sqft in Phoenix ($319 vs $242 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Portland, ME | Phoenix, AZ | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $27,840 | $20,904 | −$6,936 |
| Groceries | $4,917 | $4,919 | +$3 |
| Transportation | $2,775 | $3,960 | +$1,185 |
| Utilities | $3,072 | $1,668 | −$1,404 |
| Insurance | $1,000 | $1,800 | +$800 |
| Taxes | $12,997 | $7,280 | −$5,717 |
| Total | $52,601 | $40,531 | −$12,069 |
Side by side
| Metric | Portland, ME | Phoenix, AZ |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 104.4 | 104.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.37% | 4.88% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.2% | 6.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.94 | $5.96 |
| Median home price | $542,063 | $448,352 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.4× | 5.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.0% | -1.7% |
| Price per square foot | $319 | $242 |
| Median rent | $2,320 | $1,742 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.4% | 9.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 5.50% | 8.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.15% | 2.50% |
| Property tax rate | 1.14% | 0.51% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $8,000 | $6,300 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $12,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.40% | 1.68% |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,000 | $1,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,000 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $550 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 28.4 | 15.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.35 | 3.60 |
| Natural gas / mo | $78 | $54 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $86 | $106 |
| Home internet / mo | $71 | $77 |
| Violent crime /100k | 110 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 80 | 104 |
| Avg winter low °F | 10 | 41 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 43.6 | 7.2 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 49.2 | 0.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 48% | 85% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |