Portland, ME vs Pittsburgh, PA
Moving from Portland to Pittsburgh? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($542,063 → $231,356 median home) and taxes.
Portland vs Pittsburgh 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 $90,755 in Pittsburgh, PA (−$9,245).
Livability — Portland, ME: 58 · Pittsburgh, PA: 70 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,568 sqft in Portland vs 3,782 sqft in Pittsburgh ($319 vs $132 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Portland, ME | Pittsburgh, PA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $27,840 | $18,324 | −$9,516 |
| Groceries | $4,917 | $4,915 | −$2 |
| Transportation | $2,775 | $3,440 | +$665 |
| Utilities | $3,072 | $2,316 | −$756 |
| Insurance | $1,000 | $1,200 | +$200 |
| Taxes | $12,997 | $8,069 | −$4,928 |
| Total | $52,601 | $38,264 | −$14,337 |
Side by side
| Metric | Portland, ME | Pittsburgh, PA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 104.4 | 94.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.37% | 5.09% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.2% | 0.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 39 | 53 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.94 | $5.39 |
| Median home price | $542,063 | $231,356 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.4× | 3.2× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.0% | 0.8% |
| Price per square foot | $319 | $132 |
| Median rent | $2,320 | $1,527 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.4% | 10.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 5.50% | 6.34% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.15% | 3.07% |
| Property tax rate | 1.14% | 1.44% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $8,000 | $7,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.40% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,000 | $1,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,000 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 28.4 | 21.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.35 | 3.55 |
| Violent crime /100k | 110 | 390 |
| Avg summer high °F | 80 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 10 | 22 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 3 |