Portland, ME vs Portland, OR
Moving from Portland to Portland? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($542,063 → $552,022 median home) and taxes.
Portland vs Portland 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 $102,262 in Portland, OR (+$2,262).
Livability — Portland, ME: 58 · Portland, OR: 55 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,568 sqft in Portland vs 1,540 sqft in Portland ($319 vs $325 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Portland, ME | Portland, OR | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $27,840 | $21,564 | −$6,276 |
| Groceries | $4,917 | $5,240 | +$323 |
| Transportation | $2,775 | $3,680 | +$905 |
| Utilities | $3,072 | $1,704 | −$1,368 |
| Insurance | $1,000 | $900 | −$100 |
| Taxes | $12,997 | $14,382 | +$1,385 |
| Total | $52,601 | $47,470 | −$5,131 |
Side by side
| Metric | Portland, ME | Portland, OR |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 104.4 | 106.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.37% | 5.06% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.2% | 5.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 39 | 38 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.94 | $6.07 |
| Median home price | $542,063 | $552,022 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.4× | 6.1× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.0% | -1.1% |
| Price per square foot | $319 | $325 |
| Median rent | $2,320 | $1,797 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.4% | 10.8% |
| Combined sales tax | 5.50% | 0.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.15% | 9.90% |
| Property tax rate | 1.14% | 0.92% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $8,000 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $15,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.40% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 26 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,000 | $900 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,000 | $1,500 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $600 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 28.4 | 15.8 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.35 | 4.10 |
| Violent crime /100k | 110 | 340 |
| Avg summer high °F | 80 | 82 |
| Avg winter low °F | 10 | 34 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 4 |