Portland, ME vs Tampa, FL
Moving from Portland to Tampa? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($542,063 → $360,738 median home) and taxes.
Portland vs Tampa 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 $98,197 in Tampa, FL (−$1,803).
Livability — Portland, ME: 58 · Tampa, FL: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,568 sqft in Portland vs 2,564 sqft in Tampa ($319 vs $195 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Portland, ME | Tampa, FL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $27,840 | $24,216 | −$3,624 |
| Groceries | $4,917 | $4,949 | +$32 |
| Transportation | $2,775 | $4,800 | +$2,025 |
| Utilities | $3,072 | $1,656 | −$1,416 |
| Insurance | $1,000 | $4,200 | +$3,200 |
| Taxes | $12,997 | $4,642 | −$8,355 |
| Total | $52,601 | $44,463 | −$8,138 |
Side by side
| Metric | Portland, ME | Tampa, FL |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 104.4 | 102.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.37% | 4.92% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.2% | 7.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 39 | 51 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.94 | $5.83 |
| Median home price | $542,063 | $360,738 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.4× | 5.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.0% | -3.4% |
| Price per square foot | $319 | $195 |
| Median rent | $2,320 | $2,018 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.4% | 9.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 5.50% | 7.02% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.15% | None |
| Property tax rate | 1.14% | 0.80% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $8,000 | $7,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.40% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 28 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,000 | $4,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,000 | $2,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $1,400 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 28.4 | 15.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.35 | 3.35 |
| Violent crime /100k | 110 | 380 |
| Avg summer high °F | 80 | 91 |
| Avg winter low °F | 10 | 52 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 3 |