Portland, ME vs Washington, DC
Moving from Portland to Washington? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($542,063 → $583,013 median home) and taxes.
Portland vs Washington 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 $104,972 in Washington, DC (+$4,972).
Livability — Portland, ME: 58 · Washington, DC: 39 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,568 sqft in Portland vs 1,286 sqft in Washington ($319 vs $389 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Portland, ME | Washington, DC | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $27,840 | $28,992 | +$1,152 |
| Groceries | $4,917 | $5,318 | +$401 |
| Transportation | $2,775 | $3,855 | +$1,080 |
| Utilities | $3,072 | $2,748 | −$324 |
| Insurance | $1,000 | $1,400 | +$400 |
| Taxes | $12,997 | $17,710 | +$4,713 |
| Total | $52,601 | $60,023 | +$7,422 |
Side by side
| Metric | Portland, ME | Washington, DC |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 104.4 | 109.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.37% | 4.87% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.2% | 4.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.94 | $6.23 |
| Median home price | $542,063 | $583,013 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.4× | 4.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.0% | -0.5% |
| Price per square foot | $319 | $389 |
| Median rent | $2,320 | $2,416 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.4% | 12.0% |
| Combined sales tax | 5.50% | 6.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.15% | 10.75% |
| Property tax rate | 1.14% | 0.95% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $8,000 | $7,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $26,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.40% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 34 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,000 | $1,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,000 | $2,000 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 28.4 | 25.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.35 | 3.40 |
| Natural gas / mo | $78 | $80 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $86 | $271 |
| Home internet / mo | $71 | $81 |
| Violent crime /100k | 110 | 1,000 |
| Avg summer high °F | 80 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 10 | 29 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 43.6 | 41.8 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 49.2 | 13.7 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 48% | 56% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 4 |