Portland, OR vs Anchorage, AK
Moving from Portland to Anchorage? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($552,022 → $422,103 median home) and taxes.
Portland vs Anchorage 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, OR, you'd need about $100,053 in Anchorage, AK (+$53).
Livability — Portland, OR: 55 · Anchorage, AK: 49 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,540 sqft in Portland vs 2,132 sqft in Anchorage ($325 vs $235 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Portland, OR | Anchorage, AK | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $21,564 | $21,240 | −$324 |
| Groceries | $5,240 | $5,224 | −$16 |
| Transportation | $3,680 | $3,350 | −$330 |
| Utilities | $1,704 | $2,952 | +$1,248 |
| Insurance | $900 | $1,000 | +$100 |
| Taxes | $14,382 | $4,919 | −$9,463 |
| Total | $47,470 | $38,685 | −$8,785 |
Side by side
| Metric | Portland, OR | Anchorage, AK |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 106.7 | 106.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.06% | 5.62% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.2% | -0.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.07 | $6.08 |
| Median home price | $552,022 | $422,103 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.1× | 4.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.1% | 5.7% |
| Price per square foot | $325 | $235 |
| Median rent | $1,797 | $1,770 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.8% | 4.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 0.00% | 1.82% |
| Capital gains tax | 9.90% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.92% | 1.24% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $9,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $15,000 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 26 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $900 | $1,000 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,300 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $600 | $800 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.8 | 27.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.10 | 3.90 |
| Natural gas / mo | $58 | $68 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $224 | $164 |
| Home internet / mo | $82 | $110 |
| Violent crime /100k | 340 | 760 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 65 |
| Avg winter low °F | 34 | 5 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 43.7 | 16.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 3.4 | 74.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 48% | 41% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 2 |