Portland, OR vs Boston, MA
Moving from Portland to Boston? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($552,022 → $741,868 median home) and taxes.
Portland vs Boston 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 $103,448 in Boston, MA (+$3,448).
Livability — Portland, OR: 55 · Boston, MA: 48 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,540 sqft in Portland vs 1,146 sqft in Boston ($325 vs $436 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Portland, OR | Boston, MA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $21,564 | $38,532 | +$16,968 |
| Groceries | $5,240 | $5,040 | −$200 |
| Transportation | $3,680 | $3,210 | −$470 |
| Utilities | $1,704 | $3,180 | +$1,476 |
| Insurance | $900 | $1,800 | +$900 |
| Taxes | $14,382 | $17,694 | +$3,312 |
| Total | $47,470 | $69,455 | +$21,985 |
Side by side
| Metric | Portland, OR | Boston, MA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 106.7 | 110.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.06% | 5.02% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.2% | 2.9% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.07 | $6.28 |
| Median home price | $552,022 | $741,868 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.1× | 6.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.1% | 1.6% |
| Price per square foot | $325 | $436 |
| Median rent | $1,797 | $3,211 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.8% | 11.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 0.00% | 6.25% |
| Capital gains tax | 9.90% | 9.00% |
| Property tax rate | 0.92% | 1.14% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $8,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $15,000 | $21,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 2.25% |
| Avg commute (min) | 26 | 31 |
| Home insurance / yr | $900 | $1,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,500 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $600 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.8 | 29.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.10 | 3.30 |
| Natural gas / mo | $58 | $108 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $224 | $71 |
| Home internet / mo | $82 | $78 |
| Violent crime /100k | 340 | 330 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 82 |
| Avg winter low °F | 34 | 22 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 43.7 | 43.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 3.4 | 49.2 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 48% | 58% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 4 |