Portland, OR vs Charleston, WV
Moving from Portland to Charleston? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($552,022 → $148,817 median home) and taxes.
Portland vs Charleston 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 $83,455 in Charleston, WV (−$16,545).
Livability — Portland, OR: 55 · Charleston, WV: 77 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,540 sqft in Portland vs 5,714 sqft in Charleston ($325 vs $88 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Portland, OR | Charleston, WV | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $21,564 | $15,180 | −$6,384 |
| Groceries | $5,240 | $4,767 | −$473 |
| Transportation | $3,680 | $3,410 | −$270 |
| Utilities | $1,704 | $1,740 | +$36 |
| Insurance | $900 | $1,300 | +$400 |
| Taxes | $14,382 | $8,230 | −$6,152 |
| Total | $47,470 | $34,627 | −$12,843 |
Side by side
| Metric | Portland, OR | Charleston, WV |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 106.7 | 89.1 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.06% | 5.76% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.2% | 17.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.07 | $5.07 |
| Median home price | $552,022 | $148,817 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.1× | 2.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.1% | 0.0% |
| Price per square foot | $325 | $88 |
| Median rent | $1,797 | $1,265 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.8% | 9.8% |
| Combined sales tax | 0.00% | 6.55% |
| Capital gains tax | 9.90% | 5.12% |
| Property tax rate | 0.92% | 0.65% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $7,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $15,000 | $9,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.66% |
| Avg commute (min) | 26 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $900 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,700 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $600 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.8 | 16.1 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.10 | 3.30 |
| Natural gas / mo | $58 | $68 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $224 | $253 |
| Home internet / mo | $82 | $73 |
| Violent crime /100k | 340 | 280 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 84 |
| Avg winter low °F | 34 | 26 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 43.7 | 45.5 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 3.4 | 12.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 48% | 55% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 2 |