Portland, OR vs Columbus, OH
Moving from Portland to Columbus? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($552,022 → $333,537 median home) and taxes.
Portland vs Columbus 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 $88,676 in Columbus, OH (−$11,324).
Livability — Portland, OR: 55 · Columbus, OH: 69 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,540 sqft in Portland vs 2,474 sqft in Columbus ($325 vs $202 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Portland, OR | Columbus, OH | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $21,564 | $18,288 | −$3,276 |
| Groceries | $5,240 | $4,706 | −$534 |
| Transportation | $3,680 | $3,025 | −$655 |
| Utilities | $1,704 | $2,100 | +$396 |
| Insurance | $900 | $1,300 | +$400 |
| Taxes | $14,382 | $9,711 | −$4,671 |
| Total | $47,470 | $39,130 | −$8,340 |
Side by side
| Metric | Portland, OR | Columbus, OH |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 106.7 | 94.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.06% | 4.20% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.2% | 5.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.07 | $5.38 |
| Median home price | $552,022 | $333,537 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.1× | 4.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.1% | 1.2% |
| Price per square foot | $325 | $202 |
| Median rent | $1,797 | $1,524 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.8% | 10.0% |
| Combined sales tax | 0.00% | 7.24% |
| Capital gains tax | 9.90% | 3.50% |
| Property tax rate | 0.92% | 1.46% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $15,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 26 | 24 |
| Home insurance / yr | $900 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,300 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $600 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $600 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.8 | 19.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.10 | 3.25 |
| Natural gas / mo | $58 | $78 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $224 | $104 |
| Home internet / mo | $82 | $76 |
| Violent crime /100k | 340 | 300 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 34 | 20 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 43.7 | 41.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 3.4 | 28.2 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 48% | 50% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 2 |