Portland, OR vs Detroit, MI
Moving from Portland to Detroit? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($552,022 → $269,080 median home) and taxes.
Portland vs Detroit 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 $92,009 in Detroit, MI (−$7,991).
Livability — Portland, OR: 55 · Detroit, MI: 62 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,540 sqft in Portland vs 3,066 sqft in Detroit ($325 vs $163 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Portland, OR | Detroit, MI | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $21,564 | $18,000 | −$3,564 |
| Groceries | $5,240 | $4,896 | −$344 |
| Transportation | $3,680 | $4,575 | +$895 |
| Utilities | $1,704 | $2,316 | +$612 |
| Insurance | $900 | $1,300 | +$400 |
| Taxes | $14,382 | $9,547 | −$4,835 |
| Total | $47,470 | $40,634 | −$6,836 |
Side by side
| Metric | Portland, OR | Detroit, MI |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 106.7 | 98.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.06% | 6.60% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.2% | 1.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.07 | $5.59 |
| Median home price | $552,022 | $269,080 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.1× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.1% | 2.8% |
| Price per square foot | $325 | $163 |
| Median rent | $1,797 | $1,500 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.8% | 10.0% |
| Combined sales tax | 0.00% | 6.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 9.90% | 4.25% |
| Property tax rate | 0.92% | 1.43% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $15,000 | $11,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 0.61% |
| Avg commute (min) | 26 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $900 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,500 | $2,700 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $600 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $600 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.8 | 21.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.10 | 3.35 |
| Natural gas / mo | $58 | $78 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $224 | $74 |
| Home internet / mo | $82 | $78 |
| Violent crime /100k | 340 | 460 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 83 |
| Avg winter low °F | 34 | 16 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 43.7 | 34.3 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 3.4 | 45.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 48% | 53% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 3 |