Portland, OR vs Durham, NC
Moving from Portland to Durham? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($552,022 → $414,340 median home) and taxes.
Portland vs Durham 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 $91,222 in Durham, NC (−$8,778).
Livability — Portland, OR: 55 · Durham, NC: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,540 sqft in Portland vs 2,413 sqft in Durham ($325 vs $207 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Portland, OR | Durham, NC | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $21,564 | $20,436 | −$1,128 |
| Groceries | $5,240 | $4,840 | −$400 |
| Transportation | $3,680 | $3,130 | −$550 |
| Utilities | $1,704 | $1,752 | +$48 |
| Insurance | $900 | $2,000 | +$1,100 |
| Taxes | $14,382 | $9,397 | −$4,985 |
| Total | $47,470 | $41,555 | −$5,915 |
Side by side
| Metric | Portland, OR | Durham, NC |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 106.7 | 97.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.06% | 4.03% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.2% | 17.8% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.07 | $5.54 |
| Median home price | $552,022 | $414,340 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.1× | 5.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.1% | -1.9% |
| Price per square foot | $325 | $207 |
| Median rent | $1,797 | $1,703 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.8% | 9.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 0.00% | 6.98% |
| Capital gains tax | 9.90% | 4.25% |
| Property tax rate | 0.92% | 0.87% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $15,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.10% |
| Avg commute (min) | 26 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $900 | $2,000 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $600 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.8 | 16.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.10 | 3.20 |
| Natural gas / mo | $58 | $62 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $224 | $78 |
| Home internet / mo | $82 | $80 |
| Violent crime /100k | 340 | 400 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 34 | 30 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 43.7 | 46.1 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 3.4 | 5.2 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 48% | 58% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 3 |