Portland, OR vs Gainesville, FL
Moving from Portland to Gainesville? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($552,022 → $306,605 median home) and taxes.
Portland vs Gainesville 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 $91,119 in Gainesville, FL (−$8,881).
Livability — Portland, OR: 55 · Gainesville, FL: 70 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,540 sqft in Portland vs 3,018 sqft in Gainesville ($325 vs $166 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Portland, OR | Gainesville, FL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $21,564 | $20,172 | −$1,392 |
| Groceries | $5,240 | $4,813 | −$427 |
| Transportation | $3,680 | $4,800 | +$1,120 |
| Utilities | $1,704 | $1,656 | −$48 |
| Insurance | $900 | $4,200 | +$3,300 |
| Taxes | $14,382 | $4,548 | −$9,834 |
| Total | $47,470 | $40,189 | −$7,281 |
Side by side
| Metric | Portland, OR | Gainesville, FL |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 106.7 | 97.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.06% | 4.90% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.2% | 23.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 38 | 38 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.07 | $5.53 |
| Median home price | $552,022 | $306,605 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.1× | 5.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.1% | -1.3% |
| Price per square foot | $325 | $166 |
| Median rent | $1,797 | $1,681 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.8% | 9.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 0.00% | 7.02% |
| Capital gains tax | 9.90% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.92% | 0.92% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $7,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $15,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 26 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $900 | $4,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,500 | $2,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $1,400 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $600 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.8 | 15.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.10 | 3.35 |
| Violent crime /100k | 340 | 380 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 91 |
| Avg winter low °F | 34 | 52 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 3 |