Portland, OR vs Huntsville, AL
Moving from Portland to Huntsville? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($552,022 → $316,645 median home) and taxes.
Portland vs Huntsville 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 $87,907 in Huntsville, AL (−$12,093).
Livability — Portland, OR: 55 · Huntsville, AL: 68 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,540 sqft in Portland vs 3,236 sqft in Huntsville ($325 vs $155 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Portland, OR | Huntsville, AL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $21,564 | $16,620 | −$4,944 |
| Groceries | $5,240 | $4,729 | −$511 |
| Transportation | $3,680 | $3,465 | −$215 |
| Utilities | $1,704 | $1,884 | +$180 |
| Insurance | $900 | $2,400 | +$1,500 |
| Taxes | $14,382 | $9,172 | −$5,210 |
| Total | $47,470 | $38,270 | −$9,200 |
Side by side
| Metric | Portland, OR | Huntsville, AL |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 106.7 | 93.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.06% | 4.21% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.2% | 11.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 38 | 44 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.07 | $5.34 |
| Median home price | $552,022 | $316,645 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.1× | 4.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.1% | 0.7% |
| Price per square foot | $325 | $155 |
| Median rent | $1,797 | $1,385 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.8% | 9.8% |
| Combined sales tax | 0.00% | 9.25% |
| Capital gains tax | 9.90% | 5.00% |
| Property tax rate | 0.92% | 0.39% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $15,000 | $7,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 0.70% |
| Avg commute (min) | 26 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $900 | $2,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $600 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.8 | 17.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.10 | 2.95 |
| Violent crime /100k | 340 | 450 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 91 |
| Avg winter low °F | 34 | 33 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 2 |