Portland, OR vs Knoxville, TN
Moving from Portland to Knoxville? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($552,022 → $367,158 median home) and taxes.
Portland vs Knoxville 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 $86,431 in Knoxville, TN (−$13,569).
Livability — Portland, OR: 55 · Knoxville, TN: 68 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,540 sqft in Portland vs 2,723 sqft in Knoxville ($325 vs $184 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Portland, OR | Knoxville, TN | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $21,564 | $21,144 | −$420 |
| Groceries | $5,240 | $4,715 | −$525 |
| Transportation | $3,680 | $3,130 | −$550 |
| Utilities | $1,704 | $1,608 | −$96 |
| Insurance | $900 | $2,200 | +$1,300 |
| Taxes | $14,382 | $4,576 | −$9,806 |
| Total | $47,470 | $37,372 | −$10,098 |
Side by side
| Metric | Portland, OR | Knoxville, TN |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 106.7 | 92.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.06% | 4.24% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.2% | 2.5% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.07 | $5.25 |
| Median home price | $552,022 | $367,158 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.1× | 5.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.1% | 1.8% |
| Price per square foot | $325 | $184 |
| Median rent | $1,797 | $1,762 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.8% | 7.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 0.00% | 9.55% |
| Capital gains tax | 9.90% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.92% | 0.53% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,300 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $15,000 | $9,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 26 | 24 |
| Home insurance / yr | $900 | $2,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $600 | $350 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.8 | 14.9 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.10 | 2.95 |
| Natural gas / mo | $58 | $62 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $224 | $121 |
| Home internet / mo | $82 | $80 |
| Violent crime /100k | 340 | 600 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 34 | 30 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 43.7 | 50.5 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 3.4 | 4.7 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 48% | 60% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 2 |