Portland, OR vs Lexington, KY
Moving from Portland to Lexington? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($552,022 → $327,671 median home) and taxes.
Portland vs Lexington 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 $86,681 in Lexington, KY (−$13,319).
Livability — Portland, OR: 55 · Lexington, KY: 72 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,540 sqft in Portland vs 2,899 sqft in Lexington ($325 vs $173 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Portland, OR | Lexington, KY | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $21,564 | $18,336 | −$3,228 |
| Groceries | $5,240 | $4,721 | −$519 |
| Transportation | $3,680 | $3,870 | +$190 |
| Utilities | $1,704 | $1,620 | −$84 |
| Insurance | $900 | $2,200 | +$1,300 |
| Taxes | $14,382 | $8,073 | −$6,309 |
| Total | $47,470 | $38,820 | −$8,650 |
Side by side
| Metric | Portland, OR | Lexington, KY |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 106.7 | 92.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.06% | 4.70% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.2% | 3.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.07 | $5.26 |
| Median home price | $552,022 | $327,671 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.1× | 4.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.1% | 2.7% |
| Price per square foot | $325 | $173 |
| Median rent | $1,797 | $1,528 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.8% | 9.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 0.00% | 6.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 9.90% | 4.00% |
| Property tax rate | 0.92% | 0.83% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,300 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $15,000 | $9,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.44% |
| Avg commute (min) | 26 | 22 |
| Home insurance / yr | $900 | $2,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,500 | $2,200 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $600 | $250 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.8 | 15.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.10 | 3.10 |
| Natural gas / mo | $58 | $70 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $224 | $81 |
| Home internet / mo | $82 | $78 |
| Violent crime /100k | 340 | 260 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 34 | 26 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 43.7 | 48.3 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 3.4 | 13.4 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 48% | 56% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 2 |