Portland, OR vs Louisville/Jefferson County, KY
Moving from Portland to Louisville/Jefferson County? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($552,022 → $350,000 median home) and taxes.
Portland vs Louisville/Jefferson County 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 $87,329 in Louisville/Jefferson County, KY (−$12,671).
Livability — Portland, OR: 55 · Louisville/Jefferson County, KY: 72 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,540 sqft in Portland vs 2,500 sqft in Louisville/Jefferson County ($325 vs $200 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Portland, OR | Louisville/Jefferson County, KY | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $21,564 | $18,000 | −$3,564 |
| Groceries | $5,240 | $4,716 | −$524 |
| Transportation | $3,680 | $3,870 | +$190 |
| Utilities | $1,704 | $1,620 | −$84 |
| Insurance | $900 | $2,200 | +$1,300 |
| Taxes | $14,382 | $7,922 | −$6,460 |
| Total | $47,470 | $38,328 | −$9,142 |
Side by side
| Metric | Portland, OR | Louisville/Jefferson County, KY |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 106.7 | 93.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.06% | 4.66% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.2% | 0.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 38 | 51 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.07 | $5.30 |
| Median home price | $552,022 | $350,000 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.1× | 5.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.1% | 3.0% |
| Price per square foot | $325 | $200 |
| Median rent | $1,797 | $1,500 |
| 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% | 0.82% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,300 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $15,000 | $9,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.44% |
| Avg commute (min) | 26 | 24 |
| 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 |
| Violent crime /100k | 340 | 260 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 34 | 26 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 2 |