Portland, OR vs Myrtle Beach, SC
Moving from Portland to Myrtle Beach? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($552,022 → $340,239 median home) and taxes.
Portland vs Myrtle Beach 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 $87,874 in Myrtle Beach, SC (−$12,126).
Livability — Portland, OR: 55 · Myrtle Beach, SC: 67 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,540 sqft in Portland vs 2,939 sqft in Myrtle Beach ($325 vs $170 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Portland, OR | Myrtle Beach, SC | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $21,564 | $20,712 | −$852 |
| Groceries | $5,240 | $4,797 | −$443 |
| Transportation | $3,680 | $3,465 | −$215 |
| Utilities | $1,704 | $1,848 | +$144 |
| Insurance | $900 | $2,000 | +$1,100 |
| Taxes | $14,382 | $10,008 | −$4,374 |
| Total | $47,470 | $42,830 | −$4,640 |
Side by side
| Metric | Portland, OR | Myrtle Beach, SC |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 106.7 | 93.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.06% | 5.41% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.2% | 14.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.07 | $5.34 |
| Median home price | $552,022 | $340,239 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.1× | 5.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.1% | -0.6% |
| Price per square foot | $325 | $170 |
| Median rent | $1,797 | $1,726 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.8% | 8.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 0.00% | 7.44% |
| Capital gains tax | 9.90% | 6.40% |
| Property tax rate | 0.92% | 0.41% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $15,000 | $8,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 2.33% |
| Avg commute (min) | 26 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $900 | $2,000 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $600 | $350 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.8 | 17.1 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.10 | 3.05 |
| Natural gas / mo | $58 | $56 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $224 | $97 |
| Home internet / mo | $82 | $78 |
| Violent crime /100k | 340 | 530 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 91 |
| Avg winter low °F | 34 | 36 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 43.7 | 51.0 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 3.4 | 1.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 48% | 64% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 2 |