Portland, OR vs Portland, ME
Moving from Portland to Portland? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($552,022 → $542,063 median home) and taxes.
Portland vs Portland 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 $97,788 in Portland, ME (−$2,212).
Livability — Portland, OR: 55 · Portland, ME: 58 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,540 sqft in Portland vs 1,568 sqft in Portland ($325 vs $319 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Portland, OR | Portland, ME | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $21,564 | $27,840 | +$6,276 |
| Groceries | $5,240 | $4,917 | −$323 |
| Transportation | $3,680 | $2,775 | −$905 |
| Utilities | $1,704 | $3,072 | +$1,368 |
| Insurance | $900 | $1,000 | +$100 |
| Taxes | $14,382 | $12,997 | −$1,385 |
| Total | $47,470 | $52,601 | +$5,131 |
Side by side
| Metric | Portland, OR | Portland, ME |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 106.7 | 104.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.06% | 3.37% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.2% | 5.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 38 | 39 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.07 | $5.94 |
| Median home price | $552,022 | $542,063 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.1× | 6.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.1% | 1.0% |
| Price per square foot | $325 | $319 |
| Median rent | $1,797 | $2,320 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.8% | 12.4% |
| Combined sales tax | 0.00% | 5.50% |
| Capital gains tax | 9.90% | 7.15% |
| Property tax rate | 0.92% | 1.14% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $8,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $15,000 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 2.40% |
| Avg commute (min) | 26 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $900 | $1,000 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,000 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $600 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.8 | 28.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.10 | 3.35 |
| Violent crime /100k | 340 | 110 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 80 |
| Avg winter low °F | 34 | 10 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 3 |