Portland, OR vs Reno, NV
Moving from Portland to Reno? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($552,022 → $570,546 median home) and taxes.
Portland vs Reno 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 $91,858 in Reno, NV (−$8,142).
Livability — Portland, OR: 55 · Reno, NV: 62 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,540 sqft in Portland vs 1,665 sqft in Reno ($325 vs $300 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Portland, OR | Reno, NV | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $21,564 | $23,736 | +$2,172 |
| Groceries | $5,240 | $4,841 | −$399 |
| Transportation | $3,680 | $4,740 | +$1,060 |
| Utilities | $1,704 | $1,548 | −$156 |
| Insurance | $900 | $1,300 | +$400 |
| Taxes | $14,382 | $5,060 | −$9,322 |
| Total | $47,470 | $41,225 | −$6,245 |
Side by side
| Metric | Portland, OR | Reno, NV |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 106.7 | 98.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.06% | 5.01% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.2% | 9.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.07 | $5.58 |
| Median home price | $552,022 | $570,546 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.1× | 7.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.1% | 0.0% |
| Price per square foot | $325 | $300 |
| Median rent | $1,797 | $1,978 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.8% | 9.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 0.00% | 8.23% |
| Capital gains tax | 9.90% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.92% | 0.48% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $15,000 | $11,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 2.12% |
| Avg commute (min) | 26 | 22 |
| Home insurance / yr | $900 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,500 | $2,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $500 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $600 | $400 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.8 | 14.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.10 | 4.20 |
| Natural gas / mo | $58 | $48 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $224 | $80 |
| Home internet / mo | $82 | $89 |
| Violent crime /100k | 340 | 460 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 95 |
| Avg winter low °F | 34 | 30 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 43.7 | 7.4 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 3.4 | 22.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 48% | 82% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 3 |
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