Portland, OR vs Salt Lake City, UT
Moving from Portland to Salt Lake City? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($552,022 → $568,656 median home) and taxes.
Portland vs Salt Lake City 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 $91,033 in Salt Lake City, UT (−$8,967).
Livability — Portland, OR: 55 · Salt Lake City, UT: 64 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,540 sqft in Portland vs 1,846 sqft in Salt Lake City ($325 vs $271 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Portland, OR | Salt Lake City, UT | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $21,564 | $19,692 | −$1,872 |
| Groceries | $5,240 | $4,736 | −$504 |
| Transportation | $3,680 | $3,450 | −$230 |
| Utilities | $1,704 | $1,440 | −$264 |
| Insurance | $900 | $1,200 | +$300 |
| Taxes | $14,382 | $9,729 | −$4,653 |
| Total | $47,470 | $40,246 | −$7,224 |
Side by side
| Metric | Portland, OR | Salt Lake City, UT |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 106.7 | 97.1 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.06% | 3.61% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.2% | 7.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 38 | 56 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.07 | $5.53 |
| Median home price | $552,022 | $568,656 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.1× | 6.3× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.1% | 1.3% |
| Price per square foot | $325 | $271 |
| Median rent | $1,797 | $1,641 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.8% | 12.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 0.00% | 7.19% |
| Capital gains tax | 9.90% | 4.65% |
| Property tax rate | 0.92% | 0.59% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $15,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 26 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $900 | $1,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,500 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $500 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $600 | $450 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.8 | 13.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.10 | 3.60 |
| Violent crime /100k | 340 | 260 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 92 |
| Avg winter low °F | 34 | 24 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 2 |