Providence, RI vs Salem, OR
Moving from Providence to Salem? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($524,867 → $454,689 median home) and taxes.
Providence vs Salem 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 Providence, RI, you'd need about $100,934 in Salem, OR (+$934).
Livability — Providence, RI: 58 · Salem, OR: 59 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,524 sqft in Providence vs 1,869 sqft in Salem ($328 vs $268 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Providence, RI | Salem, OR | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $25,956 | $19,536 | −$6,420 |
| Groceries | $4,922 | $5,239 | +$317 |
| Transportation | $3,875 | $3,680 | −$195 |
| Utilities | $3,060 | $1,704 | −$1,356 |
| Insurance | $1,700 | $900 | −$800 |
| Taxes | $13,121 | $13,135 | +$14 |
| Total | $52,634 | $44,194 | −$8,440 |
Side by side
| Metric | Providence, RI | Salem, OR |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 101.5 | 102.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.82% | 5.41% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 3.6% | 5.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.78 | $5.83 |
| Median home price | $524,867 | $454,689 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.5× | 6.3× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.1% | 0.4% |
| Price per square foot | $328 | $268 |
| Median rent | $2,163 | $1,628 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.4% | 10.8% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.00% | 0.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.99% | 9.90% |
| Property tax rate | 1.31% | 0.90% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,600 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $13,000 | $15,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 26 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,700 | $900 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,500 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $600 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 28.3 | 15.8 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.35 | 4.10 |
| Natural gas / mo | $92 | $58 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $80 | $224 |
| Home internet / mo | $67 | $82 |
| Violent crime /100k | 240 | 340 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 82 |
| Avg winter low °F | 21 | 34 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 47.5 | 43.7 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 36.6 | 3.4 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 56% | 48% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 4 |