Sacramento, CA vs Portland, ME
Moving from Sacramento to Portland? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($582,707 → $542,063 median home) and taxes.
Sacramento 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 Sacramento, CA, you'd need about $95,658 in Portland, ME (−$4,342).
Livability — Sacramento, CA: 49 · Portland, ME: 58 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,287 sqft in Sacramento vs 1,568 sqft in Portland ($389 vs $319 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Sacramento, CA | Portland, ME | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $27,396 | $27,840 | +$444 |
| Groceries | $5,247 | $4,917 | −$330 |
| Transportation | $5,125 | $2,775 | −$2,350 |
| Utilities | $3,804 | $3,072 | −$732 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $1,000 | −$500 |
| Taxes | $20,410 | $12,997 | −$7,413 |
| Total | $63,482 | $52,601 | −$10,881 |
Side by side
| Metric | Sacramento, CA | Portland, ME |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 109.1 | 104.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.74% | 3.37% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.6% | 5.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 55 | 39 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.21 | $5.94 |
| Median home price | $582,707 | $542,063 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.5× | 6.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.6% | 1.0% |
| Price per square foot | $389 | $319 |
| Median rent | $2,283 | $2,320 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 13.5% | 12.4% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.82% | 5.50% |
| Capital gains tax | 13.30% | 7.15% |
| Property tax rate | 0.79% | 1.14% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,200 | $8,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $19,000 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 0.65% | 2.40% |
| Avg commute (min) | 28 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,000 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,400 | $1,000 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $950 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 35.3 | 28.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.85 | 3.35 |
| Violent crime /100k | 500 | 110 |
| Avg summer high °F | 84 | 80 |
| Avg winter low °F | 45 | 10 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 3 |