Tampa, FL vs Portland, ME
Moving from Tampa to Portland? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($360,738 → $542,063 median home) and taxes.
Tampa 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 Tampa, FL, you'd need about $101,836 in Portland, ME (+$1,836).
Livability — Tampa, FL: 65 · Portland, ME: 58 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,564 sqft in Tampa vs 1,568 sqft in Portland ($195 vs $319 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Tampa, FL | Portland, ME | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $24,216 | $27,840 | +$3,624 |
| Groceries | $4,949 | $4,917 | −$32 |
| Transportation | $4,800 | $2,775 | −$2,025 |
| Utilities | $1,656 | $3,072 | +$1,416 |
| Insurance | $4,200 | $1,000 | −$3,200 |
| Taxes | $4,642 | $12,997 | +$8,355 |
| Total | $44,463 | $52,601 | +$8,138 |
Side by side
| Metric | Tampa, FL | Portland, ME |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 102.5 | 104.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.92% | 3.37% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.3% | 5.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 51 | 39 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.83 | $5.94 |
| Median home price | $360,738 | $542,063 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.4× | 6.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -3.4% | 1.0% |
| Price per square foot | $195 | $319 |
| Median rent | $2,018 | $2,320 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.1% | 12.4% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.02% | 5.50% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 7.15% |
| Property tax rate | 0.80% | 1.14% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,500 | $8,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 2.40% |
| Avg commute (min) | 28 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $4,200 | $1,000 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,900 | $1,000 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $1,400 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.4 | 28.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.35 | 3.35 |
| Violent crime /100k | 380 | 110 |
| Avg summer high °F | 91 | 80 |
| Avg winter low °F | 52 | 10 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 3 |