Cost of Living
per year
per month
How Portland's prices compare to the US city average across major spending categories.
How far does your salary go in Portland?
Your $100,000 in Portland has the same purchasing power as $94,688 in the average US city. You'd need $5,312 more here to maintain that standard of living.
Demographics and workforce data from the US Census ACS 5-Year.
bachelor's or higher
Climate, safety, and walkability indicators.
See a side-by-side breakdown of cost of living, housing, and salaries.
Within 10 points of Portland's cost index of 106, sorted by closest match.
These are the reasons people actually move to Portland, ordered roughly by what shows up loudest in the data. On the calmer side of the national distribution and clean air, by the numbers lead, plus 2 more things worth knowing — the rest unpacked below.
Reported crime in Portland comes in around 1,915 per 100,000 — under the national baseline of about 3,500. Worth digging into specific neighborhoods before settling on one, but the city-level picture is on the safer side.
Average AQI in Portland comes in around 30, well into the "good" band. Clean air isn't a thing you appreciate until you've lived somewhere it wasn't — and this is the side of that line you want to be on.
Average commute time in Portland runs around 20 minutes one-way — short enough that it doesn't restructure your day. Compared to the 45-plus-minute commutes that are normal in major metros, the difference adds up to a real lifestyle gap.
Portland has a college-educated share of about 58% among adults 25+, which is higher than the national norm. It shows up in the local job mix, in the school district's reputation, and in the kind of conversations you have at the coffee shop.
Reasons are pulled from Portland's actual data — Census ACS, BLS, BEA, NOAA, EPA AQS, FBI, and Walk Score. We don't list positives that aren't supported by the numbers, which is why different cities show different sections.
Snow is a regular feature, not a surprise. With winter temperatures hovering near 26°F, Portland sees enough snowfall that locals don't think twice about it but also enough mild stretches that nobody owns three pairs of boots.
A real winter, but not a punishing one. Portland averages roughly 26°F in winter, with the coldest mornings dipping into the single digits a few times a year and most days landing somewhere between "chilly" and "actually cold".
Warm without being brutal. Summer in Portland sits about 80°F on average. Afternoons can push into the high 80s, but mornings and evenings are usually genuinely pleasant.
Zone 8, give or take a half-zone. Portland's typical winter low puts it in that band on the USDA Hardiness map, which is what nurseries label plants against. Use Zone 8 as your starting filter; the USDA's interactive map is more precise for borderline cases.
Barely above the water. Portland is at about 0 feet (0 m) elevation, and parts of the city are essentially at sea level. Flood-zone maps are worth checking before buying a house.
Atlantic basin storms can form from June 1 to November 30, but the serious ones cluster in August, September, and the first half of October. Residents of Portland learn the season's rhythm fast: watch the cone, board up when it's the call, and don't shrug off the slow-mover storms — those are usually the ones that flood.
The headline number is reassuring. Portland's reported incident rate of about 1,915 per 100,000 is comfortably below the US norm of around 3,500 per 100k. Specific neighborhoods always vary, but the broader picture is on the safer side.
It's a middle-of-the-road US city on cost. Portland's index of 106 sits within a few points of the national average — your money buys roughly what it would in a typical American metro.
Portland's Walk Score is 0/100, firmly in the car-required tier. Transit Score is 0 out of 100. The layout assumes you'll drive to the grocery store, drive to work, drive everywhere.
As a rule of thumb, plan on about $73,927 to live in Portland the way a $70,000 earner lives in a typical US city. The math gets less forgiving the lower you go below that. Median rent in Portland runs about $1,377/mo — keeping housing under 30% of gross income points to a similar floor on what you'd want to earn.