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 $89,087 in the average US city. You'd need $10,913 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.
Popular comparisons
Sorted by affordability — most affordable first.
Within 10 points of Portland's cost index of 112, sorted by closest match.
People moving to Portland usually have at least one specific reason. Most of them line up with what the data shows: a higher-income labor market than the national norm, most daily life happens on foot, plus 4 more things worth knowing. Here's what's actually on the table.
Median household income in Portland is $85,876, a step above the national median of about $75k. The local job market leans toward industries that pay better than average, and that shows up in the take-home for most working households here.
Portland's Walk Score is 93/100 — top-tier walkability by US standards. Groceries, coffee, work, social life: most of it lands within reasonable foot range of wherever you live. A lot of residents skip car ownership entirely, which is its own form of savings on top of the lifestyle change. Transit Score comes in at 69/100 too, so even the trips that are too far to walk are usually doable on a bus or train.
Portland's Bike Score is 100/100 — the kind of number you only get when a city has built real bike infrastructure (protected lanes, connected routes, drivers who expect cyclists). For commuting or just for getting around, the bike is a serious option here, not a hobby.
Portland's air quality index averages about 43 — comfortably in the EPA's "good" range. No daily ritual of checking the AQI before going for a run, no smoky-day plans, no surprise asthma flare-ups for the kids. The kind of background condition you notice mostly by its absence.
The average one-way commute in Portland is about 25 minutes — short by US standards (the national average is closer to 27). Over a year of working days, that's hundreds of hours that don't get spent in traffic, which is the kind of thing you notice in the weekend rather than the weekday.
53% of adults 25 and over in Portland hold a bachelor's degree or higher — meaningfully above the US average of around 36%. That correlates with the things you'd expect: stronger schools, more white-collar employers, more bookstores than the population alone would predict.
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.
Now and then. Portland's winters are cool rather than truly cold — about 36°F on average — so most of the precipitation falls as rain. A snowy morning happens a few times a season; sustained accumulation is rare.
Mild on the cold side. Portland's winter average of about 36°F is the kind of weather where you want a jacket but the heating bill is manageable. Snow is rare, frost is occasional, and the lawn never really browns out.
Pleasantly warm. Portland's summer averages around 80°F — comfortable for outdoor evenings, hot enough on peak days to warrant AC but mild compared to the Sun Belt.
Zone 9, 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 9 as your starting filter; the USDA's interactive map is more precise for borderline cases.
Portland sits at about 164 feet (50 m) above sea level — low-lying, but with enough cushion that day-to-day life isn't affected by ocean levels.
The citywide numbers are concerning — about 7,257 per 100,000 residents, well above the US average of around 3,500. As with all crime stats, the city aggregate hides huge variation between neighborhoods, but the overall picture is worse than most US cities.
Yes, noticeably. Portland's cost-of-living index runs 112, about 12% above the US baseline. Housing usually accounts for most of the markup; groceries and services run higher too but with less drama.
Genuinely so. Portland's Walk Score of 93 out of 100 puts it in "Walker's Paradise" territory — daily errands don't require a car at all. Transit Score is 69 out of 100. Many residents skip car ownership entirely.
Roughly $78,575 a year would match the lifestyle of someone earning $70,000 in an average US city. That's a starting point, not a target — negotiate higher when you can. Median rent in Portland runs about $1,530/mo — keeping housing under 30% of gross income points to a similar floor on what you'd want to earn.