Loading
Assembling your view…
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Portland breaks the usual trade-off between income and cost of living. Most affordable cities pay less — but Portland delivers a median household income of $88,792 (10% above the national median) while keeping costs 11 points below national average. That's a rare combination shared by only 40 of the…
Portland breaks the usual trade-off between income and cost of living. Most affordable cities pay less — but Portland delivers a median household income of $88,792 (10% above the national median) while keeping costs 11 points below national average. That's a rare combination shared by only 40 of the 288 cities we track.
What does daily life actually cost in Portland? Start with the 23% rent-to-income ratio — that's the kind of margin that lets people build savings. On the category level, Healthcare (index 100) is where the real savings show up, while Healthcare (index 100) is the line item most likely to surprise newcomers. Income at $88,792 and homes at $524,251 round out a profile that ranks #1 for clear reasons.
Portland: high income, low cost — a rare combo. Portland earns above the national median ($88,792 vs $80,367) while keeping costs below average (index 100 vs 111). That combination is exceptionally rare — only 40 of 288 cities share it.
Bottom line: Portland, OR leads this ranking for clear, data-backed reasons — but the "best" city depends on your priorities. Click into any city below to see the full detail page with 12-month trend charts, profession-specific salary data, and a breakdown of all five cost categories. If you're seriously considering a move, use our salary calculator to model your specific income against these numbers.
#1 Ranked: Portland, OR — cost index 100, rent $1,710/mo, income $88,792
Portland: high income, low cost — a rare combo
2 of 2 cities come in below the national cost-of-living average of 111
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
| Rank | City | Cost Index | Median Rent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PortlandOR | 100 | $1,710 | Details |
| 2 | AtlantaGA | 110 | $1,888 | Details |
630,498 residents · Oregon
Here's Portland by the numbers — and there's a lot to like (and a little to watch). Cost index: 100. Rent: $1,710/month. Income: $88,792/year. Home price: $524,251. Population: 630,498. The strongest category is Healthcare at 100; the most expensive is Healthcare at 100. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are saving renters $2,220 per year vs. the national median. Not many cities can claim this.
510,823 residents · Georgia
Dive into Atlanta's numbers: cost index 110 (1 points below national average), rent $1,888/month, income $81,938, and a home price of $381,549. The city's cost profile isn't flat — Healthcare is the cheapest category at 102, while Housing runs 110. As a major city with 510,823 residents, amenities and job markets are robust. An outlier in the best sense.
Our cost of living index uses real Zillow rent data as the foundation, indexed to 100 (national median). Sub-categories (housing, food, transport, utilities, healthcare) are derived from the overall index with regional adjustments. Data is updated monthly.
Portland (ranked #1) has a cost index of 100 and rent of $1,710/mo, while Atlanta (ranked #2) has a cost index of 110 and rent of $1,888/mo — a 10-point difference in cost of living.
City data is refreshed monthly from Census Bureau population estimates, Zillow rent and home price indices, BLS salary data, and Tax Foundation tax rates. Last updated: 2026.
The median 1-bedroom rent in Portland is $1,710/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $185 below the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in Portland is $524,251, which is 5.9× the local median income. Most median-income households would stretch to buy at this ratio. The national median home price is $467,370.
This ranking was generated using data current as of early 2026. Population and income data comes from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (5-year estimates). Rent and home price data is from Zillow's monthly releases. Tax rates are from the Tax Foundation's 2025 edition. Rankings are refreshed monthly.