Portland, Maine
Cost of living, housing, income, commute, climate, and safety — compiled for relocators researching Portland.
Key figures
Each metric shows how Portland compares with the U.S. baseline (ACS/BLS nationals where available; catalog-city averages for crime, climate, and commute). Income, housing, population, and crime are for the incorporated city (city limits), not the broader metro/MSA — unemployment is county-level (BLS LAUS).
- Population
- 68,300City limits · not metro/MSA
- Median household income
- $62,000Incorporated place (ACS)21% below U.S. avgU.S. $78,538
- Housing cost index
- 120ACS home+rent vs U.S. (100 = avg)20% above U.S. avgU.S. 100
- Median home value
- $480,000City limits (ACS)58% above U.S. avgU.S. $303,400
- Median rent
- $1,800City limits (ACS)34% above U.S. avgU.S. $1,348
- Unemployment
- 3.0%County LAUS · not city-onlyNear U.S. avg (4.2 pts)U.S. 4.2 pts
- Avg commute
- 20 min20% below U.S. avgU.S. 25 min
- Walk Score
- 6851% above U.S. avgU.S. 45
- Violent crime rate
- 22launch estimate, not FBI-verified yet
- Property crime rate
- 42launch estimate, not FBI-verified yet
- Summer high
- 78°F9.0°F below U.S. avgU.S. 87°F
- Winter low
- 17°F17.0°F below U.S. avgU.S. 34°F
- Annual rainfall
- 47 in43% above U.S. avgU.S. 32.9 in
- Sunny days
- 17136% below U.S. avgU.S. 266
Compare Portland with another city
Portland (pop. 68,300) sits in Maine. Median household income is roughly $62,000, while the ACS housing-cost index sits near 120 — above the national housing-cost baseline (100 ≈ U.S. average). Ownership is a high bar — typical values near $480,000 push many newcomers toward renting first.
Portland is compact enough that a single wrong neighborhood choice is easy to feel day to day — visit at commute hour before signing. Figures on this page are merged from Census ACS, BLS LAUS, FBI Crime Data Explorer, and NOAA Climate Normals — use them to compare Portland with nearby alternatives before you relocate.
Cold Atlantic winters and a tourism-heavy coast shape seasonal employment. Winter lows around 17°F mean heating costs and snow logistics belong on the checklist. Plan on roughly 20 minutes each way for a typical commute; Walk Score is about 68. A recent county unemployment reading near 3.0% suggests a relatively tight local labor market. Crime figures here are a directional launch estimate pending a live FBI Crime Data Explorer pull — not yet a per-100k rate, so treat it as a rough signal rather than a citywide index.
Nearby & similar cities
Continue researching with these internal links — each page is a full data profile.
Sources
- Census / ACS: U.S. Census Bureau / American Community Survey (curated seed)
- BLS: Bureau of Labor Statistics (curated seed)
- Crime: FBI Crime Data Explorer (curated seed)
- Climate: NOAA Climate Normals (curated seed)
Last updated 2026-07-28