Portland, Oregon
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
- 642,715City limits · not metro/MSA
- Median household income
- $88,792Incorporated place (ACS)13% above U.S. avgU.S. $78,538
- Housing cost index
- 151ACS home+rent vs U.S. (100 = avg)51% above U.S. avgU.S. 100
- Median home value
- $557,600City limits (ACS)84% above U.S. avgU.S. $303,400
- Median rent
- $1,596City limits (ACS)18% above U.S. avgU.S. $1,348
- Unemployment
- 4.8%County LAUS · not city-onlyNear U.S. avg (4.2 pts)U.S. 4.2 pts
- Avg commute
- 27 min8% above U.S. avgU.S. 25 min
- Walk Score
- 6749% above U.S. avgU.S. 45
- Violent crime rate
- 544.6annualized per 100k · citywide10% below U.S. avgU.S. 602.7
- Property crime rate
- 5203.3annualized per 100k · citywide69% above U.S. avgU.S. 3084.9
- Summer high
- 80°F7.0°F below U.S. avgU.S. 87°F
- Winter low
- 36°F2.0°F above U.S. avgU.S. 34°F
- Annual rainfall
- 36.9 in12% above U.S. avgU.S. 32.9 in
- Sunny days
- 20822% below U.S. avgU.S. 266
Compare Portland with another city
About 642,715 people live in Portland, OR. Median household income is roughly $88,792, while the ACS housing-cost index sits near 151 — well above the national housing-cost baseline (100 ≈ U.S. average). Entry home prices around $557,600 still look attainable compared with coastal metros.
Portland sits in that mid-to-large city band where urban and quieter residential pockets often share one municipal boundary. 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.
Wet winters west of the Cascades and dry east-side climates split the state. The normals show about 36.9 inches of rain and 208 sunny days across a typical year. Plan on roughly 27 minutes each way for a typical commute; Walk Score is about 67. Unemployment recently ran near 4.8%, broadly in line with many large U.S. counties. Violent-offense rates near 544.6 per 100k sit in a mid-to-elevated band versus many peer cities in this catalog.
Nearby & similar cities
Continue researching with these internal links — each page is a full data profile.
Sources
- Census / ACS: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 5-year (Portland city, 1600000US4159000)
- BLS: BLS LAUS LAUCN410510000000003 (Multnomah County, May 2026)
- Crime: FBI CIUS Table 8 (2019) city offenses known to law enforcement — rates per 100k; CDE API unavailable at enrich time
- Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 Monthly Normals (USW00024229 PORTLAND INTL AP)
Last updated 2026-07-28