Cost of living comparison
compared to
Portland vs. Helena Cost of Living Summary
Portland is 9.8% more expensive than Helena.
Portland vs. Helena Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Portland instead of Helena, you would:
pay 0.6% more for restaurants
|
Helena
|
Portland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$21.50
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$18.00
|
$14.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.22
|
$2.52
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.75
|
$1.99
|
|
Helena vs. Portland - Cost of restaurants
pay 42.2% more for groceries
|
Helena
|
Portland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.78
|
$4.82
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$9.00
|
$9.46
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.96
|
$4.50
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.67
|
$5.56
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.08
|
$9.02
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.14
|
$2.95
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.81
|
$0.97
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.04
|
$2.68
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.84
|
$3.96
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.99
|
$1.28
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.68
|
$1.06
|
|
Helena vs. Portland - Cost of groceries
pay 14.0% more for transportation
|
Helena
|
Portland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.77
|
$4.81
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$60.00
|
$100.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,850.00
|
$33,555.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$37.34
|
$20.04
|
|
Helena vs. Portland - Cost of transportation
pay 0.5% more for housing
|
Helena
|
Portland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$91.74
|
$68.36
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,786.67
|
$1,967.62
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,533.33
|
$1,557.62
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$287.72
|
$243.74
|
|
Helena vs. Portland - Cost of housing
pay 12.4% less for childcare
|
Helena
|
Portland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,937.00
|
$1,701.33
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$27,700.00
|
$24,227.22
|
|
Helena vs. Portland - Cost of childcare
pay 25.5% more for entertainment and sports
|
Helena
|
Portland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.12
|
$6.13
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$10.38
|
$11.16
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$52.50
|
$60.15
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$12.00
|
$15.00
|
|
Helena vs. Portland - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 14.4% less for clothing
|
Helena
|
Portland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$64.75
|
$65.75
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$118.33
|
$41.67
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$82.25
|
$114.92
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$123.50
|
$133.00
|
|
Helena vs. Portland - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this
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