Moving to Oregon from Indiana
What to Expect
Considering a move from Indiana to Oregon? Here's how the two compare on cost, climate, safety, and more.
If you moved from Indiana to Oregon, you would find that Oregon is 15.5% more expensive than Indiana. A $75,000 salary in Indiana would need to be roughly $86,600 in Oregon to maintain the same lifestyle. Indianapolis and Portland are about 1,900 mi apart.
Is Oregon cheaper than Indiana?
How key spending categories compare
Restaurants
pay 10.7% more
Groceries
pay 10.9% more
Transportation
pay 19.9% more
Housing
pay 23.9% more
Childcare
pay 6.8% less
Entertainment and Sports
pay 19.2% more
Data: MyLifeElsewhere's crowdsourced cost of living database, with prices submitted and updated by users worldwide. Exchange rates are refreshed regularly from public sources.
What salary do you need in Oregon?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $86,600
To maintain the same standard of living in Oregon
Calculate with your salary →Cost of living by city
Cost of living varies a lot by city. Each figure is a city's overall cost of living as a percentage of New York City (the priciest, = 100%).
On average, cities in Oregon cost about 13% more than cities in Indiana.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
The numbers behind daily life in Oregon compared to Indiana.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Indiana generally does better on safety, though Oregon leads in violent crime rate.
How's the healthcare?
share of people without health insurance
share of adults with obesity
share of adults with diabetes
share of adults who smoke
Oregon performs significantly better than Indiana across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Indiana performs better than Oregon across all what about housing? metrics.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Oregon performs significantly better than Indiana across all infrastructure metrics.
What are the job prospects?
percentage of the labour force without work
a broad measure of economic output per person
typical annual income of a household
share of people below the poverty line
Indiana generally does better on employment & economy, though Oregon leads in gdp per capita.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
Oregon performs significantly better than Indiana across all family life metrics.
Sources: US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) (2023), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (PLACES) (2022), FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (2023), Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025), Bureau of Economic Analysis (2024), OECD Regional Demography (2020). How we calculate this
Weather in Oregon vs Indiana
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Indianapolis | Portland |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 42°/26°F (6°/-3°C) | 36°/18°F (2°/-8°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 72°/53°F (22°/12°C) | 63°/44°F (17°/7°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 81°/63°F (27°/17°C) | 76°/56°F (24°/13°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 51°/35°F (11°/2°C) | 48°/30°F (9°/-1°C) |
View all months
| Month | Indianapolis | Portland |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 35°/21°F (1.7°/-6.1°C) | 31°/13°F (-0.4°/-10.3°C) |
| Feb | 40°/24°F (4.4°/-4.4°C) | 35°/16°F (1.4°/-8.7°C) |
| Mar | 51°/33°F (10.8°/0.8°C) | 42°/25°F (5.6°/-3.9°C) |
| Apr | 63°/44°F (17.1°/6.4°C) | 53°/35°F (11.8°/1.5°C) |
| May | 72°/53°F (22.5°/11.7°C) | 64°/44°F (17.5°/6.8°C) |
| Jun | 81°/63°F (27.4°/17.4°C) | 73°/54°F (22.9°/12.0°C) |
| Jul | 84°/67°F (28.8°/19.2°C) | 79°/59°F (26.0°/15.2°C) |
| Aug | 83°/65°F (28.4°/18.3°C) | 78°/58°F (25.4°/14.6°C) |
| Sep | 77°/57°F (25.1°/13.9°C) | 70°/50°F (21.1°/10.2°C) |
| Oct | 64°/45°F (18.0°/7.3°C) | 59°/39°F (14.8°/3.8°C) |
| Nov | 52°/36°F (11.0°/2.3°C) | 48°/31°F (8.9°/-0.6°C) |
| Dec | 38°/25°F (3.6°/-3.9°C) | 37°/20°F (2.9°/-6.4°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Oregon than Indiana?
On average Oregon is around 16% pricier than Indiana, with notable variation by city.
How much money do I need to move to Oregon?
Budget about $21,650 for 3 months in Oregon (based on a $75,000 comparable annual salary), then add the one-off costs: movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Oregon safe?
Indiana generally does better on safety, though Oregon leads in violent crime rate.
How is healthcare in Oregon compared to Indiana?
Oregon performs significantly better than Indiana across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What's the weather like in Oregon compared to Indiana?
The average high temperature in Portland is 56°F, compared to 62°F in Indianapolis. Portland receives around 47.2 in of rainfall per year, while Indianapolis gets 40.8 in.
