Moving to California from Oregon
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from Oregon to California — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from Oregon to California, you would find that California is 28.8% more expensive than Oregon. A $75,000 salary in Oregon would need to be roughly $96,600 in California to maintain the same lifestyle. Expect a noticeable climate shift — Los Angeles averages 75°F vs 56°F in Portland, making it significantly warmer. Portland and Los Angeles are about 830 mi apart.
Thinking of moving to California? Get a shortlist of towns in California that match your priorities: size, cost, taxes, safety, disaster risk, hospitals and transport. Find my towns →Is California cheaper than Oregon?
The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 18.7% more
Groceries
pay 20.5% more
Transportation
pay 13.4% more
Housing
pay 45.5% more
Childcare
pay 65.2% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 18.7% 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 California?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $96,600
To maintain the same standard of living in California
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 California cost about 40% more than cities in Oregon.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
How Oregon and California stack up on safety, healthcare, jobs, and infrastructure.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Oregon generally does better on safety, though California leads in property 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 generally does better on health & wellbeing, though California leads in adult obesity rate.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Oregon performs better than California across all what about housing? metrics.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Oregon generally does better on infrastructure, though California leads in internet access.
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
Oregon generally does better on employment & economy, though California 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 generally does better on family life, though California leads in life expectancy.
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 California vs Oregon
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Portland | Los Angeles |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 36°/18°F (2°/-8°C) | 69°/49°F (21°/10°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 63°/44°F (17°/7°C) | 75°/57°F (24°/14°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 76°/56°F (24°/13°C) | 83°/64°F (29°/18°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 48°/30°F (9°/-1°C) | 73°/53°F (23°/12°C) |
View all months
| Month | Portland | Los Angeles |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 31°/13°F (-0.4°/-10.3°C) | 68°/48°F (20.1°/8.8°C) |
| Feb | 35°/16°F (1.4°/-8.7°C) | 69°/49°F (20.3°/9.6°C) |
| Mar | 42°/25°F (5.6°/-3.9°C) | 70°/51°F (21.2°/10.6°C) |
| Apr | 53°/35°F (11.8°/1.5°C) | 73°/53°F (22.6°/11.9°C) |
| May | 64°/44°F (17.5°/6.8°C) | 74°/57°F (23.6°/13.9°C) |
| Jun | 73°/54°F (22.9°/12.0°C) | 78°/60°F (25.6°/15.7°C) |
| Jul | 79°/59°F (26.0°/15.2°C) | 83°/64°F (28.4°/17.6°C) |
| Aug | 78°/58°F (25.4°/14.6°C) | 84°/64°F (29.1°/17.8°C) |
| Sep | 70°/50°F (21.1°/10.2°C) | 83°/63°F (28.4°/17.3°C) |
| Oct | 59°/39°F (14.8°/3.8°C) | 78°/59°F (25.8°/14.8°C) |
| Nov | 48°/31°F (8.9°/-0.6°C) | 73°/52°F (22.7°/11.1°C) |
| Dec | 37°/20°F (2.9°/-6.4°C) | 68°/47°F (19.8°/8.6°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in California than Oregon?
Day-to-day costs in California run about 29% higher than Oregon on average; specific cities can swing further.
How much money do I need to move to California?
A safe rule of thumb is 3 months of local expenses plus relocation costs. On a $75,000 comparable salary, that's around $24,150 in California for everyday spending, before movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is California safe?
Oregon generally does better on safety, though California leads in property crime rate.
How is healthcare in California compared to Oregon?
Oregon generally does better on health & wellbeing, though California leads in adult obesity rate.
What's the weather like in California compared to Oregon?
The average high temperature in Los Angeles is 75°F, compared to 56°F in Portland. Los Angeles receives around 14.9 in of rainfall per year, while Portland gets 47.2 in.
