Moving to Minnesota from Oregon
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from Oregon to Minnesota — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from Oregon to Minnesota, you would find that Minnesota is 6.6% cheaper than Oregon. A $75,000 salary in Oregon would need to be roughly $70,100 in Minnesota to maintain the same lifestyle.
How Far Will Your Money Go?
How your spending power changes when you relocate from Oregon to Minnesota.
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $70,100
To maintain the same standard of living in Minnesota
Calculate with your salary →The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 2.7% more
Groceries
pay 0.4% less
Transportation
pay 2.2% less
Housing
pay 19.5% less
Childcare
pay 14.6% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 4.1% 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.
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 Minnesota cost about 4% less than cities in Oregon.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
How Oregon and Minnesota 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
Minnesota performs significantly better than Oregon across all safety metrics.
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
Minnesota generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Oregon leads in adult obesity rate.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Minnesota performs significantly 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 generally does better on infrastructure, though Minnesota leads in average commute.
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
Minnesota performs significantly better than Oregon across all employment & economy metrics.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
Minnesota performs significantly better than Oregon 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
What's the Climate Like?
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Salem | Saint Paul |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 52°/36°F (11°/2°C) | 32°/16°F (0°/-9°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 68°/45°F (20°/7°C) | 69°/50°F (21°/10°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 80°/51°F (27°/11°C) | 79°/60°F (26°/16°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 54°/38°F (12°/3°C) | 43°/27°F (6°/-3°C) |
View all months
| Month | Salem | Saint Paul |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 48°/35°F (8.7°/1.5°C) | 25°/9°F (-4.1°/-12.6°C) |
| Feb | 52°/35°F (10.9°/1.4°C) | 30°/14°F (-1.3°/-9.9°C) |
| Mar | 56°/37°F (13.6°/2.9°C) | 42°/26°F (5.5°/-3.6°C) |
| Apr | 61°/40°F (16.2°/4.2°C) | 58°/39°F (14.7°/3.9°C) |
| May | 68°/45°F (19.9°/7.1°C) | 70°/50°F (21.2°/10.0°C) |
| Jun | 74°/49°F (23.3°/9.6°C) | 79°/60°F (26.0°/15.4°C) |
| Jul | 82°/53°F (27.8°/11.7°C) | 83°/65°F (28.5°/18.1°C) |
| Aug | 82°/53°F (28.0°/11.6°C) | 81°/62°F (27.1°/16.8°C) |
| Sep | 77°/48°F (24.9°/9.1°C) | 72°/53°F (22.2°/11.7°C) |
| Oct | 64°/42°F (17.8°/5.7°C) | 59°/40°F (14.8°/4.7°C) |
| Nov | 53°/38°F (11.4°/3.6°C) | 42°/28°F (5.6°/-2.4°C) |
| Dec | 46°/34°F (7.9°/1.1°C) | 28°/14°F (-2.5°/-10.1°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Minnesota than Oregon?
Generally yes: Minnesota runs about 7% cheaper than Oregon on average, though it depends heavily on the city.
How much money do I need to move to Minnesota?
A safe rule of thumb is 3 months of local expenses plus relocation costs. On a $75,000 comparable salary, that's around $17,525 in Minnesota for everyday spending, before movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Minnesota safe?
Minnesota performs significantly better than Oregon across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Minnesota compared to Oregon?
Minnesota generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Oregon leads in adult obesity rate.
What's the weather like in Minnesota compared to Oregon?
The average high temperature in Saint Paul is 56°F, compared to 64°F in Salem. Saint Paul receives around 28.5 in of rainfall per year, while Salem gets 39.7 in.
