Moving to Ohio from Oregon
What to Expect
Everything you need to know before relocating from Oregon to Ohio — costs, safety, healthcare, and practical first steps.
If you moved from Oregon to Ohio, you would find that Ohio is 12.3% cheaper than Oregon. A $75,000 salary in Oregon would need to be roughly $65,700 in Ohio to maintain the same lifestyle. Expect a noticeable climate shift — Columbus averages 76°F vs 56°F in Portland, making it significantly warmer. Portland and Columbus are about 2,050 mi apart.
Is Ohio cheaper than Oregon?
Where you'll feel the difference day-to-day
Restaurants
pay 8.8% less
Groceries
pay 6.4% less
Transportation
pay 1.1% more
Housing
pay 26.1% less
Childcare
pay 18.8% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 14.1% less
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 Ohio?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $65,700
To maintain the same standard of living in Ohio
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 Ohio cost about 13% less than cities in Oregon.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
Key indicators for anyone considering a move from Oregon to Ohio.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Ohio 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
Oregon performs better than Ohio across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Ohio 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 performs better than Ohio 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
Oregon generally does better on employment & economy, though Ohio leads in unemployment rate.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
Oregon performs better than Ohio 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 Ohio vs Oregon
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Portland | Columbus |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 36°/18°F (2°/-8°C) | 63°/41°F (17°/5°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 63°/44°F (17°/7°C) | 84°/62°F (29°/16°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 76°/56°F (24°/13°C) | 90°/71°F (32°/21°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 48°/30°F (9°/-1°C) | 68°/47°F (20°/8°C) |
View all months
| Month | Portland | Columbus |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 31°/13°F (-0.4°/-10.3°C) | 58°/37°F (14.2°/2.7°C) |
| Feb | 35°/16°F (1.4°/-8.7°C) | 62°/40°F (16.7°/4.5°C) |
| Mar | 42°/25°F (5.6°/-3.9°C) | 69°/46°F (20.8°/7.8°C) |
| Apr | 53°/35°F (11.8°/1.5°C) | 77°/53°F (24.8°/11.4°C) |
| May | 64°/44°F (17.5°/6.8°C) | 84°/62°F (28.9°/16.6°C) |
| Jun | 73°/54°F (22.9°/12.0°C) | 90°/70°F (32.2°/20.9°C) |
| Jul | 79°/59°F (26.0°/15.2°C) | 92°/73°F (33.4°/22.7°C) |
| Aug | 78°/58°F (25.4°/14.6°C) | 91°/72°F (33.0°/22.4°C) |
| Sep | 70°/50°F (21.1°/10.2°C) | 86°/67°F (30.2°/19.3°C) |
| Oct | 59°/39°F (14.8°/3.8°C) | 77°/56°F (25.2°/13.1°C) |
| Nov | 48°/31°F (8.9°/-0.6°C) | 68°/46°F (20.2°/7.8°C) |
| Dec | 37°/20°F (2.9°/-6.4°C) | 59°/39°F (15.2°/3.8°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Ohio than Oregon?
Yes — Ohio is on average about 12% cheaper than Oregon. City-level variation can be significant.
How much money do I need to move to Ohio?
Plan for at least 3 months of living expenses — roughly $16,425 in Ohio on a $75,000 comparable salary — plus one-off moving costs (movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit).
Is Ohio safe?
Ohio performs significantly better than Oregon across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Ohio compared to Oregon?
Oregon performs better than Ohio across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What's the weather like in Ohio compared to Oregon?
The average high temperature in Columbus is 76°F, compared to 56°F in Portland. Columbus receives around 46.8 in of rainfall per year, while Portland gets 47.2 in.
