Moving to Oregon from Tennessee
What to Expect
Considering a move from Tennessee to Oregon? Here's how the two compare on cost, climate, safety, and more.
If you moved from Tennessee to Oregon, you would find that Oregon is 3.5% more expensive than Tennessee. A $75,000 salary in Tennessee would need to be roughly $77,600 in Oregon to maintain the same lifestyle. Expect a noticeable climate shift — Portland averages 56°F vs 70°F in Nashville, making it significantly cooler. Nashville and Portland are about 1,950 mi apart.
Is Oregon cheaper than Tennessee?
How key spending categories compare
Restaurants
pay 0.1% less
Groceries
pay 0.9% less
Transportation
pay 18.5% more
Housing
pay 5.2% more
Childcare
pay 11.8% less
Entertainment and Sports
pay 5.5% 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 → $77,600
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 10% more than cities in Tennessee.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
The numbers behind daily life in Oregon compared to Tennessee.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Tennessee 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 Tennessee across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Tennessee 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 Tennessee 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 Tennessee 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 significantly better than Tennessee 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 Tennessee
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Nashville | Portland |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 53°/33°F (12°/1°C) | 36°/18°F (2°/-8°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 78°/56°F (26°/14°C) | 63°/44°F (17°/7°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 87°/66°F (30°/19°C) | 76°/56°F (24°/13°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 60°/40°F (16°/4°C) | 48°/30°F (9°/-1°C) |
View all months
| Month | Nashville | Portland |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 47°/28°F (8.3°/-2.0°C) | 31°/13°F (-0.4°/-10.3°C) |
| Feb | 52°/32°F (11.0°/-0.2°C) | 35°/16°F (1.4°/-8.7°C) |
| Mar | 61°/39°F (16.1°/3.9°C) | 42°/25°F (5.6°/-3.9°C) |
| Apr | 71°/47°F (21.4°/8.6°C) | 53°/35°F (11.8°/1.5°C) |
| May | 78°/57°F (25.7°/13.8°C) | 64°/44°F (17.5°/6.8°C) |
| Jun | 86°/65°F (30.0°/18.6°C) | 73°/54°F (22.9°/12.0°C) |
| Jul | 89°/69°F (31.8°/20.8°C) | 79°/59°F (26.0°/15.2°C) |
| Aug | 89°/68°F (31.7°/20.2°C) | 78°/58°F (25.4°/14.6°C) |
| Sep | 82°/61°F (28.0°/15.9°C) | 70°/50°F (21.1°/10.2°C) |
| Oct | 72°/49°F (22.1°/9.4°C) | 59°/39°F (14.8°/3.8°C) |
| Nov | 60°/39°F (15.7°/4.1°C) | 48°/31°F (8.9°/-0.6°C) |
| Dec | 49°/31°F (9.7°/-0.4°C) | 37°/20°F (2.9°/-6.4°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Oregon than Tennessee?
On average Oregon is around 4% pricier than Tennessee, with notable variation by city.
How much money do I need to move to Oregon?
Budget about $19,400 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?
Tennessee generally does better on safety, though Oregon leads in violent crime rate.
How is healthcare in Oregon compared to Tennessee?
Oregon performs significantly better than Tennessee across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What's the weather like in Oregon compared to Tennessee?
The average high temperature in Portland is 56°F, compared to 70°F in Nashville. Portland receives around 47.2 in of rainfall per year, while Nashville gets 47.2 in.
