Moving to Oregon from Washington
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from Washington to Oregon — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from Washington to Oregon, you would find that Oregon is 12.3% cheaper than Washington. A $75,000 salary in Washington would need to be roughly $65,800 in Oregon to maintain the same lifestyle. Seattle and Portland are about 140 mi apart.
Is Oregon cheaper than Washington?
The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 13.5% less
Groceries
pay 7.7% less
Transportation
pay 7.9% less
Housing
pay 13.4% less
Childcare
pay 40.9% less
Entertainment and Sports
pay 9.6% 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 Oregon?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $65,800
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 8% less than cities in Washington.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
How Washington and Oregon 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 performs significantly better than Washington 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
Washington performs better than Oregon across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Oregon generally does better on what about housing?, though Washington leads in homeownership rate.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Washington generally does better on infrastructure, though Oregon 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
Washington generally does better on employment & economy, though Oregon leads in unemployment rate.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
Washington performs 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
Weather in Oregon vs Washington
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Seattle | Portland |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 50°/38°F (10°/3°C) | 36°/18°F (2°/-8°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 64°/47°F (18°/8°C) | 63°/44°F (17°/7°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 74°/55°F (23°/13°C) | 76°/56°F (24°/13°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 52°/41°F (11°/5°C) | 48°/30°F (9°/-1°C) |
View all months
| Month | Seattle | Portland |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 47°/37°F (8.4°/2.7°C) | 31°/13°F (-0.4°/-10.3°C) |
| Feb | 50°/37°F (9.9°/2.7°C) | 35°/16°F (1.4°/-8.7°C) |
| Mar | 54°/39°F (12.1°/4.1°C) | 42°/25°F (5.6°/-3.9°C) |
| Apr | 58°/42°F (14.7°/5.7°C) | 53°/35°F (11.8°/1.5°C) |
| May | 65°/47°F (18.2°/8.5°C) | 64°/44°F (17.5°/6.8°C) |
| Jun | 70°/52°F (21.1°/11.1°C) | 73°/54°F (22.9°/12.0°C) |
| Jul | 76°/56°F (24.3°/13.1°C) | 79°/59°F (26.0°/15.2°C) |
| Aug | 76°/56°F (24.6°/13.3°C) | 78°/58°F (25.4°/14.6°C) |
| Sep | 71°/52°F (21.4°/11.2°C) | 70°/50°F (21.1°/10.2°C) |
| Oct | 60°/46°F (15.4°/7.7°C) | 59°/39°F (14.8°/3.8°C) |
| Nov | 51°/40°F (10.5°/4.4°C) | 48°/31°F (8.9°/-0.6°C) |
| Dec | 46°/36°F (7.6°/2.0°C) | 37°/20°F (2.9°/-6.4°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Oregon than Washington?
Generally yes: Oregon runs about 12% cheaper than Washington on average, though it depends heavily on the city.
How much money do I need to move to Oregon?
A safe rule of thumb is 3 months of local expenses plus relocation costs. On a $75,000 comparable salary, that's around $16,450 in Oregon for everyday spending, before movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Oregon safe?
Oregon performs significantly better than Washington across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Oregon compared to Washington?
Washington performs better than Oregon across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What's the weather like in Oregon compared to Washington?
The average high temperature in Portland is 56°F, compared to 60°F in Seattle. Portland receives around 47.2 in of rainfall per year, while Seattle gets 37.5 in.
