Moving to Oregon from Wisconsin
What to Expect
Everything you need to know before relocating from Wisconsin to Oregon — costs, safety, healthcare, and practical first steps.
If you moved from Wisconsin to Oregon, you would find that Oregon is 11.9% more expensive than Wisconsin. A $75,000 salary in Wisconsin would need to be roughly $83,900 in Oregon to maintain the same lifestyle. Milwaukee and Portland are about 1,700 mi apart.
Is Oregon cheaper than Wisconsin?
Where you'll feel the difference day-to-day
Restaurants
pay 6.0% more
Groceries
pay 9.4% more
Transportation
pay 15.3% more
Housing
pay 24.2% more
Childcare
pay 28.8% less
Entertainment and Sports
pay 9.3% 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 → $83,900
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 7% more than cities in Wisconsin.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
Key indicators for anyone considering a move from Wisconsin to Oregon.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Wisconsin performs 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 generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Wisconsin leads in uninsured rate.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Wisconsin 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
Wisconsin generally does better on infrastructure, though Oregon 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
Wisconsin generally does better on employment & economy, though Oregon 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 performs significantly better than Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Milwaukee | Portland |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 35°/21°F (1°/-6°C) | 36°/18°F (2°/-8°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 65°/47°F (18°/8°C) | 63°/44°F (17°/7°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 76°/61°F (25°/16°C) | 76°/56°F (24°/13°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 46°/32°F (8°/0°C) | 48°/30°F (9°/-1°C) |
View all months
| Month | Milwaukee | Portland |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 29°/16°F (-1.7°/-9.1°C) | 31°/13°F (-0.4°/-10.3°C) |
| Feb | 33°/19°F (0.3°/-7.1°C) | 35°/16°F (1.4°/-8.7°C) |
| Mar | 42°/28°F (5.8°/-2.4°C) | 42°/25°F (5.6°/-3.9°C) |
| Apr | 54°/37°F (12.1°/2.9°C) | 53°/35°F (11.8°/1.5°C) |
| May | 65°/47°F (18.3°/8.1°C) | 64°/44°F (17.5°/6.8°C) |
| Jun | 75°/57°F (24.1°/13.9°C) | 73°/54°F (22.9°/12.0°C) |
| Jul | 80°/64°F (26.7°/17.5°C) | 79°/59°F (26.0°/15.2°C) |
| Aug | 78°/63°F (25.8°/17.2°C) | 78°/58°F (25.4°/14.6°C) |
| Sep | 71°/55°F (21.8°/12.7°C) | 70°/50°F (21.1°/10.2°C) |
| Oct | 59°/43°F (15.2°/6.2°C) | 59°/39°F (14.8°/3.8°C) |
| Nov | 46°/32°F (7.8°/0.0°C) | 48°/31°F (8.9°/-0.6°C) |
| Dec | 33°/20°F (0.4°/-6.6°C) | 37°/20°F (2.9°/-6.4°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Oregon than Wisconsin?
No — Oregon is on average about 12% more expensive than Wisconsin. City-level variation matters.
How much money do I need to move to Oregon?
Plan for at least 3 months of living expenses — roughly $20,975 in Oregon on a $75,000 comparable salary — plus one-off moving costs (movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit).
Is Oregon safe?
Wisconsin performs better than Oregon across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Oregon compared to Wisconsin?
Oregon generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Wisconsin leads in uninsured rate.
What's the weather like in Oregon compared to Wisconsin?
The average high temperature in Portland is 56°F, compared to 55°F in Milwaukee. Portland receives around 47.2 in of rainfall per year, while Milwaukee gets 34.8 in.
