Albany vs Portland leftover
You'd keep $623 more a month in Portland
$2,307/mo leftover in Portland vs $1,684 in Albany after tax and rent ($623 more). +$7,476 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Albany leftover
$1,684
a month after tax and rent
Portland leftover
$2,307
+$623 vs Albany
Compare Albany to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Albany.
Monthly gap
Albany → Portland
$623
more / month in Portland
$2,307 in Portland · $1,684 in Albany · One adult, renting a 1-bedroom
Home
Only when you tap. We match the nearest metro and don't keep the coordinates.
Destination
In 2022-2023, 390 households moved Albany → Portland (avg AGI $50,469). 422 went the other way. The whole move →
+$623 / mo
| Per month | Albany | Portland | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,167 | $8,171 | +$1,004 |
| Income and payroll tax | $2,008 | $2,394 | +$385 |
| Take-home pay | $5,159 | $5,777 | +$618 |
| Rent | $1,271 | $1,416 | +$145 |
| Getting around | $630 | $517 | −$113 |
| Groceries | $434 | $424 | −$10 |
| Healthcare | $488 | $477 | −$11 |
| Utilities | $271 | $265 | −$6 |
| Everything else | $380 | $371 | −$9 |
| Left over | $1,684 | $2,307 | +$623 |
To break even in Portland, you'd need to earn
$86,000
Household gross, versus $86,000 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Albany does now.
The tax difference alone
−$1,054
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 28.0% in Albany, 29.3% in Portland.
More about Portland
Albany, OR in full
State income tax topping out at 9.9%, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,513 and 156 sunny days; commutes average 25 minutes.
Portland, OR in full
No sales tax, high income tax, and nine months of grey.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Portland on Portland wages.
Portland → Albany →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Portland than Albany?
A one-bedroom is about $1,271 in Albany versus $1,416 in Portland. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $623 a month higher in Portland. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Portland have state income tax?
Portland is in Oregon, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Albany to Portland?
Take-home pay is recalculated under Oregon tax, rent is priced at the same bedroom count, and leftover is the gap. The from-to page also lists IRS households that already made the move, when that data exists.
Leftover is take-home after federal, state and city wage tax, minus asking rent at the bedroom count you set, minus a modelled month of groceries, utilities, healthcare, transport and childcare. It is not a cost-of-living index and not a moving quote. The dollar gap between Albany and Portland moves when you change the job, remote versus local pay, or bedrooms. How the math works · Leftover vs a COL index · Why a cheaper COL% can still lose leftover.
Rent is Zillow's asking rent for each metro; taxes and living costs are modelled. An estimate, not a quote or tax advice. How this is calculated.