Medford vs Portland leftover
You'd keep $696 more a month in Portland
$2,331/mo leftover in Portland vs $1,635 in Medford after tax and rent ($696 more). +$8,352 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Medford leftover
$1,635
a month after tax and rent
Portland leftover
$2,331
+$696 vs Medford
Compare Medford to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Medford.
Monthly gap
Medford → Portland
$696
more / month in Portland
$2,331 in Portland · $1,635 in Medford · 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, 522 households moved Medford → Portland (avg AGI $57,874). 369 went the other way. The whole move →
+$696 / mo
| Per month | Medford | Portland | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $6,958 | $8,209 | +$1,251 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,928 | $2,408 | +$480 |
| Take-home pay | $5,030 | $5,801 | +$771 |
| Rent | $1,227 | $1,416 | +$189 |
| Getting around | $594 | $517 | −$77 |
| Groceries | $434 | $424 | −$10 |
| Healthcare | $488 | $477 | −$11 |
| Utilities | $271 | $265 | −$6 |
| Everything else | $380 | $371 | −$9 |
| Left over | $1,635 | $2,331 | +$696 |
To break even in Portland, you'd need to earn
$85,000
Household gross, versus $83,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Medford does now.
The tax difference alone
−$1,313
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 27.7% in Medford, 29.3% in Portland.
More about Portland
Medford, OR in full
State income tax topping out at 9.9%, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,461 and 204 sunny days; commutes average 19 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 → Medford →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Portland than Medford?
A one-bedroom is about $1,227 in Medford versus $1,416 in Portland. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $696 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 Medford 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 Medford 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.