Charleston vs Portland
Metro-area medians — Charleston-North Charleston, SC Metro Area vs Portland-South Portland, ME Metro Area — not the cities proper.
Portland comes out ahead, winning 7 of the 8 clearly-decided measures.
Charleston and Portland cost about the same to live in, but Portland households earn about 3% more. Adjusted for local prices, a typical paycheck stretches about as far in either.
Their widest everyday difference: Portland is more educated — 48.1% of adults hold a bachelor's degree versus 42.2%.
For your salary & household
Enter your pay and household size to see what it's really worth here — the numbers update live and the link stays shareable.
On $75,000 for just you, Charleston leaves you about $1,375/yr better off after tax and local prices.
Take-home estimates a single filer taking the standard deduction (2025 federal brackets, FICA, and state income tax) and isn't tax advice. “Real value” rebases take-home to average U.S. prices using the BEA cost-of-living index; the per-person figure uses the OECD square-root equivalence scale.
Choose Portland for
- + Livability (CityLedger)
- + Median household income
- + Median rent
- + Unemployment
- + Bachelor's degree or higher
- + Average commute
- + Air quality (median AQI)
More comparisons
Metros closest to Charleston and Portland on cost, income, size, and education.
Charleston vs Portland — frequently asked
- Is Charleston cheaper than Portland?
- They are about even — the overall cost of living in the Charleston and Portland metros is within 3% of each other (BEA Regional Price Parities), so neither is meaningfully cheaper.
- Which has higher household income, Charleston or Portland?
- Portland has the higher median household income — $93,062 versus $90,307 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS), about 3% more.
- Does a paycheck go further in Charleston or Portland?
- It is roughly a wash. After adjusting income for local prices, a typical paycheck is worth about the same in both metros ($89,447 versus $91,364).
- Which has cheaper rent, Charleston or Portland?
- Portland has cheaper rent — a median of $1,590/mo versus $1,714/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).