Durham vs Portland
Metro-area medians — Durham-Chapel Hill, NC Metro Area vs Portland-South Portland, ME Metro Area — not the cities proper.
Portland comes out ahead, winning 5 of the 9 clearly-decided measures.
Durham is about 4% cheaper to live in, while Portland households earn about 11% more. Adjusted for local prices, a typical paycheck stretches further in Portland.
Their widest everyday difference: Portland has cleaner air on a typical day — a median AQI of 39 versus 51.
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, Durham leaves you about $3,659/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 Durham for
- + Cost of living (price level, US = 100)
- + Median home value
- + Bachelor's degree or higher
- + Average commute
Choose Portland for
- + Livability (CityLedger)
- + Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
- + Median household income
- + Unemployment
- + Air quality (median AQI)
More comparisons
Metros closest to Durham and Portland on cost, income, size, and education.
Durham vs Portland — frequently asked
- Is Durham cheaper than Portland?
- Durham is cheaper: its overall cost of living runs about 4% below Portland's (BEA Regional Price Parities).
- Which has higher household income, Durham or Portland?
- Portland has the higher median household income — $93,062 versus $83,542 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS), about 11% more.
- Does a paycheck go further in Durham or Portland?
- A paycheck stretches further in Portland. Adjusted for local prices, the median income is worth $91,364 there versus $85,621 in Durham.
- Which has cheaper rent, Durham or Portland?
- Rents are close — $1,598/mo in the Durham metro versus $1,590/mo in Portland (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).