Is Portland Really Affordable? Here's What the Numbers Say

Thinking of moving to Portland? You might be surprised how it stacks up against LA, Seattle, San Francisco, and even Boise when it comes to cost of living, home prices, and taxes. In this episode, Joe and Makayla break down what affordability really means in Portland — not just in dollars, but in lifestyle, too.

Whether you’re relocating from a high-cost metro or just want a more balanced quality of life, this one’s for you. Get the unfiltered facts, some tax hacks, and a reality check on why Portland might be a hidden gem for buyers right now.

🎙️ Episode Summary

In this episode of Off the Record, Joe and Makayla dive into one of the hottest topics for buyers and sellers alike: affordability in Portland. With prices and rent on the rise across the West Coast, how does Portland truly compare to places like LA, Seattle, San Francisco, and Boise?

They break down living expenses for both individuals and families, uncover surprising truths about income and property taxes, and explain what makes Portland’s cost of living feel more livable. Bonus: Joe shares a clever cross-state shopping tax hack, and Makayla lays out why now might actually be a great time to buy.

🕑 Episode Highlights

00:01:00 – Why affordability is trending: Comparing Portland with San Francisco, LA, Seattle, and Boise.
00:03:15 – Monthly costs, broken down: Rent, groceries, and more for single folks and families of four.
00:07:30 – Quality of life perks: No sales tax, free outdoor access, bikeable neighborhoods, and strong public schools.
00:08:30 – The truth about Oregon taxes: What Portlanders do and don’t pay.
00:10:05 – Property taxes explained: How Portland compares and where you’ll find lower rates.
00:12:00 – Home price averages: What your money buys in Portland vs. the rest of the West Coast.
00:14:00 – Is now the time to buy? Joe and Makayla talk inventory, seller flexibility, and buyer leverage.

Hosted by Joe Reitzug and Makayla Mast, two experienced Portland-area real estate pros with the LivPortland team. Learn more at livportland.com.

🔗 Resources Mentioned

• 📊 Portland Affordability Blog Post: Can You Really Afford to Live in Portland?
• 🏡 Browse listings, contact the team, or explore more episodes at livportland.com

👉 Curious if Portland’s a fit for your budget and lifestyle? Reach out at livportland.com to connect with our team for a personalized consultation.

Thank you for listening to this episode. Stay up to date on the latest trends and insights by subscribing to our podcast and following us on social media.

For more information about buying or selling in the Portland Metro real estate market, please visit www.LivPortland.com or contact us directly.

We appreciate your feedback, so please leave a review and let us know what topics you would like to hear more about.

Transcript

00:00:08:18 - 00:00:25:16

Joe Reitzug

Welcome to Off the Record talking real estate with Joe and Makayla. If you're interested in the Portland, Oregon real estate market and want the unvarnished inside scoop, you've come to the right place. Thanks for giving us a listen. Okay. Hello, everyone.

00:00:25:17 - 00:00:26:14

Makayla Mast

Hello.

00:00:26:18 - 00:00:27:17

Joe Reitzug

Hi, Makayla.

00:00:27:18 - 00:00:28:13

Makayla Mast

How are you?

00:00:28:17 - 00:00:30:02

Joe Reitzug

I'm doing great. How about yourself?

00:00:30:02 - 00:00:34:19

Makayla Mast

Doing good. It's a Friday. It's the morning we never record in the morning.

00:00:34:21 - 00:00:36:18

Joe Reitzug

I know it's kind of crazy. It feels good.

00:00:36:20 - 00:01:02:20

Makayla Mast

It is? Yeah, I agree. I'm excited about our topic today. We wanted to dive into affordability in Portland, which we've talked about before, but we wanted to do kind of a wider lens looking at rental rates. Just total cost of living. And then of course, considering home prices and then comparing to other West Coast cities, because there seems to be a lot of buzz about that in the media right now.

00:01:02:20 - 00:01:04:19

Makayla Mast

So we wanted to take a look for you.

00:01:04:21 - 00:01:15:01

Joe Reitzug

Yeah. And I love the comparison to the rest of the West Coast, because I think Portland always fares really well. But, you know, it's important to take a look at that and see exactly what the numbers look like.

00:01:15:05 - 00:01:22:17

Makayla Mast

Right? Definitely. Yeah. We gotta hype Portland up. All the great reasons to live here. There's a lot. So we'll hit that too.

00:01:22:18 - 00:01:38:08

Joe Reitzug

There was a recent article. Wall Street Journal I think about the top ten cities whose economies are on the rise. And Portland made the list of the top ten. Nice. Do you believe that? No, no, I know crazy.

00:01:38:10 - 00:02:00:09

Makayla Mast

Love to hear it. Yeah, it seems like answers are mixed. So we will take a deep dive and let you know what we think. But we compare it to LA, San Francisco, Seattle and Boise. We have a lot of inbound and outbound people from Boise, which is interesting. Boise tends to be more affordable than Portland, but it's creeping up there because of everybody moving there.

00:02:00:09 - 00:02:04:02

Makayla Mast

So we thought that was interesting. Do you want to dive right in?

00:02:04:03 - 00:02:25:09

Joe Reitzug

Yeah. Let's do it. I love the comparison cities you have here because San Francisco and LA are are also feeder markets for us. Seattle has typically done really well with both back and forth. But Boise man it is. There's a ton of people leaving for Boise and very, very few coming back this way.

00:02:25:12 - 00:02:30:14

Makayla Mast

Yeah. It's like what do we have three sellers right now going to Boise or is it we're down to two.

00:02:30:16 - 00:02:32:14

Joe Reitzug

It was as high as four at one point.

00:02:32:16 - 00:02:32:23

Makayla Mast

Yeah.

00:02:32:23 - 00:02:33:22

Joe Reitzug

That was yeah.

00:02:34:03 - 00:02:38:09

Makayla Mast

So it's funny when the fourth person starts to tell you about about Boise. Really? Yeah.

00:02:38:11 - 00:02:38:18

Joe Reitzug

Yeah.

00:02:38:23 - 00:02:40:12

Makayla Mast

Yeah. We've heard.

00:02:40:14 - 00:02:45:00

Joe Reitzug

I'm fully aware. I've been out there. Have you been out there?

00:02:45:02 - 00:02:46:04

Makayla Mast

Yeah. Just once.

00:02:46:04 - 00:02:48:18

Joe Reitzug

Yeah, it's pretty cool. It's. It's a good.

00:02:48:18 - 00:02:54:04

Makayla Mast

Area. It is a nice city, and it's not quite as far to Portland as I thought it was. Yeah, six hours ish.

00:02:54:10 - 00:03:15:12

Joe Reitzug

Meridian. Eagle, all of those areas over there. Really nice setup. There's there's pros and cons. People always talk about, you know. Oh, it's great for this that and the other. But you never hear about oh but I can't go to the beach or I can't do this or I can't do that. So there's pluses and minuses to everything, but, yeah, a lot of happy people.

00:03:15:12 - 00:03:16:17

Makayla Mast

So of course.

00:03:16:17 - 00:03:24:21

Joe Reitzug

Yeah. Let's dive into it. Let's talk about affordability and what that looks like for average monthly cost of living.

00:03:24:21 - 00:03:25:03

Makayla Mast

Yeah.

00:03:25:03 - 00:03:33:12

Joe Reitzug

So and that includes rent or mortgage, utilities groceries and transportation for a single person in each city. Right.

00:03:33:14 - 00:03:47:09

Makayla Mast

Yeah. So we're just looking at a single person for this one. So for San Francisco, our considering average rent one bedroom, if the average is 3200, and then the total monthly living cost is around 5300.

00:03:47:11 - 00:03:56:06

Joe Reitzug

So 5300 on top of or not, that's with the rent included. Correct? Correct. Okay, great. What? What about.

00:03:56:06 - 00:04:23:17

Makayla Mast

La? La is saying 4600. Total monthly cost of living. Average rent 2700 Seattle. So you jump down to 2300. Average rent for a one bedroom. Total cost of living around 4000. And then sweet Portland. We're down to an average of 3300. And then average rent for a one bedroom is 1750. Okay. It's on the lower end. And then Boise average rent 1400.

00:04:23:18 - 00:04:26:17

Makayla Mast

Total monthly living cost 2800.

00:04:26:19 - 00:04:27:10

Joe Reitzug

Interesting.

00:04:27:10 - 00:04:32:07

Makayla Mast

Yeah. So we're on the the lower end there. Yeah. Which is good.

00:04:32:09 - 00:04:34:23

Joe Reitzug

5300 and San Francisco. Yeah.

00:04:34:23 - 00:04:36:02

Makayla Mast

Gross.

00:04:36:04 - 00:04:50:01

Joe Reitzug

Yeah. That I mean, I'd like to know what that equates to for what you need to have for a yearly salary. Right. You know what I mean? Yeah. That's got to be 200 K. Yeah. 230 K.

00:04:50:01 - 00:04:53:10

Makayla Mast

Yeah. I mean, San Francisco is pretty amazing.

00:04:53:10 - 00:04:54:18

Joe Reitzug

But yeah.

00:04:54:20 - 00:05:18:22

Makayla Mast

All things to consider. Then moving into a family of four. How does Portland stack up. So when you're moving with kids affordability takes on a whole new meaning. Obviously here factoring in bigger housing, childcare, groceries, transportation and health care. So we wanted to see how Portland measured up considering all of those things. The average monthly cost for a family of four, good golly.

00:05:18:22 - 00:05:26:14

Joe Reitzug

San Francisco 6100 for rent or mortgage rate.

00:05:26:16 - 00:05:28:19

Makayla Mast

Average. Yes yes yes yes. Sorry.

00:05:28:19 - 00:05:42:08

Joe Reitzug

And a total after you factor in everything else, you know, childcare, groceries, transportation, health care, everything 10,900 bucks a month in San Francisco. Yikes.

00:05:42:10 - 00:05:43:08

Makayla Mast

What hurts?

00:05:43:11 - 00:05:50:11

Joe Reitzug

That hurts. That doesn't. That's not going to leave a whole lot of discretionary money off that. Well, that's.

00:05:50:13 - 00:05:51:01

Makayla Mast

Bedroom.

00:05:51:03 - 00:06:03:20

Joe Reitzug

Right. So that's a family of four. Los Angeles 9600 Seattle 8700 Portland 7100. Which is still.

00:06:03:22 - 00:06:04:23

Makayla Mast

So much money.

00:06:05:04 - 00:06:13:00

Joe Reitzug

Yeah. Yeah. But trust me I've got a family of five. And yeah when you factor in groceries.

00:06:13:02 - 00:06:13:22

Makayla Mast

Yeah I believe.

00:06:13:23 - 00:06:31:08

Joe Reitzug

For big grown boys and health care and a transportation and insurance and all that sort of stuff, it is not cheap to live right now. No. And that's tough. That's really tough. Was yeah. Boise on the other hand came in at 6200 okay.

00:06:31:12 - 00:06:45:00

Makayla Mast

So almost I mean $1,000 less in Portland. That's pretty crazy considering. Yeah. Average rent in Portland and Boise for the three bedroom is only what I guess a $600 difference. So pretty significant.

00:06:45:02 - 00:07:03:09

Joe Reitzug

Yeah. Crazy numbers right now I gotta say Mac this is surprising me. This is a lot of numbers for you. I know I always get reprimanded for too many numbers too many stats. So I'm glad to see it. Well done.

00:07:03:11 - 00:07:07:22

Makayla Mast

Well, it's jarring to look at, so I thought it was worth sharing.

00:07:08:00 - 00:07:09:18

Joe Reitzug

Yeah, but you got to do the math, don't you?

00:07:09:20 - 00:07:35:14

Makayla Mast

Yeah, yeah. No, that's that's not my duty in our household. Yeah. So, you know, it's it's hard to stomach. We talk about how Portland does when on quality of life per dollar because there are so many assets. How much access to free parks, hiking and outdoor activities. There's no sales tax. So on big family purchases like shoes, appliances and school supplies, you're not paying sales tax on those items.

00:07:35:16 - 00:07:46:14

Makayla Mast

It's highly walkable and bikeable neighborhoods. Of course, if you're living in the downtown area and then a really strong network of public and alternative schools all over the area as well.

00:07:46:16 - 00:08:08:18

Joe Reitzug

And it's very centralized, which we hear all the time from people moving from different states, is that, you know, there's not this the spread of suburbia. It's very planned. You know, you're not going to see strip mall after strip mall, after strip mall like you might see in San Francisco and San Jose and some of those places, and certainly LA, which is nice.

00:08:08:22 - 00:08:16:00

Joe Reitzug

I like that I notice that big time when, you know, I was in LA earlier this year and it's just concrete jungle.

00:08:16:03 - 00:08:28:12

Makayla Mast

Yeah. Well, I'm just thinking about how long it takes to get anywhere and how that your transportation costs have to go up. And also, I'm not hiking through San Francisco on a rainy day. It is hilly.

00:08:28:12 - 00:08:32:00

Joe Reitzug

Yeah, it is a hilly bugger, isn't it. Let's do a little tax talk now.

00:08:32:02 - 00:08:33:07

Makayla Mast

So fun.

00:08:33:09 - 00:08:41:18

Joe Reitzug

So what you think you know versus reality. So misconception number one that you can fill us in on here Portland doesn't have an income tax.

00:08:41:19 - 00:09:04:07

Makayla Mast

Well Oregon has one of the highest state income taxes in the country believe it or not up to 9.9% for top earners. What people are often thinking of is Washington, which is just across the Columbia River. So I think Vancouver area, they have no state income tax. But if you live and work in Portland, you're going to be paying Oregon income taxes no matter what.

00:09:04:09 - 00:09:29:10

Joe Reitzug

Yes and no sales tax, but pretty sizable income tax. What Portland doesn't have is the sales tax, obviously. So when you're shopping for clothes, furniture or car, you're not adding that 8 to 10% like you would in LA or Seattle, San Francisco, the other cool thing is I was shopping in Vancouver the other day. Yeah. And the lady at the register asked me if I was an Oregon resident, and I said, yeah, I sure am.

00:09:29:11 - 00:09:34:20

Joe Reitzug

She said, oh, let me get your driver's license and we won't charge you sales tax on this.

00:09:34:22 - 00:09:39:05

Makayla Mast

Oh, I forget about that trick. Yeah. Let's start with that.

00:09:39:08 - 00:09:41:12

Joe Reitzug

I, I was down on the waterfront.

00:09:41:13 - 00:09:42:03

Makayla Mast

Oh, cool.

00:09:42:05 - 00:09:43:17

Joe Reitzug

Let's do a little birthday shopping.

00:09:43:17 - 00:10:05:16

Makayla Mast

Oh, yeah. So sweet. Yeah, that's a good little hack. Yeah. A lot of times, too. We have Ikea or just right over the river. So we we get a lot of people coming in from Washington. Yeah. Okay. Kids. Always a nightmare of people. Yeah. For that reason. So we, I think we have high property taxes here in Portland.

00:10:05:16 - 00:10:30:23

Makayla Mast

But considering, you know, comparing it against the other cities, we're not looking too bad. They're modest and they're capped by measure five and measure 50. What to limit annual increases. This can be a big win for long term homeowners. So the average property tax rate in San Francisco's 0.73%. But their values are also so high that that's very significant.

00:10:31:01 - 00:10:43:14

Makayla Mast

Also in LA it's 0.78%. Same thing. Pretty high values, Seattle 0.93%. And higher values than Portland. And then we're at 0.9 some pretty high. But we're.

00:10:43:14 - 00:10:48:12

Joe Reitzug

Capped. And this is is this the Portland metro area or is this the entire state.

00:10:48:16 - 00:10:50:13

Makayla Mast

This is Portland metro Portland metro.

00:10:50:13 - 00:11:13:08

Joe Reitzug

So if you're looking at Portland Metro, the difference between Multnomah County and Clackamas and Washington County is sizable. So if we were to just take Washington and Clackamas counties, my guess is that average property tax rate would probably be in, 0.7 something, right? Yeah, I.

00:11:13:08 - 00:11:13:21

Makayla Mast

Would think so.

00:11:13:22 - 00:11:20:22

Joe Reitzug

Yeah, yeah. And Multnomah would probably be who knows what. But that really jacks up the median on this. Yeah. That's so.

00:11:21:00 - 00:11:27:13

Makayla Mast

Yeah. We'll break that down for you and put it in the show notes. Yeah. Boise sweet Boise point six.

00:11:27:13 - 00:11:31:13

Joe Reitzug

Point 6%. Wow. That's going to go up though.

00:11:31:15 - 00:11:32:02

Makayla Mast

Yeah.

00:11:32:03 - 00:11:33:03

Joe Reitzug

It has to go up.

00:11:33:03 - 00:11:34:19

Makayla Mast

To to support all the.

00:11:34:21 - 00:11:44:08

Joe Reitzug

To support the infrastructure and everything that needs to go into the amount of population growth that they're seeing right now. So but that's still nice. Point six.

00:11:44:10 - 00:11:46:04

Makayla Mast

Yeah it definitely is.

00:11:46:06 - 00:12:03:08

Joe Reitzug

So you know we're looking at San Francisco at 0.73 and Los Angeles at 0.78. But let's look at the home prices. So if you look at average home prices for those areas, you know you're going to be getting taxed on a much higher number.

00:12:03:10 - 00:12:04:02

Makayla Mast

00:12:04:04 - 00:12:05:19

Joe Reitzug

Which is what for those places.

00:12:05:19 - 00:12:34:06

Makayla Mast

Like San Francisco, the average home price is between 1.35 and 1.5 million. Los Angeles is 950 to 1.1 million, Seattle is 850 to 950 which is higher than I thought. But of course that's living in proper downtown Seattle. And then Portland is 550 to 625. Yeah, which seems low to me, but, must be the average. And then Boise is 475 to 525.

00:12:34:09 - 00:12:56:12

Joe Reitzug

Yeah, yeah. So when you're looking at taxes on those numbers, all of a sudden that 0.73 on, you know, up to 1.5 million as an average in San Francisco. That makes it a little you know, it puts the perspective on what that amount is going to be versus point nine of 625 in Portland.

00:12:56:17 - 00:12:57:08

Makayla Mast

Right.

00:12:57:10 - 00:13:05:22

Joe Reitzug

So and like we said, there is such a difference between rates in Washington County and Clackamas County versus Multnomah.

00:13:06:02 - 00:13:34:07

Makayla Mast

Right. Exactly. Even just neighborhoods within Portland. Yeah, right. Like Mount Tabor Solid or Nunthorpe, you're going to be looking at very different prices. Can you afford to live in Portland? Depends on what you're comparing it to. So the honest breakdown you might struggle in Portland if you're expecting Boise prices with big city amenities. Gotta agree there. You're moving from a no income tax state and are surprised by Oregon's tax structure.

00:13:34:09 - 00:13:44:16

Makayla Mast

Or you're priced out of homeownership due to low inventory and rising interest rates, which I can comfortably say, I feel like it's becoming more of a buyer's market.

00:13:44:21 - 00:13:45:22

Joe Reitzug

100%.

00:13:46:04 - 00:14:09:06

Makayla Mast

Yeah, prices have softened and there's enough inventory out there to take your pick. Really. There's not. I wouldn't say there's a ton to look at, but there's more to look at than there has been in previous years. And sellers are more willing to negotiate on things like price credits or just repairs. So yeah, in our opinion, it's a really, really nice time to be a buyer in Portland.

00:14:09:07 - 00:14:18:05

Joe Reitzug

It's a good time to be a buyer, and there are almost no sellers out there that aren't willing to give a credit. So, you.

00:14:18:07 - 00:14:19:12

Makayla Mast

Know, it's expensive to.

00:14:19:15 - 00:14:28:18

Joe Reitzug

Yeah, you can get that interest rate by down plugged into your your offer price. And it's a really good situation. So I agree.

00:14:28:18 - 00:14:35:13

Makayla Mast

So yeah you might thrive in Portland if you're moving from San Francisco L.A. or Seattle or Hawaii.

00:14:35:13 - 00:14:44:18

Joe Reitzug

We have a new client that's moving from, Lahaina, Hawaii. Yeah. I'm very pleasantly surprised that the prices here.

00:14:44:20 - 00:14:46:06

Makayla Mast

That's always such a good feeling.

00:14:46:06 - 00:15:01:14

Joe Reitzug

Yeah. You also might thrive in Portland if you're working remotely and can afford a lower cost of living with great livability. Yeah, there's still a lot of companies that are allowing for remote work. You know, Portland Metro is a great spot for that.

00:15:01:16 - 00:15:25:09

Makayla Mast

Absolutely. So Portland isn't cheap, but it might be right for you. So affordability is obviously more than rent and taxes. It's access to the things that you love. Do you want to be next to nature? Do you love or hate traffic? My guess is you hate it. Do you love coffee or culture bar scenes? Whatever it is. Yeah, it could be a good spot for you to check out.

00:15:25:10 - 00:15:26:11

Makayla Mast

Consider moving to.

00:15:26:15 - 00:15:54:11

Joe Reitzug

And we're more than happy to sit down either together in person or via zoom. Talk about some of these things, and also talk about what's most important to you and what you're looking for, and try to get an idea of what the best fit would be, whether it's just Portland Metro in general, or whether it's parts of Portland, which parts are going to be more affordable, which parts are going to be the best fit for you, cost of living wise or style of living, all of that.

00:15:54:11 - 00:16:23:06

Joe Reitzug

There's so many different options. And, a big part of what we do as professional brokers is help people with finding the right fit. So it's not just about affordability, it's also about livability and fit and culture and those type of things. So happy to do that. You can visit livportland.com, and click on podcast or blog and see our latest episode and get the show notes in there.

00:16:23:06 - 00:16:27:06

Joe Reitzug

Or you can go to the website and reach out to us from there.

00:16:27:08 - 00:16:29:09

Makayla Mast

Sounds good. Yeah. All right.

00:16:29:09 - 00:16:30:20

Joe Reitzug

Thank you. So good to see you.

00:16:30:21 - 00:16:32:20

Makayla Mast

Good to see you too. Thanks for listening.

00:16:32:22 - 00:16:36:01

Joe Reitzug

Thanks, guys. Have a good day. I'm.

00:16:36:03 - 00:16:49:01

Makayla Mast

Thanks for joining us today. If you're interested in finding out more about Joe, myself or the livportland team, you can go to livportland.com. Thanks for giving us a listen and see you next time on the Off the Record podcast.