($987) Movers From Albany, NY to Portland, ME

What to know before moving from Albany to Portland

Moving from Albany to Portland comes with exciting new opportunities — but also higher living costs. Since Portland is generally more expensive than Albany, it’s important to plan ahead and budget carefully for the change.

Check out how the two cities compare so you know what to expect before you relocate:

• Rent prices in Portland are 37% higher than in Albany, which means you’ll have less money in your pocket each month.
• In terms of homeownership, you’ll be able to get more for your money in Albany.
  Home prices in Portland are 92.5% higher than in Albany.
• Income in Portland is 3.6% lower than in Albany, so you could earn less for doing the same job. The top employers in Portland include TD Banknorth Inc, Maine Medical Center, and Unum Life Insurance Company of America.
• Be sure to budget for higher bills in Portland, since the cost of living for a single person in Portland is 38.3% higher than in Albany. This includes routine expenses like utilities, groceries, clothing, and transportation.
• If you’re moving your family to Portland, keep in mind that your living expenses could increase. The cost of living for a family in Portland is 44.1% higher than in Albany.
• The unemployment rate in Portland is 26.76% lower than in Albany.
• You’ll spend less on retail and restaurants in Portland, since the city’s sales taxes in Portland are 31.25% lower than in Albany.
• One perk of moving to Portland is paying less in state income taxes, which are 46.79% lower than in Albany.

To put this in perspective, you would need around $4,149.36 in Portland to maintain the same standard of life that you can have with $3,000.00 in Albany.

How life is different in Albany vs. Portland

• Portland might offer you a slower pace of life, since the population is about 31% less than Albany.
• Getting around Portland without a car might be more difficult than in Albany. Portland has a public transportation score of 6 out of 10, whereas Albany is ranked 8. Ratings are based on a city’s transit connectivity, service frequency, and accessibility to key destinations like jobs and grocery stores.
• You’ll find Portland to be about as walkable as Albany. The two cities have similar walkability scores of 62 and 65 respectively out of 100 in terms of how close housing is to businesses, recreational facilities, and jobs.
• If cycling is your thing, Portland is considered more bike-friendly than Albany in terms of designated lanes and connectivity and how many residents opt to commute on two wheels rather than by car. Portland has a bike-friendliness score of 68 out of 100, while Albany is rated as 55 out of 100.
• The crime rate in Portland is higher than in Albany, so you may want to exercise a little extra caution as you're acclimating to your new location. While the crime index is 32.16 in Portland, it is 10.0 in Albany. With this index, the lower the score, the better, since it indicates a city’s crime levels.
• You might find more confidence in your overall safety in Portland than in Albany, based on Portland’s safety index of 67.84 versus 49.65 for Albany. With this index, higher scores indicate more safety, particularly around how comfortable residents feel walking alone during the day and at night.
• The air quality in Portland and Albany is generally the same (Good). Cities with good to moderate ratings have clean or acceptable air quality, with the possibility of small pollutants affecting people with certain health conditions like asthma. Anything beyond the moderate rate means increased impact on residents.