✦ Compare
Manchester vs
Portland
Cost-of-living comparison and salary equivalence. Enter your current salary to see what you'd need to earn to live equally well.
To keep the same standard of living in Portland, OR, you'd need
$73,102 / year
Portland, OR is 3% cheaper overall
Category breakdown (Portland, OR vs Manchester, UK)
- Housing+8%
- Food & groceries-12%
- Transport+8%
- Utilities-31%
- Healthcare+19%
- Goods & services-8%
Median 1-bed rent
$1,100 /mo
Manchester, UK overview →
Median 1-bed rent
$1,600 /mo
Portland, OR overview →
◎ How Manchester, UK and Portland, OR compare
Index vs the US average — the line marks 100. Lower is cheaper.
▤ Full comparison
| Manchester, UK | Portland, OR | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost of living | ||
| Overall cost index | 109 | 107 |
| Housing | 118 | 127 |
| Food | 110 | 97 |
| Transport | 92 | 99 |
| Utilities | 122 | 84 |
| Healthcare | 85 | 101 |
| Goods & services | 110 | 101 |
| Housing | ||
| Rent, 1-bed centre | $1,100/mo | $1,600/mo |
| Rent, 1-bed outside | $820/mo | $1,300/mo |
| Rent, 3-bed centre | $2,100/mo | $3,000/mo |
| Buy price / m² centre | $4,500 | $5,200 |
| Money & purchasing power | ||
| $1,000 goes as far as | $914 | $937 |
| Inexpensive meal | $18 | $18 |
| Monthly transit pass | $85 | $100 |
| Taxes | ||
| Income tax (top rate) | 45% | 37% |
| VAT / sales tax | 20% | 0% |
| Social security (employee) | 8% | 7.7% |
| Corporate tax | 25% | 21% |
| Capital gains | 24% | 20% |
| Economy & salaries | ||
| Avg net salary | $2,900/mo | $4,300/mo |
| Minimum wage | $2,050/mo | $1,257/mo |
| GDP per capita | $57,602 | $90,027 |
| Inflation (annual) | 3.9% | — |
| Work & digital nomad | ||
| Digital-nomad visa | No | No |
| English proficiency | Native | Native |
| Coworking spaces | 40 | 45 |
| Time zone | UTC+0 | UTC-8 |
| Quality of life | ||
| Safety index | 55 | 55 |
| Healthcare index | 80 | 78 |
| Pollution index | 42 | 35 |
| Internet speed | 140 Mbps | 200 Mbps |
| Walkability | 80 | 67 |
| Public transport | 72 | 62 |
| Family-friendly | 68 | 64 |
| Tap water | Safe to drink | Safe to drink |
| Health insurance | — | $450/mo |
| Life expectancy | 81 yr | 79 yr |
| LGBTQ+ acceptance | High | High |
| Climate | ||
| January avg | +4 °C | +5 °C |
| July avg | +16 °C | +20 °C |
| Sunny days / year | 100 | 144 |
| Rainfall / year | 870 mm | 940 mm |
| Connectivity | ||
| Flight to nearest hub | 1 h | 1.5 h |
Taxes & Economy & salaries: United Kingdom vs United States. Estimates use approximate cost-of-living indices (US average = 100) and are for general guidance only.
Good to know before you move to Manchester
The capital of the UK's north — a music-and-football city reinventing itself as a fast-growing media and tech hub. Rents run roughly half of London's, the crowd is young and the nightlife serious; the trade-off is the famously grey, wet weather.
- Currency
- Pound sterling (£ GBP)
- Languages
- English
- Time zone
- UTC+0
- Internet
- 140 Mbps
- English
- Native language
- Safety
- 55/100
- Climate
- ❄ 4°C · ☀ 16°C · 100 sunny days/yr
- Tap water
- Safe to drink
- Power
- G · 230V
- Driving
- Left-hand side
- Popular areas
- Northern Quarter · Ancoats · Didsbury · Chorlton
Good to know before you move to Portland
Green, quirky and bike-friendly with no sales tax — grey, rainy winters are the trade-off.
- Currency
- US dollar ($ USD)
- Languages
- English
- Time zone
- UTC-8
- Internet
- 200 Mbps
- English
- Native language
- Safety
- 55/100
- Climate
- ❄ 5°C · ☀ 20°C · 144 sunny days/yr
- Tap water
- Safe to drink
- Power
- A/B · 120V
- Driving
- Right-hand side
- Popular areas
- Pearl District · Alberta · Hawthorne
Plan your move to Manchester
Everything you will book for the move — sorted, and updated as we add partners.
- FlightsCheapvuelos
- FlightsAviasales
- HotelsNH Hotels
- Car rentalEconomybookings
- Airport transferKiwitaxi
- Tours & ticketsKlook
- Tours & ticketsTiqets
- InsuranceSafetyWing
- eSIM / dataAiralo
- Luggage storageRadical Storage
- Flight compensationAirHelp
Sponsored
Plan your move to Portland
Everything you will book for the move — sorted, and updated as we add partners.
- FlightsCheapvuelos
- FlightsAviasales
- HotelsNH Hotels
- Car rentalEconomybookings
- Airport transferKiwitaxi
- Tours & ticketsKlook
- eSIM / dataAiralo
- Luggage storageRadical Storage
- Parking & carWay.com
Sponsored
? Frequently asked questions
Moving from Manchester to Portland: cheaper or more expensive?
Moving from Manchester to Portland, your cost of living will be roughly 3% cheaper. Portland’s cost-of-living index is 107 versus 109 for Manchester (US = 100). Use the salary tool above to see the income you’d need to keep the same lifestyle.
Is Manchester cheaper than Portland?
Portland is about 3% cheaper than Manchester overall — its cost-of-living index is 107 versus 109 for Manchester.
How much do you need to earn in Portland to live like in Manchester?
To keep the same standard of living, a $75,000 salary in Manchester is worth about $73,102 in Portland. Enter your own figure in the calculator above.
Which has lower taxes, Manchester or Portland?
United States has the lower top income-tax rate — 37% versus 45% in United Kingdom.
◷ More comparisons from Manchester
Estimates use approximate cost-of-living indices (US average = 100) and are for general guidance only.