via Rentcafe
The good news:
- Utility bills in Portland ($345) cost less than the national averages, making it easier for renters to manage their disposable income compared to their peers in other regional markets such as Eugene, OR.
- In fact, after paying rent, the median income in Portland ($53,589) is enough to cover 7.9 times the value of basic utility bills — such as phone and energy — or 38.5 times the value of essential food products at the supermarket. To compare, the national median stands at $49,201.
The Bad News: - Why didn’t Portland rank higher? Even if the city fares well in terms of basic living expenses, Portland landed at #100 for its income-to-rent ratio and at #104 for its income-to-transportation ratio, which are less favorable metrics impacting its overall ranking.
The criteria: Median income, average rent and average prices for basic necessities in 189 U.S. cities. An income-to-rent ratio for each city to show how much higher the monthly income was compared to the monthly rent. Next, the disposable income left after paying rent to see how well this amount could cover the local price of typical expenses in several categories each month, including:
- Utilities: phone and energy bills
- Food: bread, milk, eggs, steak, banana, frozen meal, chips etc.
- Healthcare: one doctor’s visit, one dentist’s check-up, one optometrist’s visit and over-the-counter medicine
- Transportation: one gallon of gasoline and tire balancing services
- Goods & services: a couple of clothing items, a movie ticket, a yoga session, a haircut, a beauty salon visit, dry cleaning, etc.
