PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Portland-South Portland, ME

45.5
Life Score / 100
C
Grade (curved)
#266
of 387 metros
31%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census

The verdict

Portland ranks #266 of 387 US metros, ahead of 31% - carried by its safety (91/100) and held back most by schools (1/100).

91
strongest: Safety
80
then: Wages
1
weakest: Schools
7
weighted dimensions

Where Portland sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

46 31th percentile higher than 31% of 387 US metros

25–30: 1 US metros (0%). Below this entry. 30–35: 16 US metros (4%). Below this entry. 35–40: 46 US metros (12%). Below this entry. 40–45: 53 US metros (14%). Below this entry. 45–50: 81 US metros (21%). This entry sits in this band. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). Above this entry. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). Above this entry. 60–65: 40 US metros (10%). Above this entry. 65–70: 12 US metros (3%). Above this entry. 70–75: 3 US metros (1%). Above this entry. This metro 25 75 every US metro, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainCompare composite of BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, EPA data · May 2026

How the score is built

Reading the Portland Life Score

Portland's composite score of 45.5 out of 100, a grade of C, places the metro at rank #266 of 387, ahead of 31% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Safety (91/100) and Wages (80/100), which pull the composite upward, while Schools (1/100) and Rent (13/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 101.9 (rent-RPP 105.2). BLS median salary $75,121, 273,870 jobs (Retail Salespersons, Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Fast Food and Counter Workers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,833/mo (studio $1,264).

FBI UCR (ME): 102 violent, 1149 property/100K. NCES: 11.1:1 ratio, 2.3% charter. DOL infant childcare $11,325/yr. EPA: 16 Superfund sites (ME). Ranks #263-#269 below.

Dimension detail

How Portland scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 15/100 (20%)
Wages 80/100 (20%)
Rent 13/100 (15%)
Safety 91/100 (15%)
Schools 1/100 (10%)
Childcare 36/100 (10%)
Environment 72/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

101.9
Cost Index (RPP)
$75,121
Avg Median Salary
$1,833
2BR Fair Market Rent
102
Violent Crime/100K (ME)
11.1:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$11,325
Infant Childcare/yr (ME)
16
Superfund Sites (ME)
273,870
Total Employment

Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level where metro-specific data is unavailable.

Compare Portland With...

Portland vs Lewiston Compare → Portland vs Bangor Compare → Portland vs Wildwood Compare → Portland vs Waterloo Compare → Portland vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Portland outranks 31% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#263 Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA 45.7 C+
#264 Farmington, NM 45.7 C+
#265 Charleston-North Charleston, SC 45.7 C+
#266 Portland-South Portland, ME 45.5 C
#267 Kansas City, MO-KS 45.5 C
#268 North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL 45.5 C
#269 Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV 45.4 C

ME Metro Scores

Lewiston-Auburn, ME C+ 46.8 Bangor, ME C 41.9

Using Portland's Life Score

Portland is a regional baseline, not a neighborhood reading, use it to shortlist, then dig into the dimensions that matter to you.

  • Its strongest dimension is safety (91/100) and its weakest is schools (1/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Portland head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Portland lands on the national rankings for cost, safety, pay and more. Browse rankings

Scores summarize federal data at the metro level; crime, schools and cost vary widely within a single metro.

Explore more

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Portland's biggest strengths? ▼
Portland's strongest dimensions are Safety (91/100), Wages (80/100), Environment (72/100). Safety is top-tier nationally.
What are Portland's weakest areas? ▼
Portland's lowest-scoring dimensions are Schools (1/100), Rent (13/100), Cost of Living (15/100). Schools weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Portland compared to the national average? ▼
Portland's Regional Price Parity is 101.9 (1.9% more than national); rent RPP 105.2.
What is the average salary in Portland? ▼
Portland median salary: $75,121, 273,870 jobs. Top: Retail Salespersons, Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Fast Food and Counter Workers.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Portland's 45.5/100 blends 7 federal-data dimensions - see our methodology page for the weighting.

Research Guides

Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.

Related

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

All federal data sources used on this page
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - multi-dimension demographic + housing + income aggregates for cross-area comparison. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • BEA Regional Economic Accounts - GDP, personal income, employment by state and metro. bea.gov/data/regional
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) - wage estimates for comparable-area indexing. bls.gov/oes
  • FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) - crime statistics for safety-score component. fbi.gov/ucr
  • NCES Common Core of Data - public-school quality indicators by area. nces.ed.gov/ccd
  • EPA AirNow + Air Quality System (AQS) - air-quality measurements by area. epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data
  • HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR) - county and metro housing-cost indicators. huduser.gov/datasets/fmr

Every figure on PlainCompare is loaded directly from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OEWS, NCES, DOL, EPA, and the Census Bureau, no number is typed in by an editor. This metro's Life Score is computed directly from the 7 federal sources cited above. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026.