Metro Life Score
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA
Below-median composite Life Score — grade C+, 36th percentile of the national corpus.
- 46.2
- Life Score / 100
- C+
- Grade (curved)
- #249
- of 387 metros
- 36%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro is below-median composite Life Score — #249 of 387 (46.2/100, grade C+, 36th percentile). Carried by wages at 96/100; held back most by cost of living at 7/100.
- 36th
- composite percentile
- #249
- of 387 peers
- 7th
- cost dimension percentile
- 95th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · MID · RENT-SQUEEZE · signature wages
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro: pay power is the signature
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro stamps MID · RENT-SQUEEZE with wages at the 95th percentile of the metro corpus (PEAK) — ahead of its cost mark (CEILING, 7th) and composite #249. Wages (96/100) amplifies the lead; Cost of Living (7/100) is the residual gap. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA ranks #249 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #361 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 105.4 (rent-RPP 125.1). BLS median salary $79,572, 1,180,420 jobs (Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons, Stockers and Order Fillers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,922/mo (studio $1,570).
FBI UCR (OR): 335 violent, 2410 property/100K. NCES: 17.2:1 ratio, 9.8% charter. DOL infant childcare $12,639/yr. EPA: 21 Superfund sites (OR).
Where Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
46 36th percentile higher than 36% of 387 US metros
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 · August 2026
How the 46.2 is built
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are OR state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro With...
Ranking Context
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro outranks 36% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #246 | Watertown-Fort Drum, NY | 46.4 | C+ |
| #247 | Savannah, GA | 46.4 | C+ |
| #248 | Panama City-Panama City Beach, FL | 46.5 | C+ |
| #249 | Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | 46.2 | C+ |
| #250 | Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL | 46.2 | C+ |
| #251 | Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA | 46.2 | C+ |
| #252 | Sebastian-Vero Beach-West Vero Corridor, FL | 46.2 | C+ |
Quality vs. Affordability
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA is bottom 36% lowest-quality nationally but only bottom 7% least affordable among its composite-quality peers -- its Life Score is earned mostly outside the cost dimension, not through being a budget option.
OR Metro Scores
Read with Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro (MID · RENT-SQUEEZE · CEILING/PEAK), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL
ABS(composite) peer at 46.2 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C+ vs this page's MID · RENT-SQUEEZE · CEILING/PEAK.
Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA
ABS(composite) peer at 46.2 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C+ vs this page's MID · RENT-SQUEEZE · CEILING/PEAK.
Sebastian-Vero Beach-West Vero Corridor, FL
ABS(composite) peer at 46.2 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C+ vs this page's MID · RENT-SQUEEZE · CEILING/PEAK.
Muskegon-Norton Shores, MI
ABS(composite) peer at 46.1 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade C+ vs this page's MID · RENT-SQUEEZE · CEILING/PEAK.
Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 6/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CEILING vs this metro's CEILING.
Anchorage, AK (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 7/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CEILING vs this metro's CEILING.
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for MID · RENT-SQUEEZE · CEILING/PEAK - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro's middle-third Life Score
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro scores 46.2/100 overall, but Wages (95.6) and Cost of Living (6.7) sit 88.9 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Wages is the strongest of Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro's seven dimensions (weighted 20% in the composite); if it is your priority, this is where the metro earns its rank. See all seven dimensions
- Cost of Living is the weakest (weighted 20% in the composite); if it is a dealbreaker, weigh it before the ranking does. Rank metros on the composite
- Grants Pass is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Grants Pass
A middle-third composite is a weighted blend; individual dimensions can sit well above or below it.