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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
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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: 17.6:1 ratio, 10.1% 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

25–30: 1 US metros (0%). Below this entry. 30–35: 7 US metros (2%). Below this entry. 35–40: 34 US metros (9%). Below this entry. 40–45: 66 US metros (17%). Below this entry. 45–50: 91 US metros (24%). This entry sits in this band. 50–55: 77 US metros (20%). Above this entry. 55–60: 60 US metros (16%). Above this entry. 60–65: 44 US metros (11%). Above this entry. 65–70: 6 US metros (2%). Above this entry. 70–75: 1 US metros (0%). 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 · August 2026

Dimension detail

How Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 7/100 (20%)
Wages 96/100 (20%)
Rent 11/100 (15%)
Safety 49/100 (15%)
Schools 78/100 (10%)
Childcare 24/100 (10%)
Environment 66/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

105.4
Cost Index (RPP)
$79,572
Avg Median Salary
$1,922
2BR Fair Market Rent
335
Violent Crime/100K (OR)
17.6:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$12,639
Infant Childcare/yr (OR)
21
Superfund Sites (OR)
1,180,420
Total Employment

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...

Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro vs Grants Pass Compare → Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro vs Salem Compare → Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro vs Bend Compare → Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro vs Paducah Compare → Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro vs Pocatello Compare → Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro vs Wildwood Compare →

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+

OR Metro Scores

Grants Pass, OR C+ 47.6 Salem, OR C+ 47.3 Bend, OR C+ 46.8 Albany, OR C 45.4 Eugene-Springfield, OR C 45.4 Medford, OR C 45.1

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.

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

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro Life Score 46.2/100 · signature wages · retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare

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