Portland-South Portland → Colorado Springs

Moving from Portland-South Portland to Colorado Springs shifts your BEA Regional Price Parity from 101.9 to 100.7 (100 = US average), so a Portland-South Portland salary needs to be multiplied by 0.99 to hold the same purchasing power in Colorado Springs. On rent, HUD Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom goes from $1,833/month in Portland-South Portland to $1,735/month in Colorado Springs - a lower monthly bill of $98, or $1,176/year. That rent delta alone is often the single biggest line item when relocating.

Wages tell the other half. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics report a median salary of $75,121 in Portland-South Portland versus $72,907 in Colorado Springs - a raw gap of $2,214 lower. The Colorado Springs labor market has 304,920 tracked jobs against 273,870 in Portland-South Portland, shaping how easy it is to find a comparable role. Combine that with the cost-of-living shift above and you get the real purchasing-power delta, sometimes a "higher salary" is actually a pay cut once rent and RPP are applied.

Safety, schools, and childcare round out the move. FBI UCR violent crime rates near Portland-South Portland and Colorado Springs are 102 and 481 per 100,000 (state-level). NCES student-teacher ratios run 11.1:1 at origin versus 16.6:1 at destination. DOL center-based infant care costs $11,325/year in Portland-South Portland versus $12,821/year in Colorado Springs. Our composite verdict - Unfavorable - weighs all seven federal sources; the dimension table below lets you override that with your personal priorities.