Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro → Detroit-Warren-Dearborn
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro to Detroit-Warren-Dearborn is favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 105.4 to 100.3 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $511/mo.
- -$8,269
- BLS median salary lower in Detroit-Warren-Dearborn
- 335 to 431
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 17.2:1 to 16.7:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $5,195
- DOL infant care lower / yr in Detroit-Warren-Dearborn
BEA Regional Price Parity, HUD Fair Market Rent, BLS OEWS, FBI UCR, NCES, and DOL. The table below lets you override the composite with your own priorities.
Pros of Moving
- + 5% lower cost of living
- + $511/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
- + More affordable childcare
- + Fewer environmental violations
Cons of Moving
- - $8K lower median salary
- - Higher violent crime rate
Purchasing power stays near-even: BEA RPP moves only from 105.4 to 100.3 (ratio 0.95), inside a ±5% band. HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent drops $511/mo ($6,132/yr) from $1,922 in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro to $1,411 in Detroit-Warren-Dearborn.
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn leads on 5 of 7 federal dimensions, a destination-heavy ledger. Detroit-Warren-Dearborn sits #346 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (bottom third of the corpus). Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro is #231/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $8,269 lower ($79,572 → $71,303). Labor-market size: 1,180,420 tracked jobs at origin vs 1,883,860 at destination.
State retirement friendliness favors the destination: Michigan scores 49 (F, #42/51) vs Oregon at 41 (F, #49/51). Full state tax and healthcare sub-scores sit in the retirement desk below.
State retirement friendliness
Primary-state scores from PlainRelocate's retirement registry (tax + healthcare + climate composite). Metro pairs use each metro's primary state abbreviation.
- Income tax
- 62
- Property tax
- 64
- Estate tax
- 50
- Healthcare
- 14
- Income tax
- 72
- Property tax
- 59
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 16
Full retirement ranking · Source composite documented on methodology (Tax Foundation + AARP tax guides + federal healthcare/climate inputs).
Salary Adjustment Calculator
Enter your current salary in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro to see what you'd need to earn in Detroit-Warren-Dearborn to maintain the same purchasing power.
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn metro profile · Livability rankings · Methodology
Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA; retirement desk: Tax Foundation + AARP tax guides June 2026