2025 Compare Cities Cost of Living:
Birmingham, AL vs Portland, OR

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Highlights
Is it cheaper to live in Portland or is it cheaper to live in Birmingham?
- Portland is 46.8% more expensive than Birmingham.

Which city has more affordable housing, Portland or Birmingham?
- Portland housing costs are 579.3% more expensive than Birmingham housing costs.

Is Health Care more affordable in Birmingham or is Health Care more affordable in Portland.
- Health related expenses are 25.7% less in Portland.
 Birmingham, ALPortland, ORUnited States
 Overall  Unlock127.7100
 Food & Groceries93.3  Unlock100
 Health  Unlock90.6100
 Housing27.1  Unlock100
 Median Home Cost  Unlock$537,200$338,100
 Utilities101  Unlock100
 Transportation  Unlock129.9100
 Miscellaneous82.6  Unlock100
100 = National Average (Below 100 means cheaper than the US average. Above 100 means more expensive.)
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Reviews for Birmingham    25 Reviews

Birmingham is better than ever, meaning it is beginning to gain half of the stuff a normal city of its size has. The food scene is definitely an exception and is above  More

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Lived in the Birmingham for years. The small city was divided by the historical train tracks into the north half and the south one. The north section was the  More

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Over 5 years ago

I moved to Birmingham 6.5 years ago for a new job. The city is very boring in my opinion, there isn't much to do over the weekend except shopping or eating out. Summer  More

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Reviews for Portland    386 Reviews

I lived in Portland for 19 years (I've also lived in Boise, ID, the Bay Area, Austin, TX and now Nampa, ID). It drives me nuts when people try to give a large city a  More

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One of the best cities in America. Food scene is the best in the world. Weather is preferable over places where you have the same weather year round. I enjoy the  More

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I moved from Houston to Portland about a year ago. I remember reading the reviews on here and it making me second guess moving before I did, so I wanted to come back and  More

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