California vs Oregon
Your $100,000 in California is worth
$90,334
at national prices · RPP 110.7BEA RPP SARPPSource: BEA Regional Price Parities · SARPP · 2024 vintage · released February 2026 · Official API
The same income in Oregon is worth
$96,712
at national prices · RPP 103.4BEA RPP SARPPSource: BEA Regional Price Parities · SARPP · 2024 vintage · released February 2026 · Official API
Your income goes +$6,378 further in Oregon (+7.1% purchasing power).
Show the math
Where the difference comes from
Price level by component, 100 = US average. Higher means more expensive.
| Component | California | Oregon | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| All items | 110.7 | 103.4 | −6.6% |
| Housing rents | 154.3 | 108.6 | −29.6% |
| Goods | 106.1 | 105.3 | −0.8% |
| Utilities | 158.9 | 107.0 | −32.7% |
| Other services | 102.6 | 100.3 | −2.2% |
BEA Regional Price Parities · SARPP · 2024 · rel. February 2026 · Official API
Housing reality check
Typical rent and home price in each state — tangible context beyond the index.
US Census ACS 5-Year Estimates · ACS5 · 2024 · rel. December 2025 · Official API
Tax at a glance
Hand-curated, tax year 2026 · verified 2026-07-20
| Tax | California | Oregon |
|---|---|---|
| Income tax (top rate) | 13.30% | 9.90% |
| Sales tax (combined avg) | 8.99% | 0.00% |
Tax Foundation (income & sales) · Tax · 2026 · rel. tax year 2026 · Manually maintained · verified 2026-07-20
California vs Oregon: the read
The bottom line
Move a $100,000 income from California to Oregon and its purchasing power changes from $90,334 to $96,712 in national-average terms — a gain of $6,378. Oregon is the cheaper of the two, running at 103.4 on the price index versus 110.7.
Where the difference comes from
The widest gap is utilities: California sits at 158.9 and Oregon at 107 (100 = national). Oregon has the edge there, and it's the main reason the two states diverge.
Housing
Median rent runs $2,036 in California against $1,525 in Oregon, and the typical home $734,700 versus $477,600. Oregon is the more affordable place to buy.
Taxes
On tax, California has 13.30% top income tax and a combined sales tax of 8.99%; Oregon has 9.90% top income tax and 0.00%. Weigh both against the purchasing-power figure above.
Full profiles: California ·Oregon. Every figure here is sourced on the pages linked above.
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