Portland, OR vs Seattle, WA

At an air quality index of 35, Portland, OR and Seattle, WA sit on different ends of the 2024 scale, with Seattle’s 41 reading 17% higher. That gap places Portland in the 15th percentile for AQI and Seattle in the 42nd. Median age also diverges: Portland’s 38.6 years is 3.1 years older than Seattle’s 35.5, putting Portland in the 55th percentile and Seattle in the 29th. Distance to the coastline separates them sharply—Seattle sits at 0 mi, while Portland is 63 mi inland, a figure that ranks Portland in the 24th percentile. Similarly, Portland’s 239 mi to the international border is 2.5× higher than Seattle’s 95 mi.

2023 Census figures show median household income at $88,792 in Portland versus $121,984 in Seattle, a 37% difference that places Seattle in the 89th percentile and Portland in the 69th. Median rent follows the same pattern: $1,596 in Portland against $1,998 in Seattle, 25% higher, with percentiles of 74 and 91 respectively. The poverty rate runs opposite, with Portland at 12.8%—2.9 points higher than Seattle’s 9.9%—placing Portland in the 56th percentile and Seattle in the 41st. Per-capita income also differs substantially, at $55,312 versus $82,508, a 49% gap. Unemployment is identical at 4.2% for both, while job growth shows Seattle at -0.4% versus Portland’s -1.6%, a 1.2-point difference. Violent crime rates are nearly equal at 695 and 697 per 100,000, both in the 93rd percentile, though property crime in Portland runs 15% higher at 5,087 versus 4,424.