California and Oregon at a glance
California and Oregon share a border, but a paycheck does not travel across it unchanged. A $60,000 salary leaves $13,216 a year after taxes and the four basics in California and $22,113 in Oregon.
Oregon comes out ahead by $8,897 a year ($741 a month). The calculation starts from the same gross pay in both states, subtracts federal tax, Social Security and Medicare, then each state's own income tax, and then the population-weighted cost of a one-bedroom rental, groceries, home energy and gasoline across 39,287,377 people in 58 counties in California and 4,254,293 people in 36 counties in Oregon.
Taxes: what each paycheck loses
Federal income tax ($5,072) and FICA ($4,590) on $60,000 are the same on both sides of the border. State income tax takes $1,696 in California and $4,002 in Oregon, which leaves take-home pay of $48,642 and $46,336.
At $100,000
At $100,000 take-home pay is $73,723 in California and $71,699 in Oregon, a difference of $2,024. The gap does not widen much with income because the two states tax at similar rates.
Living costs
One-bedroom rent averages $2,151 a month in California and $1,397 in Oregon, so Oregon is $755 a month cheaper for housing. Food costs $3,436 a year in both, because the USDA Thrifty Food Plan is a national figure; home energy $4,129 and $2,148, and gasoline $2,047 and $1,879. Together the basics cost $35,427 a year in California and $24,223 in Oregon.
What the Census adds
Median household income is $99,122 in California and $83,011 in Oregon. Homeowners pay a median of $5,124 a year in property tax in California and $3,876 in Oregon. Commuters travel 28.7 minutes each way on average in California and 23.0 in Oregon.
Method
Taxes use the 2025 rules for a single filer with wage income only and the standard deduction. Housing and living costs are county figures from HUD (one-bedroom Fair Market Rent), the USDA Thrifty Food Plan and state energy prices from the Energy Information Administration, averaged across each state's counties and weighted by population, so large counties count more. Local income taxes are not included. Counties differ widely inside every state, so use the county pages for a specific place.