Portland vs Medford
Side-by-side comparison across six federal data streams. Portland and Medford tie on composite MoveScore (74).
| Metric | Portland | Medford |
|---|---|---|
| MoveScore (Composite) | 74/100 (B) | 74/100 (B) |
| Safety (FBI UCR) | 78/100 (B) | N/A |
| Violent Crime / 100k | 209 | N/A |
| Water (EPA SDWIS) | 78/100 (B) | 83/100 (A) |
| Air (EPA AQS median AQI) | N/A | N/A |
| Schools (NCES) | N/A | N/A |
| Fiscal Health (Census) | 63/100 · $23,675 pc | 70/100 · $12,307 pc |
| Hospitals (CMS HCAHPS) | 3.9/5 · 9 tracked | 3.5/5 · 2 tracked |
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is a better place to live, Portland or Medford?
Portland and Medford tie on composite MoveScore (74). The honest answer depends on what you weight most. Portland and Medford each have different strengths across the six federal data streams — see the breakdown above and decide which trade-offs fit your priorities.
Are Portland and Medford in the same state?
Yes, both cities are in Oregon.
Where does the data come from?
All sub-scores trace to federal government sources: FBI UCR for safety, EPA SDWIS for water, EPA AQS for air, NCES/EDFacts for schools, Census ASPEP for fiscal health, and CMS HCAHPS for hospitals.
Side-by-side comparisons use the same six federal data streams as full city profiles. Bold entries indicate the better value on each metric.
Comparing entity A and entity B on U.S. city relocation factors — cost, climate, wages, crime, education requires lining up the underlying federal datasets including BLS, Census ACS, FBI Crime Data, NOAA Climate Normals, and NCES data side by side. The table above runs the comparison on the canonical fields; the narrative below identifies the factor or factors that drive the most meaningful difference between the two.
For households or analysts using this comparison as a decision input, the right framing is usually not "which is better" in aggregate but "which is better for the specific decision in front of you." federal datasets including BLS, Census ACS, FBI Crime Data, NOAA Climate Normals, and NCES captures the raw data; the framing depends on whether the question is investment, residency, planning, or research.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (cost), Census Bureau ACS, FBI UCR, NOAA, 2026.