Moving from California to Oregon
31,500 people moved from California to Oregon in 2024, the 19th busiest of the 57 interstate moves covered here; 17,954 moved the other way.
The year you move. You normally file part-year resident returns in both states: California taxes the income earned while you lived there and Oregon the income earned after you arrive, so neither full-year figure below is what you pay that year.
Local income tax at each end. California: no local income tax. Oregon: Two local personal income taxes apply in the Portland area, both collected by the City of Portland Revenue Division: the Metro Supportive Housing Services (SHS) tax and the Multnomah County Preschool for All (PFA) tax.
At $100,000 a single filer pays $2,237 a year for moving from California to Oregon — $186 a month. California charges $4,911 at that income and Oregon charges $7,148, an effective 4.91% against 7.15%. California vs Oregon, side by side.
The gap is not constant. At $50,000 it is $2,231; at $500,000 it is $3,913. Both states run a graduated schedule, so the gap moves slowly across the range.
The move priced at every income
State income tax in both jurisdictions for tax year 2026, at the standard tiers. Change the filing status to see how the answer moves.
| Income | California tax | Oregon tax | Change per year | Change per month | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $973 | $3,204 | +$2,231 | +$186 | 1.95% → 6.41% |
| $75,000 | $2,665 | $5,055 | +$2,390 | +$199 | 3.55% → 6.74% |
| $100,000 | $4,911 | $7,148 | +$2,237 | +$186 | 4.91% → 7.15% |
| $150,000 | $9,561 | $12,805 | +$3,245 | +$270 | 6.37% → 8.54% |
| $250,000 | $18,861 | $22,705 | +$3,845 | +$320 | 7.54% → 9.08% |
| $500,000 | $43,543 | $47,455 | +$3,913 | +$326 | 8.71% → 9.49% |
Want a figure for your own income? Open this pair in the moving calculator, which also takes Maryland county and New York City local taxes.
Both states at $100,000
California (leaving)
$100,000 · Single · TY2026Oregon (arriving)
$100,000 · Single · TY2026How many people make this move
31,500 people moved from California to Oregon in 2024, give or take 4,443 — the American Community Survey is a sample, and its margin of error on a flow this size is wide. That makes it the 19th busiest of the 57 interstate moves with a page of their own.
The traffic runs both ways: 17,954 people moved the other way, from Oregon to California, in the same year. That is a net 13,546 toward Oregon. The return trip has no page of its own; the moving calculator prices it.
Movers: U.S. Census Bureau, Table 1. State-to-State Migration Flows: 2024 (American Community Survey 1-year estimates) (retrieved 2026-09-23). Universe: population 1 year and over in the united states. Tax figures are computed from each state's own rate schedule and are unrelated to this dataset.
What else changes between California and Oregon
Local income tax. Oregon has localities that levy their own income tax; California does not, so the figures above understate what you would pay after the move. See what they cost.
Capital gains. A long-term gain meets a top rate of 13.30% in California and 9.90% in Oregon.
California, today: California is the plainest statement of the rule in the country and the most expensive. The Franchise Tax Board states: "California does not have a lower rate for capital gains. All capital gains are taxed as ordinary income." For 2026 the top bracket is 12.3%, and a 1% Behavioral Health Services Tax on taxable income over $1,000,000 takes the top to 13.3%, the highest rate on a long-term gain anywhere in the United States.
Oregon, after the move: Oregon taxes a capital gain on the ordinary schedule, up to 9.9%, among the highest top ordinary rates in the country. A reduced rate exists, but only for selling a farm. Compare every state.
Retirement income. Oregon: Oregon does not tax any amount of Social Security, Railroad Retirement Board or railroad unemployment benefits; amounts included in federal AGI are subtracted (ORS 316.054). Compare every state.
Direction of travel. California's top rate has not moved since 2021. Oregon's top rate has not moved since 2021. California history · Oregon history.
What this does not answer
State income tax only. Property tax, sales tax and housing costs usually matter more to a moving decision than the figures on this page, and none of them is here.
Rates are tax year 2026. Sources: California Franchise Tax Board and Oregon Department of Revenue. How we verify this data · Disclaimer