# Cork vs Porto

> On balanced weights, Porto comes out ahead: 61 against 52 out of 100, mostly on nice days and research output. Reference profile: one person, €60,000 gross a year, a one-bedroom home, everyday spending of €1,200 a month in Lisbon scaled by each country's price level, balanced weights. Figures as of 2026-11-05. Canonical page: https://borgo.abcastor.com/compare/cork-ie-vs-porto-pt/

Scores out of 100: Cork 52, Porto 61. Make it yours: https://borgo.abcastor.com/?cities=cork-ie,porto-pt

## Line by line

| Line | Cork | Porto |
|---|---|---|
| Money left each month | €3,744 take-home a month | €3,204 take-home a month |
| Cost of living | €3,177 a month (RTB Average Monthly Rent Report (RIA02); World Development Indicators) | Add your rent (World Development Indicators) |
| Nice days | 8 nice days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 88 nice days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Winter daylight | 7 h 45 min | 9 h 12 min |
| Sunshine | 1,461 h a year (WMO Climatological Standard Normals 1991-2020) | 2,529 h a year (Meteostat climate normals) |
| Dry days | 171 wet days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 127 wet days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Clean air | 6.4 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database v8.0 (2026)) | 9.4 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database v8.0 (2026)) |
| Safety | 0.7 homicides per 100k (World Development Indicators) | 0.7 homicides per 100k (World Development Indicators) |
| Long, healthy lives | 83.0 years (World Development Indicators) | 82.4 years (World Development Indicators) |
| Health costs | €58 a month (World Development Indicators) | €62 a month (World Development Indicators) |
| Childcare costs | no child of childcare age | no child of childcare age |
| Paid leave for parents | 10 weeks (mother 8, father 2) (OECD Family Database: parental leave systems (PF2.1)) | 37 weeks (mother 22, father 15) (OECD Family Database: parental leave systems (PF2.1)) |
| Happiness | 7.60 of 10 (OECD Well-being Database (How's Life?)) | 7.30 of 10 (OECD Well-being Database (How's Life?)) |
| Research output | 58 of 100 (OpenAlex institutions) | 80 of 100 (OpenAlex institutions) |
| Time difference from home | set your home city | set your home city |
| Flight home | set your home city | set your home city |
| Airport nearby | 6 km (OurAirports airports) | 13 km (OurAirports airports) |
| Public transport | 9 % of commuters (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) | 22 % of commuters (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) |
| Rail and metro stations | 2 stations (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 68 stations (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Short commutes | 20 minutes (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) | 25 minutes (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) |
| Cycle network | 0.32 km per km² (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) | 0.45 km per km² (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) |
| Everyday needs on foot | 91 % of streets (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) | 93 % of streets (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) |
| Walking and cycling to work | 26.2 % of commuters (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) | 11.3 % of commuters (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) |
| Quick way out by bike | 2.4 km, about 10 min by bike (GHS Urban Centre Database 2025 (R2024A), general characteristics) | 7.0 km, about 28 min by bike (GHS Urban Centre Database 2025 (R2024A), general characteristics) |
| Near the sea | 3 km (Natural Earth (coastline, land, countries and populated places)) | 3 km (Natural Earth (coastline, land, countries and populated places)) |
| Near the mountains | 300 km (Terrain Tiles (Terrarium) on AWS Open Data) | 45 km (Terrain Tiles (Terrarium) on AWS Open Data) |
| Green space | 8.8 % of land (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 19.9 % of land (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Fast internet | 47 Mbit/s (M-Lab NDT statistics (daily city aggregates)) | 43 Mbit/s (M-Lab NDT statistics (daily city aggregates)) |
| English spoken | 98 % speak English (CLDR territory information) | 27 % speak English (CLDR territory information) |
| International crowd | no data | 7.6 % born abroad (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) |
| Doctors | 3.9 per 1,000 (World Development Indicators) | 5.9 per 1,000 (World Development Indicators) |
| Jobs | 4.6 % unemployed (World Development Indicators) | 6.2 % unemployed (World Development Indicators) |
| Graduates around | 54.8 % of adults (Population by educational attainment and NUTS 2 region (edat_lfse_04)) | 29.8 % of adults (Population by educational attainment and NUTS 2 region (edat_lfse_04)) |
| Developers around | 9.9 per 1,000 (GitHub user search) | 45.6 per 1,000 (GitHub user search) |
| Clean government | 1.51 of 2.5 (Worldwide Governance Indicators) | 0.77 of 2.5 (Worldwide Governance Indicators) |
| Politics, left to right | centre, 4.9 of 10; say where you stand (Political position from election results) | centre-right, 6.2 of 10; say where you stand (Political position from election results) |
| Abortion law | on request, 10 weeks or later; say where you stand (Abortion in law, from the statutes cited) | on request, 10 weeks or later; say where you stand (Abortion in law, from the statutes cited) |
| Same-sex couples in law | marriage; say where you stand (Same-sex couples in law, from the statutes cited) | marriage; say where you stand (Same-sex couples in law, from the statutes cited) |
| Founders Running Club | no chapter (Founders Running Club communities) | a chapter (Founders Running Club communities) |
| Coworking spaces | 4 spaces (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 69 spaces (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Climbing gyms | 1 gyms (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 3 gyms (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Swimming pools | 3 pools (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 24 pools (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Beach days | 1 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 21 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Run or ride days | 280 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 326 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few muggy days | 0 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 8 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few grey days | 193 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 110 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Cool nights for sleeping | 0 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 4 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few heat-stress days | 0 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 10 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few snow days | 2 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 0 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few windy days | 7 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 6 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |

## Questions

### Is it cheaper to live in Cork or Porto?

Everyday prices are lower in Portugal: 64.9 against 102.1 on the World Bank price level index (United States = 100, 2025). Open rent data is missing for Porto, so the full monthly cost needs your own rent.

### How much do you take home on €60,000 a year in Cork and in Porto?

About €44,925 a year in Cork (Ireland 2026 tax rules) and €38,447 in Porto (Portugal 2026 tax rules), after income tax and employee social contributions.

### Which is warmer, Cork or Porto?

Porto is warmer: average daily highs of the air over the year are 19.3 °C against 13.8 °C in Cork (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis), Open-Meteo, 2021-2025).

### Which has cleaner air, Cork or Porto?

Cork has cleaner air: an annual PM2.5 mean of 6.4 µg/m³ against 9.4 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database; WHO guideline 5 µg/m³; 2024 and 2024).

### Can a citizen of Ireland live and work in Porto without a visa?

Yes. EU and EEA free movement rules let citizens of Ireland live and work in Portugal without a visa.

## Cite

Borgo, "Cork vs Porto", https://borgo.abcastor.com/compare/cork-ie-vs-porto-pt/, figures as of 2026-11-05.