Portland, Las Vegas, Memphis, Louisville, and Baltimore: Moving to America's 26th Through 30th Largest Cities

Las Vegas sits above the 26th-to-30th bracket named in this title. The Census Bureau’s Vintage 2025 estimates put Las Vegas 24th, with 679,817 residents on July 1, 2025, after adding 34,043 people since April 2020, the largest gain among these five cities. The other four sit inside the title’s range: Louisville 27th, Portland, Oregon, 28th, Memphis 29th, and Baltimore 30th. Three of those four had fewer residents in 2025 than in 2020.

City	Rank, 2025	Population, July 1, 2025	Change since April 2020	Metro price level, 2024 (US = 100)	Metro housing rents, 2024 (US = 100)	Metro utilities, 2023 (US = 100)
Portland, Oregon	28	635,109	down 17,357	105.4	125.1	91.0
Las Vegas	24	679,817	up 34,043	100.2	115.5	91.1
Memphis	29	609,647	down 18,863	92.2	79.8	77.5
Louisville	27	641,962	up 10,061	93.1	78.6	82.2
Baltimore	30	569,997	down 15,732	104.5	118.2	110.3

The population and change columns come from that Census table, which lists Louisville as “Louisville/Jefferson County metro government (balance)” and uses that figure. The price columns are Bureau of Economic Analysis regional price parities, which measure metro areas: the price level and housing figures are for 2024, from BEA’s February 2026 release as listed in the St. Louis Fed’s metro table, and the utilities figures are for 2023, from Table 4 of BEA’s December 2024 release, so with that one-year gap the utilities column ranks the metros rather than pairing with the other columns as one year’s costs; the Portland row covers Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro across Oregon and Washington, and the Louisville row covers Louisville/Jefferson County across Kentucky and Indiana.

Portland, Oregon: A Statewide Cap on Rent Increases

Oregon limits how much rent can rise each year for tenancies covered by its statewide rule, and the state publishes the number. The Department of Administrative Services’ rent stabilization page gives the formula for tenancies subject to ORS 90.323 as the lesser of ten percent or seven percent plus the Consumer Price Index, and states that for 2027 the maximum allowable increase for tenancies subject to ORS 90.324(b) is 10 percent, after 9.5 percent for 2026. Whether a particular apartment is covered is a question to put to the landlord before signing: ask whether the unit is subject to ORS 90.323. The building’s age is part of that answer. When the department announced the 2025 figure, it said: “This applies to residential rental units 15 years and older.” In a newer building, ask the landlord how old the unit is before you count on the cap.

For a newcomer, the cap changes the second-year math rather than the first. It does not set your starting rent, but for a covered unit it limits how far a renewal can rise, in a metro whose 2024 housing figure was 125.1.

Portland is also one of the three cities here that shrank: from 652,466 in the April 2020 base to 635,109 on July 1, 2025.

Las Vegas: Emissions Testing Covers the Valley

Las Vegas is the growth city of this group, and its vehicle rule is geographic. The Nevada DMV’s emissions page says, “Emission testing is required in the Las Vegas Valley (hydrographic drainage basin 212) and within a five-mile buffer zone surrounding it.” The same page notes that new vehicles are exempt from testing until their fourth registration, and hybrids for five model years, so whether your car needs a smog check depends on both where you register it and how old it is.

The Las Vegas metro priced at 100.2 overall in 2024, close to the national level, with housing rents at 115.5 and, in 2023, utilities at 91.1.

Memphis: The Utility Deposit and How to Spread It

Memphis has the lowest overall price level in this table, 92.2 in 2024, and the lowest utilities figure, 77.5 in 2023; its housing rents figure, 79.8, was second-lowest after Louisville’s. It also lost the most residents of the five, 18,863 between 2020 and 2025.

New utility service in Memphis comes with a published deposit rule. Memphis Light, Gas and Water’s customer handbook says: “Starting new service with MLGW may require a deposit.” When a deposit is required, the handbook gives two ways to pay it: the full $200 on the first utility bill, or $25 a month for eight months starting with the first bill. The handbook sets a higher $350 deposit, due before service begins, for customers with a history of utility diversion or tampering in the previous 72 months. If you are budgeting a Memphis move with little cash to spare, the installment option is the one to ask about when you request service.

Louisville: Give the Utility Three Business Days

Louisville’s electric and gas provider asks for lead time. LG&E’s start service page says: “Please allow up to three business days for your request to be processed.” The page also notes that incomplete applications cannot be processed. Counting back three business days from your move-in date, and further if that window crosses a weekend or holiday, gives the request time to be processed before you arrive.

Louisville’s metro priced at 93.1 overall and 78.6 for housing rents in 2024, both below the national level and the housing figure the lowest in this table, and the city added 10,061 residents between 2020 and 2025.

Baltimore: What Maryland Lets a Landlord Collect

Maryland updated its deposit limit for leases signed from October 1, 2024, and the state’s tenant summary spells out the result. The Maryland Tenants’ Bill of Rights, published by the state’s Office of Tenant and Landlord Affairs and marked effective October 1, 2026, says, “In most cases, a landlord may not require you to pay a security deposit higher than one month’s rent.” A deposit of up to two months is still possible, the document adds, if you signed your lease before October 1, 2024, or if you qualify for utility assistance from the Department of Human Services and your lease requires you to pay utilities directly to the landlord. It also says a landlord “may not require you to pay more than the sum of the first month’s rent and the security deposit before you move in.”

The same document sets out the move-out steps. If you want the right to be present at the move-out inspection, you must send the landlord a certified letter at least 15 days before leaving that states your plan to move, your move-out date, and your new address. The landlord must give you a written list of any deductions with supporting documents and “must return the rest of your deposit with interest within 45 days.” The document notes that landlords must attach the latest version of it to every residential lease, so a Baltimore lease should arrive with this summary attached.

Baltimore’s metro priced at 104.5 overall and 118.2 for housing rents in 2024, with utilities at 110.3 in 2023. The city’s population fell from 585,729 in 2020 to 569,997 in 2025, with 2025 almost unchanged from 2024.

What to Do, in Sequence

Start with the step that has the longest lead time for your city. In Baltimore, check at signing that the Tenants’ Bill of Rights is attached and that nothing beyond the first month’s rent and a deposit is due before move-in, and note for the day you leave that the certified letter for the move-out inspection has to go out 15 days ahead. In Louisville, file the LG&E request at least three business days before move-in. In Memphis, ask MLGW about the $200 deposit and the eight-month installment option when you request service. In Las Vegas, check whether your new address is in the testing area and whether your car’s age exempts it. And in Portland, ask whether the unit is covered by the statewide rent cap before you sign.