What Does Living in Maine Cost You?

What it costs to live here, and how good a place it is to live, in plain numbers.

Best place to live rank

#25

25th out of 50 states overall.

Above average for overall quality of life.

How we rank states ›

Cost to live here

#39

39th cheapest state, about 13% above average.

To live the way $75,000 affords in an average state, you would need about $84,700 here.

How we measure cost ›

Maine ranks 25th of 50 states for overall quality of life and 39th for affordability. It does best on safety, air quality, and dog friendly, and struggles most with economy, walkability, and cost. A typical household earns about $66,100 a year, and the cost of living runs about 13% above average.

Why Maine ranks #25 for living

Our Best Life Rank scores every state on the things that shape daily life, from cost and climate to schools and safety. Here is how Maine scores on each, best to worst.

Safety
#2 of 50
Air quality
#6 of 50
Dog friendly
#13 of 50
Green space
#14 of 50
Healthcare
#17 of 50
Education
#18 of 50
Climate
#31 of 50
Economy
#36 of 50
Walkability
#38 of 50
Cost of living
#39 of 50

Each factor is ranked 1 (best) to 50 (worst) across all states. Green is strong, yellow is middling, red is weak.

Maine at a glance

Typical household income

$66,100

32nd highest

Typical home price

$392,000

21st highest

Overall cost of living

13% above average

39th cheapest

Total taxes on a typical household

About 12%

10th highest income tax

Typical commute

About 24 min

one way

Taxes in Maine

See your real Maine take-home pay

Enter your salary and get your actual paycheck after Maine taxes.

Calculate my take-home pay ›
Sources: Cost and income from the U.S. Census and Bureau of Labor Statistics. Tax rates from the Tax Foundation. Best Life Rank factors from the Commonwealth Fund, NAEP, FBI, EPA, and NOAA. Cost measured by the BLISS Score, v1.3 method. Updated 2026.