Cost Of Living in Belfast, ME

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C-

4%

Overall NAT. AVG.

9%

Goods & Services NAT. AVG.

3%

Housing NAT. AVG.

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2023 and was released from C2ER in January, 2024; this is the most current data available.

The cost of living index is based on a national average of 100. For example, if the cost of living is 90, then it is 10% lower than average. If the cost of living is 110, then it is 10% higher than average. The breakdown for each index is as follows: goods & services (33%), groceries (13%), health care (5%), housing (30%), transportation (9%) and utilities (10%). If the cost of living data was unavailable for this city, estimates based upon nearby cities were used.
Index	Belfast	Maine	National
Cost of living	104	102	100
Goods & Services	109	109	100
Groceries	102	102	100
Health care	103	103	100
Housing	97	92	100
Transportation	109	109	100
Utilities	107	107	100

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Cost Of Living Quick Facts

The cost of living in Belfast is 2% higher than the Maine average
The cost of living in Belfast is 4% higher than the national average
Belfast housing is 3% lower than the national average
Maine general sales tax is 8% higher than the national average
Maine state income tax is 123% higher than the national average

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Price difference in compared to

Cost of living index
Goods & Services index
Groceries index
Health care index
Housing index
Transportation index
Utilities index

Median Income & Debt-To-Income Ratio

Median Income	Per Year	Per Month	Max Budget (28% DTI)	Max Budget (36% DTI)
Owners	$65,869	$5,489	$1,537	$1,976
Renters	$31,696	$2,641	$740	$951

A good way to judge both the affordability of the housing and the cost of living in Belfast is by simply calculating the maximum that should be spent on housing, otherwise known as the debt-to-income ratio (DTI). The plan is to avoid spending more than 28 percent of the gross income on costs that pertain to housing and no more than 36 percent on all expenses and debts. Belfast has a median income of about $65,869 for people who own homes. Based on that number, a maximum of $1,537 should be spent on expenses related to housing. Renters have a slightly different median income, which is $31,696. Based on this average, renters should spend no more than $740 on all rental costs if they want to maintain a non-impoverished standard of living.

Maine Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
Maine	5.5%	5.5%

Maine Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
Maine	5.8%	7.15%

Goods & Services

Item	Belfast	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$28.67	$24.26	18.2%
Beauty Salon	$53.03	$45.56	16.4%
Toothpaste	$3.69	$3.70	0.3%
Shampoo	$1.17	$1.28	8.9%
Movie	$13.07	$12.13	7.7%
Bowling	$17.76	$18.00	1.4%

Groceries

Item	Belfast	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$5.41	$5.84	7.3%
Fried Chicken	$1.43	$1.57	8.9%
Milk	$4.75	$4.67	1.7%
Potatoes	$5.00	$4.93	1.3%
Pizza	$11.93	$12.09	1.3%
Beer	$10.22	$10.41	1.9%

Health Care

Item	Belfast	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$170.67	$125.68	35.8%
Doctor	$146.50	$135.78	7.9%
Dentist	$119.58	$113.29	5.6%
Ibuprofen	$10.72	$10.65	0.7%
Lipitor	$372.90	$468.60	20.4%

Housing

Item	Belfast	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$184,100.00	$184,700.00	0.3%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$2,456.69	$2,346.69	4.7%
Apartment Rent	$874.00	$949.00	7.9%

Transportation

Item	Belfast	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$3.52	$3.46	1.7%
Tire Balancing	$76.01	$59.92	26.8%

Utilities

Item	Belfast	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$218.65	$193.99	12.7%
Phone	$185.73	$192.25	3.4%

Although the cost of living data is updated regularly, this cost of living information is to be used as estimates only as prices can change on an ongoing basis.

Nearby cities with low cost of living

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Bucksport, ME	2,879	96	4.3%
Searsport, ME	1,039	105	5.2%
Camden, ME	3,543	121	21.4%
Castine, ME	813	152	52.0%
Belfast, ME	6,710	104	4.2%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Lake Hallie, WI	6,710	103	2.5%
Avon, CO	6,711	145	45.1%
Moapa Valley, NV	6,708	102	1.9%
Lionville, PA	6,707	125	25.3%
Scottsburg, IN	6,715	88	11.8%
Belfast, ME	6,710	104	4.2%