Portland, ME Cost Of Living

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Portland cost of living index

In the event that the cost of living data was unavailable for this city, estimates based upon nearby cities were used. Each cost of living index is based on a national average of 100. If the amount is below 100, it is lower than the national average. If the amount is above 100, it is higher than the national average.
Index	Portland	Maine	National
Cost of living index	114	104	100
Index	Portland	Maine	National
Goods & Services index	110	110	100
Groceries index	100	100	100
Health care index	108	108	100
Housing index	125	92	100
Transportation index	108	108	100
Utilities index	117	117	100

A general overview of the cost of living index for Portland, ME is displayed above. In Portland, ME, the overall cost of living index is 114, which is 10% higher than the Maine average and 14% higher than the U.S. average. The following categories are used to calculate the overall cost of living index: goods/services (33%), housing (30%), groceries (13%), utilities (10%), transportation (9%) and health care (5%). From the list, it is clear that the categories of goods/services and housing are responsible for the largest portions of the overall cost of living index. As a general rule, everyday goods and services provide an accurate measure of the general cost of goods in any given city. In the case of Portland, ME, the city's goods and services are equal to the Maine average and 10% higher than the U.S. average.

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Did you know?

The cost of living in Portland is 10% higher than the Maine average.
The cost of living in Portland is 14% higher than the national average.
The cost of housing in Portland is 25% higher than the national average.
Maine general sales tax is 8% higher than the national average.
Maine state income tax is 161% higher than the national average.

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

Use the salary calculator to compare your current salary in Portland, ME to any other city. The salary calculator will tell you how much you would need to earn in any given city to maintain the same standard of living based on the cost of living in each city. For example, if the cost of living in the city you are looking to relocate to is higher than the cost of living in Portland, ME, then you would need to earn more income in order to maintain the same standard of living. To use the Portland, ME salary calculator, simply enter in the name of the new city, then adjust the slider to your current income. The salary calculator will do the rest and let you know if you need to earn more or less in the new city. You will also see a complete breakdown of the cost of living.

Median Income & Debt-To-Income Ratio

Median Income	Per Year	Per Month	Max Budget (28% DTI)	Max Budget (36% DTI)
Owners	$78,987	$6,582	$1,843	$2,370
Renters	$31,138	$2,595	$727	$934

How much of your monthly income goes to housing can tell you whether or not you can afford housing in Portland, ME, as well as what the average cost of living is. Generally, a good rule to follow is that the debt-to-income (DTI) level you want to maintain is 28 percent or less of your income on your rent or mortgage payment and not more than 36 percent of income on all expenses and debts. In Portland, ME homeowners have a median income of $78,987. Using that number, you will come up with a maximum of $1,843 per month that can be spent on the cost of housing. For those who are renting instead of owning, the median income is $31,138, which means there is a maximum of $727 to be spent on the costs of renting a home or apartment.

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%

For those who live in Portland, ME and want to know what the true cost of living is, they ought to look at both the Maine income tax rate and the Maine sales tax rate. By sales tax, we mean the taxes that are included whenever a person is purchasing any goods or services. The amount that is taxed depends upon the particular state, where some states have a sales tax of zero percent while others can have a tax higher than seven percent. In Maine, the sales tax is 5.5%, while the most you'll pay in surtax is 5.5%. There is also income tax to consider, which is based upon the amount of money made in a year. Just like sales tax, income tax depends upon the particular state but also depends upon what tax bracket the person is in. Income tax for the state can be higher than nine percent in some states to zero percent in others. For those that live in Maine, the income tax rate ranges between 5.8% to 7.15%.

Goods & Services

Item	Portland	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$19.83	$16.09	23.3%
Beauty Salon	$52.89	$37.33	41.7%
Toothpaste	$3.46	$2.45	41.2%
Shampoo	$1.01	$1.00	0.6%
Movie	$10.85	$10.28	5.5%
Bowling	$4.38	$4.93	11.2%

Groceries

Item	Portland	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$3.49	$3.80	8.3%
Fried Chicken	$1.64	$1.40	17.2%
Milk	$1.79	$2.01	10.8%
Potatoes	$3.74	$3.01	24.2%
Pizza	$8.91	$9.89	9.9%
Beer	$9.32	$8.90	4.8%

Health Care

Item	Portland	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$127.00	$102.16	24.3%
Doctor	$134.00	$108.36	23.7%
Dentist	$98.00	$92.53	5.9%
Ibuprofen	$9.60	$9.28	3.5%
Lipitor	$360.16	$425.82	15.4%

Housing

Item	Portland	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$248,000.00	$184,700.00	34.3%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$1,398.02	$1,202.44	16.3%
Apartment Rent	$969.00	$949.00	2.1%

Transportation

Item	Portland	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$2.26	$2.24	0.7%
Tire Balancing	$57.31	$46.29	23.8%

Utilities

Item	Portland	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$232.00	$165.96	39.8%
Phone	$25.89	$28.68	9.7%

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, State	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Little Falls, ME	635	104	4%
Old Orchard Beach, ME	8,727	107	7%
South Windham, ME	1,117	107	7%
Freeport, ME	1,527	108	8%
Westbrook, ME	17,969	108	8%
Portland, ME	66,649	114	14%

Cities with similar population

City, State	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Palo Alto, CA	66,649	301	201%
Camarillo, CA	66,630	151	51%
Woodbury, MN	66,699	118	18%
South San Francisco, CA	66,587	177	77%
Oshkosh, WI	66,713	90	-10%
Portland, ME	66,649	114	14%

Source: The Portland, ME cost of living data displayed above is derived from the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER) for 2017.

Portland, ME Cost of Living