Portland, Maine Cost Of Living

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F

Overall 11%

Goods & Services 7%

Housing 25%

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	Portland	Maine	National
Cost of living	111	101	100
Goods & Services	107	107	100
Groceries	102	102	100
Health care	113	113	100
Housing	125	92	100
Transportation	104	104	100
Utilities	102	102	100

Key findings

The cost of living in Portland is 10% higher than the Maine average
The cost of living in Portland is 11% higher than the national average
Portland housing is 25% higher than the national average
Maine general sales tax is 8% higher than the national average
Maine state income tax is 135% 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	$78,987	$6,582	$1,843	$2,370
Renters	$31,138	$2,595	$727	$934

The percentage of monthly income spent on housing related expenses can help predict the affordability of housing in Portland, ME, as well as what the overall cost of living might be. 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 payments and not more than 36 percent of income on all expenses and debts. In Portland, homeowners have a median income of $78,987. Using that number, a maximum of $1,843 per month should be allocated to housing expenses. 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%

Goods & Services

Item	Portland	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$29.89	$20.27	47.4%
Beauty Salon	$41.61	$40.39	3.0%
Toothpaste	$2.57	$2.36	9.1%
Shampoo	$1.04	$1.08	3.1%
Movie	$10.77	$10.99	2.0%
Bowling	$15.50	$15.49	0.1%

Groceries

Item	Portland	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$3.39	$4.30	21.1%
Fried Chicken	$1.10	$1.40	21.2%
Milk	$2.65	$2.20	20.1%
Potatoes	$3.99	$3.22	23.9%
Pizza	$10.64	$10.74	0.9%
Beer	$9.99	$9.60	4.1%

Health Care

Item	Portland	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$148.43	$109.73	35.3%
Doctor	$151.95	$118.34	28.4%
Dentist	$107.57	$100.94	6.6%
Ibuprofen	$9.79	$9.93	1.4%
Lipitor	$468.45	$469.53	0.2%

Housing

Item	Portland	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$248,000.00	$184,700.00	34.3%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$1,652.27	$1,229.62	34.4%
Apartment Rent	$969.00	$949.00	2.1%

Transportation

Item	Portland	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$2.85	$2.71	5.0%
Tire Balancing	$53.63	$51.86	3.4%

Utilities

Item	Portland	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$187.61	$170.84	9.8%
Phone	$174.01	$187.18	7.0%

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.
Little Falls, ME	635	102	1.9%
Old Orchard Beach, ME	8,727	104	4.4%
South Windham, ME	1,117	105	4.6%
Freeport, ME	1,527	105	5.2%
Westbrook, ME	17,969	106	5.6%
Portland, ME	66,649	111	11.3%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Palo Alto, CA	66,649	303	203.1%
Camarillo, CA	66,630	153	53.1%
Woodbury, MN	66,699	119	19.2%
South San Francisco, CA	66,587	178	78.4%
Oshkosh, WI	66,713	92	7.6%
Portland, ME	66,649	111	11.3%

Source: This data reflects 2021 and was released from C2ER in January, 2022; this is the most current data available.