Moving to Maine from Arkansas
What to Expect
Considering a move from Arkansas to Maine? Here's how the two compare on cost, climate, safety, and more.
If you moved from Arkansas to Maine, you would find that Maine is 24.5% more expensive than Arkansas. A $75,000 salary in Arkansas would need to be roughly $93,300 in Maine to maintain the same lifestyle. Expect a noticeable climate shift — Portland averages 56°F vs 72°F in Little Rock, making it significantly cooler. Little Rock and Portland are about 1,350 mi apart.
Is Maine cheaper than Arkansas?
How key spending categories compare
Restaurants
pay 6.0% more
Groceries
pay 36.3% more
Transportation
pay 13.2% more
Housing
pay 25.7% more
Childcare
pay 87.5% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 10.6% more
Data: MyLifeElsewhere's crowdsourced cost of living database, with prices submitted and updated by users worldwide. Exchange rates are refreshed regularly from public sources.
What salary do you need in Maine?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $93,300
To maintain the same standard of living in Maine
Calculate with your salary →Cost of living by city
Cost of living varies a lot by city. Each figure is a city's overall cost of living as a percentage of New York City (the priciest, = 100%).
On average, cities in Maine cost about 13% more than cities in Arkansas.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
The numbers behind daily life in Maine compared to Arkansas.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Maine performs significantly better than Arkansas across all safety metrics.
How's the healthcare?
share of people without health insurance
share of adults with obesity
share of adults with diabetes
share of adults who smoke
Maine performs significantly better than Arkansas across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Arkansas generally does better on what about housing?, though Maine leads in homeownership rate.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Arkansas generally does better on infrastructure, though Maine leads in internet access.
What are the job prospects?
percentage of the labour force without work
a broad measure of economic output per person
typical annual income of a household
share of people below the poverty line
Maine performs significantly better than Arkansas across all employment & economy metrics.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
Maine performs significantly better than Arkansas across all family life metrics.
Sources: US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) (2023), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (PLACES) (2022), FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (2023), Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025), Bureau of Economic Analysis (2024), OECD Regional Demography (2020). How we calculate this
Weather in Maine vs Arkansas
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Little Rock | Portland |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 56°/38°F (13°/3°C) | 36°/18°F (2°/-8°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 80°/61°F (27°/16°C) | 63°/44°F (17°/7°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 89°/70°F (32°/21°C) | 76°/56°F (24°/13°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 62°/44°F (17°/7°C) | 48°/30°F (9°/-1°C) |
View all months
| Month | Little Rock | Portland |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 49°/33°F (9.7°/0.4°C) | 31°/13°F (-0.4°/-10.3°C) |
| Feb | 54°/36°F (12.4°/2.4°C) | 35°/16°F (1.4°/-8.7°C) |
| Mar | 64°/44°F (17.6°/6.8°C) | 42°/25°F (5.6°/-3.9°C) |
| Apr | 73°/53°F (22.7°/11.6°C) | 53°/35°F (11.8°/1.5°C) |
| May | 80°/62°F (26.8°/16.4°C) | 64°/44°F (17.5°/6.8°C) |
| Jun | 88°/69°F (31.2°/20.7°C) | 73°/54°F (22.9°/12.0°C) |
| Jul | 92°/73°F (33.4°/22.7°C) | 79°/59°F (26.0°/15.2°C) |
| Aug | 92°/72°F (33.3°/22.2°C) | 78°/58°F (25.4°/14.6°C) |
| Sep | 84°/65°F (29.1°/18.1°C) | 70°/50°F (21.1°/10.2°C) |
| Oct | 73°/54°F (23.0°/12.3°C) | 59°/39°F (14.8°/3.8°C) |
| Nov | 62°/44°F (16.5°/6.6°C) | 48°/31°F (8.9°/-0.6°C) |
| Dec | 51°/35°F (10.7°/1.7°C) | 37°/20°F (2.9°/-6.4°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Maine than Arkansas?
On average Maine is around 24% pricier than Arkansas, with notable variation by city.
How much money do I need to move to Maine?
Budget about $23,325 for 3 months in Maine (based on a $75,000 comparable annual salary), then add the one-off costs: movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Maine safe?
Maine performs significantly better than Arkansas across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Maine compared to Arkansas?
Maine performs significantly better than Arkansas across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What's the weather like in Maine compared to Arkansas?
The average high temperature in Portland is 56°F, compared to 72°F in Little Rock. Portland receives around 47.2 in of rainfall per year, while Little Rock gets 50.0 in.
