Moving to Maine from Illinois
What to Expect
Considering a move from Illinois to Maine? Here's how the two compare on cost, climate, safety, and more.
If you moved from Illinois to Maine, you would find that Maine is 7.9% more expensive than Illinois. A $75,000 salary in Illinois would need to be roughly $80,900 in Maine to maintain the same lifestyle. Chicago and Portland are about 890 mi apart.
Is Maine cheaper than Illinois?
How key spending categories compare
Restaurants
pay 12.7% more
Groceries
pay 18.4% more
Transportation
pay 14.9% less
Housing
pay 9.6% more
Childcare
pay 40.3% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 3.2% less
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 → $80,900
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 6% more than cities in Illinois.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
The numbers behind daily life in Maine compared to Illinois.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Maine performs significantly better than Illinois 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 generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Illinois leads in adult smoking rate.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Maine generally does better on what about housing?, though Illinois leads in median home value.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Illinois generally does better on infrastructure, though Maine leads in average commute.
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
Illinois generally does better on employment & economy, though Maine leads in unemployment rate.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
Illinois generally does better on family life, though Maine leads in life expectancy.
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 Illinois
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Chicago | Portland |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 38°/22°F (3°/-6°C) | 36°/18°F (2°/-8°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 70°/48°F (21°/9°C) | 63°/44°F (17°/7°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 80°/60°F (27°/16°C) | 76°/56°F (24°/13°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 48°/32°F (9°/0°C) | 48°/30°F (9°/-1°C) |
View all months
| Month | Chicago | Portland |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 31°/17°F (-0.6°/-8.6°C) | 31°/13°F (-0.4°/-10.3°C) |
| Feb | 35°/20°F (1.8°/-6.6°C) | 35°/16°F (1.4°/-8.7°C) |
| Mar | 47°/29°F (8.1°/-1.6°C) | 42°/25°F (5.6°/-3.9°C) |
| Apr | 59°/39°F (15.0°/3.8°C) | 53°/35°F (11.8°/1.5°C) |
| May | 70°/48°F (21.1°/9.1°C) | 64°/44°F (17.5°/6.8°C) |
| Jun | 80°/58°F (26.5°/14.5°C) | 73°/54°F (22.9°/12.0°C) |
| Jul | 84°/64°F (28.9°/17.7°C) | 79°/59°F (26.0°/15.2°C) |
| Aug | 82°/63°F (27.7°/17.2°C) | 78°/58°F (25.4°/14.6°C) |
| Sep | 75°/54°F (23.8°/12.4°C) | 70°/50°F (21.1°/10.2°C) |
| Oct | 62°/43°F (16.8°/6.0°C) | 59°/39°F (14.8°/3.8°C) |
| Nov | 48°/32°F (9.0°/0.2°C) | 48°/31°F (8.9°/-0.6°C) |
| Dec | 35°/21°F (1.6°/-6.3°C) | 37°/20°F (2.9°/-6.4°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Maine than Illinois?
On average Maine is around 8% pricier than Illinois, with notable variation by city.
How much money do I need to move to Maine?
Budget about $20,225 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 Illinois across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Maine compared to Illinois?
Maine generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Illinois leads in adult smoking rate.
What's the weather like in Maine compared to Illinois?
The average high temperature in Portland is 56°F, compared to 59°F in Chicago. Portland receives around 47.2 in of rainfall per year, while Chicago gets 36.9 in.
