Moving to Washington from Maine
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from Maine to Washington — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from Maine to Washington, you would find that Washington is 8.6% more expensive than Maine. A $75,000 salary in Maine would need to be roughly $81,400 in Washington to maintain the same lifestyle. Portland and Seattle are about 2,500 mi apart.
Is Washington cheaper than Maine?
The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 7.0% more
Groceries
pay 6.9% less
Transportation
pay 29.0% more
Housing
pay 17.1% more
Childcare
pay 6.1% less
Entertainment and Sports
pay 13.2% 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 Washington?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $81,400
To maintain the same standard of living in Washington
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 Washington cost about 10% more than cities in Maine.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
How Maine and Washington stack up on safety, healthcare, jobs, and infrastructure.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Maine performs better than Washington 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
Washington generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Maine leads in diabetes rate.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Maine performs better than Washington across all what about housing? metrics.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Maine generally does better on infrastructure, though Washington 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
Washington 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
Washington performs significantly better than Maine 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 Washington vs Maine
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Portland | Seattle |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 36°/18°F (2°/-8°C) | 50°/38°F (10°/3°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 63°/44°F (17°/7°C) | 64°/47°F (18°/8°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 76°/56°F (24°/13°C) | 74°/55°F (23°/13°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 48°/30°F (9°/-1°C) | 52°/41°F (11°/5°C) |
View all months
| Month | Portland | Seattle |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 31°/13°F (-0.4°/-10.3°C) | 47°/37°F (8.4°/2.7°C) |
| Feb | 35°/16°F (1.4°/-8.7°C) | 50°/37°F (9.9°/2.7°C) |
| Mar | 42°/25°F (5.6°/-3.9°C) | 54°/39°F (12.1°/4.1°C) |
| Apr | 53°/35°F (11.8°/1.5°C) | 58°/42°F (14.7°/5.7°C) |
| May | 64°/44°F (17.5°/6.8°C) | 65°/47°F (18.2°/8.5°C) |
| Jun | 73°/54°F (22.9°/12.0°C) | 70°/52°F (21.1°/11.1°C) |
| Jul | 79°/59°F (26.0°/15.2°C) | 76°/56°F (24.3°/13.1°C) |
| Aug | 78°/58°F (25.4°/14.6°C) | 76°/56°F (24.6°/13.3°C) |
| Sep | 70°/50°F (21.1°/10.2°C) | 71°/52°F (21.4°/11.2°C) |
| Oct | 59°/39°F (14.8°/3.8°C) | 60°/46°F (15.4°/7.7°C) |
| Nov | 48°/31°F (8.9°/-0.6°C) | 51°/40°F (10.5°/4.4°C) |
| Dec | 37°/20°F (2.9°/-6.4°C) | 46°/36°F (7.6°/2.0°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Washington than Maine?
Day-to-day costs in Washington run about 9% higher than Maine on average; specific cities can swing further.
How much money do I need to move to Washington?
A safe rule of thumb is 3 months of local expenses plus relocation costs. On a $75,000 comparable salary, that's around $20,350 in Washington for everyday spending, before movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Washington safe?
Maine performs better than Washington across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Washington compared to Maine?
Washington generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Maine leads in diabetes rate.
What's the weather like in Washington compared to Maine?
The average high temperature in Seattle is 60°F, compared to 56°F in Portland. Seattle receives around 37.5 in of rainfall per year, while Portland gets 47.2 in.
