Moving to Maine from Pennsylvania
What to Expect
Everything you need to know before relocating from Pennsylvania to Maine — costs, safety, healthcare, and practical first steps.
If you moved from Pennsylvania to Maine, you would find that Maine is 4.6% more expensive than Pennsylvania. A $75,000 salary in Pennsylvania would need to be roughly $78,400 in Maine to maintain the same lifestyle. Philadelphia and Portland are about 360 mi apart.
Is Maine cheaper than Pennsylvania?
Where you'll feel the difference day-to-day
Restaurants
pay 9.5% more
Groceries
pay 12.3% more
Transportation
pay 15.0% less
Housing
pay 7.6% more
Childcare
pay 2.7% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 1.8% 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 → $78,400
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 5% more than cities in Pennsylvania.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
Key indicators for anyone considering a move from Pennsylvania to Maine.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Maine performs significantly better than Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania leads in uninsured 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 Pennsylvania leads in median home value.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Maine performs significantly better than Pennsylvania across all infrastructure metrics.
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
Pennsylvania 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
Maine performs significantly better than Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Philadelphia | Portland |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 46°/29°F (8°/-2°C) | 36°/18°F (2°/-8°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 74°/54°F (23°/12°C) | 63°/44°F (17°/7°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 83°/66°F (29°/19°C) | 76°/56°F (24°/13°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 56°/39°F (13°/4°C) | 48°/30°F (9°/-1°C) |
View all months
| Month | Philadelphia | Portland |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 40°/26°F (4.6°/-3.6°C) | 31°/13°F (-0.4°/-10.3°C) |
| Feb | 44°/28°F (6.6°/-2.4°C) | 35°/16°F (1.4°/-8.7°C) |
| Mar | 53°/34°F (11.5°/1.3°C) | 42°/25°F (5.6°/-3.9°C) |
| Apr | 64°/44°F (17.7°/6.7°C) | 53°/35°F (11.8°/1.5°C) |
| May | 74°/54°F (23.2°/12.2°C) | 64°/44°F (17.5°/6.8°C) |
| Jun | 83°/64°F (28.2°/17.7°C) | 73°/54°F (22.9°/12.0°C) |
| Jul | 87°/69°F (30.6°/20.7°C) | 79°/59°F (26.0°/15.2°C) |
| Aug | 85°/68°F (29.6°/19.9°C) | 78°/58°F (25.4°/14.6°C) |
| Sep | 78°/60°F (25.6°/15.7°C) | 70°/50°F (21.1°/10.2°C) |
| Oct | 67°/48°F (19.2°/9.1°C) | 59°/39°F (14.8°/3.8°C) |
| Nov | 56°/39°F (13.3°/4.0°C) | 48°/31°F (8.9°/-0.6°C) |
| Dec | 45°/30°F (7.1°/-1.1°C) | 37°/20°F (2.9°/-6.4°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Maine than Pennsylvania?
No — Maine is on average about 5% more expensive than Pennsylvania. City-level variation matters.
How much money do I need to move to Maine?
Plan for at least 3 months of living expenses — roughly $19,600 in Maine on a $75,000 comparable salary — plus one-off moving costs (movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit).
Is Maine safe?
Maine performs significantly better than Pennsylvania across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Maine compared to Pennsylvania?
Maine generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Pennsylvania leads in uninsured rate.
What's the weather like in Maine compared to Pennsylvania?
The average high temperature in Portland is 56°F, compared to 65°F in Philadelphia. Portland receives around 47.2 in of rainfall per year, while Philadelphia gets 41.5 in.
