The Salary Needed to Make a ‘Living Wage’ in Maine Is Concerning

Each year, it feels like basic needs become more and more expensive across the country, and living in Maine is no exception.

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As silly as it sounds, simply living isn’t cheap. The cost of living has skyrocketed, transforming homes that once cost $100,000 into properties now fetching triple or even quadruple that amount. Unfortunately, the housing market is just one part of the puzzle.

Given that, how do we determine the salary that people in Maine need to ‘get by’ or earn a ‘living wage’ in 2024?

GOBankingRates analyzed the annual living expenses for a single person in each U.S. state using data from the 2021 Consumer Expenditure Survey by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

To determine a living wage, researchers doubled the annual cost of necessities to account for discretionary spending and savings.

They calculated the cost of necessities based on the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center's 2023 Q1 Cost of Living Data.

Now that we’ve set the stage, what exactly is the salary required in Maine to make a ‘living wage,’ and why is it so concerning?

According to GOBankingRates and their report, ‘The Living Wage a Single Person Needs in All 50 States,’ the living wage required for a single person in Maine to afford basic needs is $60,862.

Believe it or not, Maine is actually one of the more expensive states to live in when compared to others across the country.

In the GOBankingRates report, Maine ranks 38th overall with a living wage of $60,862. For context, Hawaii is the most expensive state at $112,411, while Mississippi is the least expensive at $45,906.

So, there you have it. To earn a ‘living wage’ in Maine, you apparently need to make over $60,000 annually.

Does this number surprise you? What were you expecting the required salary to be? We’d love to hear your thoughts! Feel free to join the conversation by messaging us on the app.