Moving from Alabama to Maine
Everyone compares rent and groceries. Almost nobody compares the two numbers that actually decide whether a move works: state income tax and property tax. Here is Alabama and Maine, side by side.
Moving to Maine costs about
+$420/mo
more than Alabama each month, renting
Worth knowing
Utilities cost 60% more in Maine
Power, gas and water run about $206 a month more in Maine than in Alabama. It is the cost people forget to check, and over a year it is roughly $2,477.
Alabama vs Maine at a glance
| Alabama | Maine | |
|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $209,900 | $296,600 |
| Median rent | $1,007/mo | $1,139/mo |
| State income tax | Up to 5.00% | Up to 7.15% |
| Property tax rate | 0.38% | 1.02% |
| Groceries, gas & goods | 96 | 97 |
| Utilities | 85 | 135 |
Price levels are indexes where 100 is the national average. They cover everyday spending only; housing is the two rows above.
What changes each month
| Monthly | AL | ME | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | |||
| Housing (median rent) | $1,007 | $1,139 | +$132 |
| Taxes | |||
| State income tax | $311 | $354 | +$43 |
| Local income tax (state average) | $7 | None | -$7 |
| Sales tax (on everyday spending) | $58 | $86 | +$29 |
| Everyday costs | |||
| Groceries, gas & goods | $1,767 | $1,781 | +$14 |
| UtilitiesBiggest factor | $346 | $552 | +$206 |
| Total | +$420 | ||
What the move itself costs
$2,900 to $6,400
From a container you load yourself up to full-service movers.
Shipping one car adds about $700 to $1,050, against roughly $450 in fuel and lodging to drive it the 3-day trip yourself.
These are statewide figures. Birmingham is not Alabama-average and Portland is not Maine-average, so a specific city can look nothing like its state. Compare metro areas instead to narrow it to 387 real places, including which side of a state line you would live on.
Run this with your own numbers
Estimates only, not advice. Housing and income figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (2024); price levels from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (2024); tax rates are for the 2026 tax year, compiled from state revenue departments and the Tax Foundation. Moving costs are modelled from published ranges rather than quoted. Every figure is a statewide median or average and will not match any particular household.