Moving from Georgia 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 Georgia and Maine, side by side.
Moving to Maine costs about
About the same
Georgia and Maine work out within $50/mo of each other
Worth knowing
Utilities cost 46% more in Maine
Power, gas and water run about $173 a month more in Maine than in Georgia. It is the cost people forget to check, and over a year it is roughly $2,076.
Georgia vs Maine at a glance
| Georgia | Maine | |
|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $303,300 | $296,600 |
| Median rent | $1,393/mo | $1,139/mo |
| State income tax | Flat 5.19% | Up to 7.15% |
| Property tax rate | 0.77% | 1.02% |
| Groceries, gas & goods | 99 | 97 |
| Utilities | 93 | 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 | GA | ME | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | |||
| Housing (median rent)Biggest factor | $1,393 | $1,139 | -$254 |
| Taxes | |||
| State income tax | $294 | $354 | +$60 |
| Sales tax (on everyday spending) | $59 | $86 | +$27 |
| Everyday costs | |||
| Groceries, gas & goods | $1,814 | $1,781 | -$32 |
| Utilities | $379 | $552 | +$173 |
| Total | -$30 | ||
What the move itself costs
$2,800 to $6,100
From a container you load yourself up to full-service movers.
Shipping one car adds about $850 to $1,250, against roughly $450 in fuel and lodging to drive it the 3-day trip yourself.
These are statewide figures. Atlanta is not Georgia-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.