Moving from Hawaii 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 Hawaii and Maine, side by side.
Moving to Maine costs about
-$1,330/mo
less than Hawaii each month, renting
Worth knowing
A cheaper house in Maine, a bigger property tax bill
The median home in Maine costs $296,600 against $839,100 in Hawaii, but you would pay about $3,025 a year in property tax rather than $2,266. The rate more than cancels the lower price.
Hawaii vs Maine at a glance
| Hawaii | Maine | |
|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $839,100 | $296,600 |
| Median rent | $1,971/mo | $1,139/mo |
| State income tax | Up to 11.00% | Up to 7.15% |
| Property tax rate | 0.27% | 1.02% |
| Groceries, gas & goods | 112 | 97 |
| Utilities | 190 | 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 | HI | ME | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | |||
| Housing (median rent)Biggest factor | $1,971 | $1,139 | -$832 |
| Taxes | |||
| State income tax | $379 | $354 | -$25 |
| Sales tax (on everyday spending) | $70 | $86 | +$17 |
| Everyday costs | |||
| Groceries, gas & goods | $2,045 | $1,781 | -$264 |
| Utilities | $777 | $552 | -$225 |
| Total | -$1,330 | ||
What the move itself costs
$7,400 to $14,100
A move involving Hawaii goes by sea rather than road, so the range is wider and rougher.
Shipping one car adds about $1,350 to $2,250.
These are statewide figures. Honolulu is not Hawaii-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.