Moving from Maine to New Hampshire
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 Maine and New Hampshire, side by side.
Moving to New Hampshire costs about
-$70/mo
less than Maine each month, renting
Worth knowing
The move pays for itself in about 24 months
Moving costs somewhere around $1,651, and New Hampshire runs about $70 a month cheaper. After roughly 24 months you are ahead.
Maine vs New Hampshire at a glance
| Maine | New Hampshire | |
|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $296,600 | $402,500 |
| Median rent | $1,139/mo | $1,491/mo |
| State income tax | Up to 7.15% | No state income tax |
| Property tax rate | 1.02% | 1.66% |
| Groceries, gas & goods | 97 | 99 |
| Utilities | 135 | 134 |
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 | ME | NH | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | |||
| Housing (median rent) | $1,139 | $1,491 | +$352 |
| Taxes | |||
| State income tax | $354 | $0 | -$354 |
| Sales tax (on everyday spending) | $86 | $0 | -$86 |
| Everyday costs | |||
| Groceries, gas & goods | $1,781 | $1,807 | +$26 |
| Utilities | $552 | $546 | -$6 |
| Total | -$70 | ||
What the move itself costs
$1,300 to $3,300
From a container you load yourself up to full-service movers.
Shipping one car adds about $350 to $600, against roughly $50 in fuel and lodging to drive it the 1-day trip yourself.
These are statewide figures. Portland is not Maine-average and Manchester is not New Hampshire-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.