How Much Does the Average Mainer Need to Make to Live?

There is no denying that for the average American, times are kind of tough right now.

While wages have not really increased much in the last few years, the cost of everything continues to rise.

According to Bankrate, inflation is down quite a bit from its peak of over 9% in June of 2022, but prices are still increasing. Most of us are experiencing these increases in every aspect of our lives. We are paying more for our housing, electricity, food, and even insurance.

Unless you are independently wealthy, you are probably feeling the pain. But are you still making enough to get by?

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How much money do Mainers need to make to survive?

Thanks to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Liveable Wage Calculator, we can determine how much money you need to earn in Maine.

The amount of money you need to make in order to get by depends on several factors, including the size of your family, how many adults are working, and where you live.

Clearly, it is going to cost more to live in the Portland area than Caribou. For simplicity, we ran the numbers for the state as a whole.

A single adult with no kids can get by on about $45,700 per year. A single person with one child would need to make $81,000 per year. With two kids, that person would need to make at least $103,000 per year.

Yeah, that's rough.

What about households with two working adults? That is a little easier to stomach. If each person was working and there were no kids involved, they could get by if each made $30,000. Or, to put it another way, if the household income was $60,000. If they had one child, each person would need to make about $45,000 per year. If there were two kids, each person would need to make $57,000. Since not everyone makes the same amount, they would need a household income of $114,000.

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How much does the average Mainer make each year?

Now that we know how much it costs to live in Maine, how much does the average Mainer make?

According to ZipRecruiter, the average salary in Maine is $57,271. That's about $28 per hour.

Just like with the cost of living, the average wage varies greatly depending on where in the state you live. Those in Aroostook County are much more likely to make $30,000 than they are to make $58,000.

So, a single person with a good job shouldn't have too much trouble getting by. However,, things get much tougher if you have kids (especially if you are a single parent).

How are you getting by?

What are you doing to make ends meet? What are you cutting back on? Is there something you have stopped buying or doing in order to survive? Let us know by messaging us inside our app.