Question 1: We’re talking about purchasing power — the real value of $100 in a city. Tell us more.
In Portland and South Portland, $100 can only buy you $95.33 worth of goods and services.
That’s according to the Department of Commerce’s data from 2022, the latest year available.
That’s the worst in Maine, but the rest of the state doesn’t have it too great either. Bangor is the only metropolitan area where $100 can actually buy its money’s worth: you’ll get $103.31 worth of products.
Question 2: How does this compare to other places around the country?
Portland’s $95.33 purchasing power is much lower than the national average of $106.11
Looking around New England, there’s only five other regions where your money is worth less than it is in Portland. Boston is the worst at $89.25.
But even big cities like Philly are getting more value than most of Maine.
(Californians get the worst deal – $100 buys less than $85 of products in San Francisco, the worst in the country.
NY/NJ, $88.50, Seattle, Boston, Miami, Washington DC – all in the high $80s
Pine Bluff, Arkansas shoppers get $123 worth of goods and services for $100. Nowhere else is cheaper.
Lawton, Oklahoma gets $117, also among the cheapest.)
Question 3:- What does this mean for Maine residents and their financial status?
38,000 Americans moved to Maine from other states last year. And only 27,000 people left for other states. That’s a gain of about 11,000 — which is a lot for a state as small as Maine.
More people moved to Texas than anywhere else in the U.S., but Maine actually grew at a faster rate relative to its population.
In general, when a city gets bigger, prices go up. It’s possible the increasing population in Maine is one factor why your $100 doesn’t buy as much as it used to.
However, states even more expensive than Maine are losing residents. New York has had a net loss since 2020, California since 2020 but they finally had a population bounce back. Illinois lost people last year, while its neighboring states Missouri, Iowa and Indiana all had net gains.
Question 4: Can we expect this trend to continue in the future?
If people keep coming to Maine, home prices and property taxes will go up.
Previous surveys from the Census Bureau show that 35% of Americans who move do so to find cheaper housing.
The latest data we have from the Tax Foundation shows that the median property tax payment in Cumberland County is $4,372. That’s $1,000 higher than any other Maine county, and it’s about triple the average nationwide. We’ll have to keep tabs on it to see if that drives people away from Portland.