What salary do you need to live in Bangor, ME?

The cost side of living in Bangor

Renters in Bangor pay a median $1,126 a month for two bedrooms. Size matters: one bedroom is $886, three bedrooms $1,281, so going from the smallest to the largest of the three adds $4,740 a year.

Buying is the other half of the housing picture: owners put the median home in Bangor, ME at $214,100. Against a median household income of $66,356, the ratio is 3.2× — one of the gentler home-price-to-income ratios in the country.

Price levels matter beyond rent. The Bureau of Economic Analysis measures Bangor's overall prices at 96.5 on a scale where the nation is 100, which makes a $100,000 salary feel like about $103,618 would elsewhere.

Bangor: the pre-tax income for each grade

For two bedrooms, $128,000 is where Bangor turns Comfortable. Below that, $64,000 marks the start of Okay and $32,000 the start of Tight; under $32,000 the score reads Stretched. Rent at the Comfortable line is 11% of gross pay.

The Royal grade is within reach at $422,000 a year, where both rent and the median home price look small next to income.

These lines come straight from the calculator's formula: the income is raised until the two-bedroom score crosses each cutoff, then rounded up to the next $1,000.

What different incomes look like in Bangor

At $75,000 home size barely changes the picture: one, two and three bedrooms all grade Okay, with scores from 48 to 54.

The two-bedroom column turns Comfortable at the $150,000 row. One row up, $100,000 scores 58.

How Bangor ranks among 387 metros

Out of 387 metros, Bangor has the 136th highest price parity and the 190th highest two-bedroom rent, which puts it near the middle on overall prices and near the middle on rent.

Its nearest neighbors on the rent list are Pueblo, CO ($1,127) and Fayetteville, NC ($1,126).

Comparing Bangor with Maine

How Bangor stacks up against its state: $1,126 for a two-bedroom against Maine's $1,224, $214,100 for the median home against $296,600, and a price level of 96.5 against 97.0.

The Maine figure for the Comfortable line, using state medians, is $158,000 against $128,000 for Bangor.

Maine has only 2 other metros in the data, Lewiston-Auburn, ME and Portland-South Portland, ME, so the closest match elsewhere, Cheyenne, WY, is included too.

Where the typical Bangor household lands

The median household in the metro earns $66,356 (ACS 2020-2024). Run through the calculator with two bedrooms, that scores 46, Okay. The Comfortable line is 93% above what the median household makes. Statewide, the Maine median household ($74,733) grades Tight on the state's own medians. A household figure may pool several earners, unlike a single salary.

Estimates use pre-tax income and public data; they are not financial advice.