Cost Of Living in Caribou, ME

The cost of living index is based on a national average of 100. For example, if the cost of living is 90, then it is 10% lower than average. If the cost of living is 110, then it is 10% higher than average. The breakdown for each index is as follows: goods & services (33%), groceries (13%), health care (5%), housing (30%), transportation (9%) and utilities (10%). If the cost of living data was unavailable for this city, estimates based upon nearby cities were used.
Index	Caribou	Maine	National
Cost of living	91	102	100
Goods & Services	109	109	100
Groceries	102	102	100
Health care	103	103	100
Housing	53	92	100
Transportation	109	109	100
Utilities	107	107	100

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Cost Of Living Quick Facts

The cost of living in Caribou is 11% lower than the Maine average
The cost of living in Caribou is 9% lower than the national average
Caribou housing is 47% lower than the national average
Maine general sales tax is 8% higher than the national average
Maine state income tax is 123% higher than the national average

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Price difference in compared to

Cost of living index
Goods & Services index
Groceries index
Health care index
Housing index
Transportation index
Utilities index

Median Income & Debt-To-Income Ratio

Median Income	Per Year	Per Month	Max Budget (28% DTI)	Max Budget (36% DTI)
Owners	$55,375	$4,615	$1,292	$1,661
Renters	$20,545	$1,712	$479	$616

The percent of monthly income spent on housing can be a good indicator of the affordability of housing in Caribou, ME, as well as the overall cost of living. As a general rule of thumb, the debt-to-income ratio (DTI) for homeowners or renters should be not more than 28 percent of gross income to be spent on housing related costs and not more than 36 percent of income on all expenses, including debts. The median income for Caribou homeowners, is $55,375. This would allow for a maximum of $1,292 per month to be spent on housing costs. For renters, the median monthly income is $20,545 which would result in a maximum of $479 to be spent on rental costs.

Maine Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
Maine	5.5%	5.5%

Maine Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
Maine	5.8%	7.15%

Goods & Services

Item	Caribou	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$28.67	$24.26	18.2%
Beauty Salon	$53.03	$45.56	16.4%
Toothpaste	$3.69	$3.70	0.3%
Shampoo	$1.17	$1.28	8.9%
Movie	$13.07	$12.13	7.7%
Bowling	$17.76	$18.00	1.4%

Groceries

Item	Caribou	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$5.41	$5.84	7.3%
Fried Chicken	$1.43	$1.57	8.9%
Milk	$4.75	$4.67	1.7%
Potatoes	$5.00	$4.93	1.3%
Pizza	$11.93	$12.09	1.3%
Beer	$10.22	$10.41	1.9%

Health Care

Item	Caribou	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$170.67	$125.68	35.8%
Doctor	$146.50	$135.78	7.9%
Dentist	$119.58	$113.29	5.6%
Ibuprofen	$10.72	$10.65	0.7%
Lipitor	$372.90	$468.60	20.4%

Housing

Item	Caribou	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$93,100.00	$184,700.00	49.6%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$2,456.69	$2,346.69	4.7%
Apartment Rent	$564.00	$949.00	40.6%

Transportation

Item	Caribou	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$3.52	$3.46	1.7%
Tire Balancing	$76.01	$59.92	26.8%

Utilities

Item	Caribou	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$218.65	$193.99	12.7%
Phone	$185.73	$192.25	3.4%

Although the cost of living data is updated regularly, this cost of living information is to be used as estimates only as prices can change on an ongoing basis.

Nearby cities with low cost of living

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Washburn, ME	1,030	87	12.8%
Limestone, ME	1,527	87	12.7%
Fort Fairfield, ME	1,624	90	9.5%
Mapleton, ME	715	94	5.7%
Presque Isle, ME	9,072	95	5.5%
Caribou, ME	7,659	91	9.1%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Perry, IA	7,660	87	13.2%
Payette, ID	7,655	94	6.2%
Guadalupe, CA	7,654	127	26.6%
Park City, KS	7,654	93	7.0%
Sebastopol, CA	7,664	177	77.1%
Caribou, ME	7,659	91	9.1%

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2023 and was released from C2ER in January, 2024; this is the most current data available.

Cost of Living in Caribou, ME