Portland vs Lewiston leftover
You'd keep $46 more a month in Lewiston
$1,987/mo leftover in Lewiston vs $1,941 in Portland after tax and rent ($46 more). +$552 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Portland leftover
$1,941
a month after tax and rent
Lewiston leftover
$1,987
+$46 vs Portland
Compare Portland to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Portland.
Monthly gap
Portland → Lewiston
$46
more / month in Lewiston
$1,987 in Lewiston · $1,941 in Portland · One adult, renting a 1-bedroom
Home
Only when you tap. We match the nearest metro and don't keep the coordinates.
Destination
In 2022-2023, 1,228 households moved Portland → Lewiston (avg AGI $57,400). 830 went the other way. The whole move →
+$46 / mo
| Per month | Portland | Lewiston | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,875 | $7,134 | −$741 |
| Income and payroll tax | $2,070 | $1,797 | −$273 |
| Take-home pay | $5,805 | $5,337 | −$469 |
| Rent | $1,867 | $1,289 | −$578 |
| Getting around | $510 | $574 | +$64 |
| Groceries | $410 | $410 | $0 |
| Healthcare | $462 | $462 | $0 |
| Utilities | $257 | $257 | $0 |
| Everything else | $359 | $359 | $0 |
| Left over | $1,941 | $1,987 | +$46 |
To break even in Lewiston, you'd need to earn
$84,500
Household gross, versus $94,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Portland does now.
The tax difference alone
+$636
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 26.3% in Portland, 25.2% in Lewiston.
More about Lewiston
Portland, ME in full
State income tax topping out at 7.15%, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $2,223 and 185 sunny days; commutes average 25 minutes.
Lewiston, ME in full
State income tax topping out at 7.15%, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,535 and 173 sunny days; commutes average 25 minutes.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Lewiston on Lewiston wages.
Lewiston → Portland →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Lewiston than Portland?
A one-bedroom is about $1,867 in Portland versus $1,289 in Lewiston. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $46 a month higher in Lewiston. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Lewiston have state income tax?
Lewiston is in Maine, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Portland to Lewiston?
Take-home pay is recalculated under Maine tax, rent is priced at the same bedroom count, and leftover is the gap. The from-to page also lists IRS households that already made the move, when that data exists.
Leftover is take-home after federal, state and city wage tax, minus asking rent at the bedroom count you set, minus a modelled month of groceries, utilities, healthcare, transport and childcare. It is not a cost-of-living index and not a moving quote. The dollar gap between Portland and Lewiston moves when you change the job, remote versus local pay, or bedrooms. How the math works · Leftover vs a COL index · Why a cheaper COL% can still lose leftover.
Rent is Zillow's asking rent for each metro; taxes and living costs are modelled. An estimate, not a quote or tax advice. How this is calculated.