Local costs · Maine
What a home costs across Maine
Property-tax rates, insurance, and closing costs vary widely by county. Below are the state-wide rules that apply everywhere in Maine, then every county with its own tax rate and insurance range.
Statewide facts
- Home insurance average
- About $1,077 per year for a standard HO-3 policy (NAIC 2022 state average). Individual counties run above or below this based on local hazard risk — see the table below.
- Transfer & recording tax
- Maine transfer tax (buyer half): 0.22% of price — buyer customarily paysMaine transfer tax (seller half): 0.22% of price — seller customarily paysA higher rate applies to the portion of value over $1M (eff. 2025-11-01).On the $341,900 state median home, the buyer’s customary share is about $752; the seller customarily covers about $752.
- Title insurance
- Maine uses competitive (filed) rates. Rates are competitive rather than state-set, so we model title and settlement from a national declining-rate curve calibrated to published costs.
- State income tax
- Maine income tax is modeled at about 4.39% effective for a married household at $100,000 (5.65% filing single). These are modeled effective rates from Tax Foundation 2026 brackets.
All 16 counties in Maine
Effective property-tax rate (Census ACS) and a typical annual insurance range at the state median home value. Select a county for the full breakdown.
| County | Property tax | Insurance / yr |
|---|---|---|
| Androscoggin County | 1.16% | $660–$1,480typical $1,020 |
| Aroostook County | 1.12% | $550–$1,230typical $850 |
| Cumberland County | 1.04% | $700–$1,570typical $1,080 |
| Franklin County | 1.04% | $750–$1,670typical $1,150 |
| Hancock County | 0.83% | $880–$1,970typical $1,360 |
| Kennebec County | 1.09% | $620–$1,380typical $950 |
| Knox County | 1.17% | $850–$1,900typical $1,310 |
| Lincoln County | 0.85% | $870–$1,940typical $1,340 |
| Oxford County | 1.00% | $750–$1,670typical $1,150 |
| Penobscot County | 1.16% | $580–$1,290typical $890 |
| Piscataquis County | 0.90% | $690–$1,540typical $1,060 |
| Sagadahoc County | 1.04% | $640–$1,440typical $990 |
| Somerset County | 1.08% | $780–$1,740typical $1,200 |
| Waldo County | 1.04% | $850–$1,900typical $1,310 |
| Washington County | 1.04% | $900–$2,020typical $1,390 |
| York County | 0.96% | $700–$1,570typical $1,080 |
* Property-tax rate is approximate because the county’s Census median is top-coded.
How these numbers are built
Every figure comes from public data or our own math: Census ACS property taxes, NAIC insurance averages scaled by FEMA risk, and researched transfer-tax and title schedules.
Estimates, not advice. See the methodology for sources, vintages, and the honest gaps.