Cost of Living in Houlton, ME has an overall index of 82, 18% below the U.S. baseline of 100. The typical home value is $161,822 (Zillow ZHVI, Aug 2026); typical monthly rent is $1,175 (HUD FY2027 2-bedroom FMR, Houlton town HUD FMR area); and median household income is $59,236 (Census ACS 2024).
Cost index: committed city housing/rent inputs and BEA 2024 regional price parities. Home value: Zillow ZHVI market signal as of 2026-08. Rent: HUD FY2027 2-bedroom FMR (40th-percentile recent-mover gross rent), Houlton town HUD FMR area. A place-level signal, not a personal affordability decision or financial recommendation.
Rent and home prices are comparatively balanced with local income. This describes the local market, not your household.
Four questions readers ask most, answered from the committed sources below. Every figure keeps its source, vintage, and limitation; none of it is personal financial advice.
Committed BEA price-parity components are missing for this place, so its non-housing costs are not compared with the nation.
The comparison needs all three category parities (goods, services, utilities) from BEA 2024 regional price parities. At least one is absent for Houlton, and this page does not substitute the overall cost index for them.
The typical home value is $161,822 (Zillow ZHVI, Aug 2026). It is 55% below the $358,709 median across Maine cities in this dataset, and 47% below the committed $303,400 U.S. baseline used site-wide (Census ACS 2019–2023).
The typical monthly rent is $1,175 (HUD FY2027 2-bedroom FMR, Houlton town HUD FMR area (40th-percentile recent-mover gross rent)). It is 32% below the $1,721 median across Maine cities in this dataset, and 13% below the committed $1,348 U.S. baseline used site-wide (Census ACS 2019–2023).
The Maine median is a cross-city statistic over the 34 committed city home values and 34 committed city rents (Zillow Aug 2026, HUD FY2027, or Census ACS 2024 as matched per place). It is not a statewide household median and it is not appraised market data. U.S. baselines are Census ACS 2019–2023 5-Year national medians used across this site ($303,400 home value; $1,348 monthly gross rent), and have not been refreshed to the ACS 2024 city vintage or the Zillow Aug 2026 vintage. Any city-to-national gap therefore mixes vintages.
The committed figures split: rent-to-income ratio and price-to-income ratio do not point the same way relative to their baselines (higher ratios and lower vacancy count as one direction, and their opposites as the other). Mixed signals are common and are not a verdict.
24% · Typical rent equals about 24% of local median household income (HUD FY2027 2-bedroom FMR Houlton town HUD FMR area rent × 12 ÷ Census ACS 2024 median household income). These are two place-level aggregates, not a measured household or renter burden. The Census ACS 2019–2023 5-Year national medians imply 21%.
Baseline: 21% implied by Census ACS 2019–2023 5-Year national medians2.7x · The typical home value is 2.7 times local median household income (Zillow ZHVI Aug 2026 home value ÷ Census ACS 2024 median household income). This is a place-level ratio, not an individual affordability test. The Census ACS 2019–2023 5-Year national medians imply 3.9x.
Baseline: 3.9x implied by Census ACS 2019–2023 5-Year national medians8.7% · 8.7% of all housing units here are reported vacant in Census ACS 2024. That counts every vacant unit, including seasonal, occasional-use, and other vacant homes, and it is not current for-sale or for-rent inventory. The population-weighted mean across the committed city dataset is about 8%.
Baseline: about 8% committed city-sample mean64.2% · 64.2% of occupied units are owner-occupied in Census ACS 2024, against a committed national owner-occupied share of 64.6% (Census ACS 2019–2023 5-Year national medians). This describes tenure mix — more owners usually means a smaller rental stock, not by itself higher or lower pressure.
Baseline: 64.6% committed national owner-occupied shareThese are associations inside one committed snapshot, not causal evidence. The dataset has no current listings, pending sales, sale timelines, or construction, migration, income-growth, and unit-mix fields, so nothing here proves or disproves a housing shortage: a low vacancy rate or a high rent-to-income ratio can have several explanations. Treat the figures as context for your own search, not as a cause.
A monthly budget is not estimated because this place has no committed BEA non-housing parity to scale everyday costs.
The five-person estimate needs the BEA non-housing parity, and this place does not have one in this snapshot.
Housing and rent: Zillow ZHVI Aug 2026 home value; HUD FY2027 2-bedroom FMR, Houlton town HUD FMR area rent. Top-coded ACS values stay thresholds, never exact medians. Non-housing: BEA 2024 goods, services, and utilities price parities (regional). Why: rent HUD FY2027 2-bedroom FMR, Houlton town HUD FMR area, home value Zillow ZHVI Aug 2026, plus Census ACS 2024 income, vacancy, and owner-occupancy fields. National baselines: Census ACS 2019–2023 5-Year national medians (not refreshed to ACS 2024 or Zillow Aug 2026), so city-to-national gaps mix vintages. Budget: modeled from the committed national median household income and this city's exact rent and BEA non-housing index; assumptions and exclusions are listed with the table. Budget is not produced when rent is top-coded.
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Recommendations require usable housing and income data and exclude very small places for a city of this scale.
Yes — everyday expenses in Houlton run about 18% below the US average (Cost Index: 82). Housing is especially affordable: the median home is valued around $161,822, compared to the $303,400 national median. Monthly rent is $1,175, versus $1,348 nationally.
Start with housing. Typical monthly rent is $1,175, while local median household income is $59,236. That implies a rent-burden proxy of about 24% of income. This HUD gross rent already includes tenant-paid utilities; other living costs are not included. Use that as a planning signal for whether the place looks manageable under your own household assumptions.
Maine uses an approximate state-income-tax planning model; 7.15% is top marginal-rate context from the tax snapshot. Applying the 0.98% state-level effective owner-occupied proxy to a home worth $161,822 gives a planning estimate near $1,586 per year; it is not a city, county, parcel, or individual tax bill. State plus average local sales-tax context is around 5.5%.
The typical monthly rent in Houlton is around $1,175. That's roughly 13% lower than the $1,348 national median. For comparison, the median home value here is $161,822, so buyers should also factor in mortgage payments, property taxes, and insurance.
The typical home value in Houlton is $161,822. With 20% down and the committed 7.03% national 30-year fixed benchmark as of 2026-09-24, principal and interest are roughly $864/month before property tax and insurance. This is a planning estimate, not a local lender quote. Baseline is past its weekly update cadence; a newer official vintage exists but is not reflected. About 64% of residents here own their homes.
Grocery prices in Houlton are about average compared to the rest of the US (index: 100, where 100 is the national average). Utility bills (electricity, gas, water) are about typical (index: 100). Overall, these everyday costs shouldn't cause major surprises if you're moving from another similarly-sized US city.
Houlton is a small town with a population of about 5,082. The median age of residents is 45, skewing somewhat older — common in established suburban communities. The local poverty rate is 17.44%, above the national average of 12.4%.
