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What does a Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers salary really buy you in Maine?
Maine is near the US average cost of livingData: BLS OEWS 2025 + BEA Regional Price Parities 2022 • Updated 2026-05-19
Maine's Regional Price Parity (RPP) is 100.8, meaning prices are 0.8% higher the national average. A Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers earning $38,560 in Maine has the equivalent purchasing power of $38,253 in an average-cost US state.
Every dollar goes further in low-cost states. Here is how each salary percentile compares after adjusting for Maine's cost of living.
| Percentile | Nominal Salary | COL-Adjusted | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th Percentile (P10) | $31,200 | $30,952 | $-247 |
| 25th Percentile (P25) | $33,360 | $33,095 | $-264 |
| Median (P50) | $38,560 | $38,253 | $-306 |
| 75th Percentile (P75) | $50,220 | $49,821 | $-398 |
| 90th Percentile (P90) | $62,080 | $61,587 | $-492 |
Maine's cost of living is close to the national average, so $38,560 keeps most of its value at $38,253 in real terms. Location choice here is more about career opportunities than cost arbitrage.
With an RPP of 100.8, Maine is within a few percent of the national cost-of-living baseline. Salary adjustment for Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers is therefore minor — what you earn is close to what you'd keep in real purchasing power.
After adjusting for Maine's cost of living, $38,560 nominal nets out to $38,254 in real purchasing power — a small 0.8% loss. The state's cost profile is close enough to average that COL alone shouldn't drive location decisions for this Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers.
Ranked on COL-adjusted median pay for Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers, Maine places #2 of 51 states — top quartile. Either nominal wages run high, cost of living runs low, or both.
Where does Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers salary stretch the furthest? Top 10 states ranked by COL-adjusted median salary.
Maine ranks #2 out of 51 states for Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers after cost-of-living adjustment.
How much do you actually take home? See Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers take-home pay in Maine after taxes →
A Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers in Maine earns a median salary of $38,560 per year. After adjusting for Maine's cost of living (RPP=100.8), the real purchasing power is $38,253 — a -0.8% difference.
Maine's cost of living is 0.8% higher than the national average according to the BEA Regional Price Parities (2022). The RPP index for Maine is 100.8 (US average = 100).
Regional Price Parities (RPPs) are price indexes published by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) that measure differences in price levels across states. They are expressed as a percentage of the national average (US = 100). Higher RPP means higher cost of living.
The adjusted salary is calculated as: Nominal Salary x (100 / RPP). For a Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers in Maine: $38,560 x (100 / 100.8) = $38,253. This represents what the salary would be worth in a state with average living costs.
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