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What does a Social and Human Service Assistants 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 Social and Human Service Assistants earning $47,710 in Maine has the equivalent purchasing power of $47,331 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) | $39,770 | $39,454 | $-315 |
| 25th Percentile (P25) | $44,260 | $43,908 | $-351 |
| Median (P50) | $47,710 | $47,331 | $-378 |
| 75th Percentile (P75) | $53,860 | $53,432 | $-427 |
| 90th Percentile (P90) | $60,050 | $59,573 | $-476 |
Maine's cost of living is close to the national average, so $47,710 keeps most of its value at $47,331 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 Social and Human Service Assistants 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, $47,710 nominal nets out to $47,331 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 Social and Human Service Assistants.
Ranked on COL-adjusted median pay for Social and Human Service Assistants, Maine places #12 of 51 states — top quartile. Either nominal wages run high, cost of living runs low, or both.
Where does Social and Human Service Assistants salary stretch the furthest? Top 10 states ranked by COL-adjusted median salary.
Maine ranks #12 out of 51 states for Social and Human Service Assistants after cost-of-living adjustment.
How much do you actually take home? See Social and Human Service Assistants take-home pay in Maine after taxes →
A Social and Human Service Assistants in Maine earns a median salary of $47,710 per year. After adjusting for Maine's cost of living (RPP=100.8), the real purchasing power is $47,331 — 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 Social and Human Service Assistants in Maine: $47,710 x (100 / 100.8) = $47,331. This represents what the salary would be worth in a state with average living costs.
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