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What does a Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers 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 Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers earning $45,510 in Maine has the equivalent purchasing power of $45,148 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) | $37,380 | $37,083 | $-296 |
| 25th Percentile (P25) | $39,640 | $39,325 | $-314 |
| Median (P50) | $45,510 | $45,148 | $-361 |
| 75th Percentile (P75) | $47,260 | $46,884 | $-375 |
| 90th Percentile (P90) | $59,790 | $59,315 | $-474 |
Maine's cost of living is close to the national average, so $45,510 keeps most of its value at $45,148 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 Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers 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, $45,510 nominal nets out to $45,149 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 Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers.
Ranked on COL-adjusted median pay for Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers, Maine places #3 of 51 states — top quartile. Either nominal wages run high, cost of living runs low, or both.
Where does Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers salary stretch the furthest? Top 10 states ranked by COL-adjusted median salary.
Maine ranks #3 out of 51 states for Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers after cost-of-living adjustment.
How much do you actually take home? See Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers take-home pay in Maine after taxes →
A Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers in Maine earns a median salary of $45,510 per year. After adjusting for Maine's cost of living (RPP=100.8), the real purchasing power is $45,148 — 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 Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers in Maine: $45,510 x (100 / 100.8) = $45,148. This represents what the salary would be worth in a state with average living costs.
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