Overall
94.7
Below avg
Metro cost profile · 2024 BEA RPP
Lewiston-Auburn, ME
Cost-of-living indicators for Lewiston-Auburn, ME, from Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities, overall, goods, services, and rents vs the U.S. average of 100.
- 94.7
- Overall RPP
- #172
- of 387 metros
- 69.0
- Rents RPP
- $106K
- $100K national buys
Lewiston ranks #172 of 387 U.S. metros by cost, and its overall price index has fallen 3.0 points since 2008.
- falling since 2008
- similar cost to San Antonio-New Braunfels
The verdict
Lewiston costs less than 44% of U.S. metros, an overall index of 94.7, 5.3% below the national average, with services the biggest swing at 134.4.
- bottom 56%
- by overall cost, nationwide
- 97.2
- goods RPP, tradable items
- 134.4
- services RPP, labor-priced
A $100,000 national salary carries the purchasing power of about $105,556 here; matching a $100K lifestyle takes roughly $94,736.
Latest BEA release change
What changed from 2023 to 2024
Lewiston's overall RPP fell -6.1 points, from 100.9 in 2023 to 94.7 in 2024. The largest category movement was rents, changing from 94.8 to 69.0. This is a relative change against the national benchmark, not a household's dollar bill.
RPP History (2008-2024)
The cost of living has been trending downward, decreasing by 3.0 points over this period. The largest single-year move was in 2022, when the index jumped 7.4 points from the year before, a bigger swing than the full 2008-2024 change.
Lewiston overall RPP, 2008-2024
Every year on record, national average = 100
| Year | Overall |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 97.7 |
| 2009 | 103.3 |
| 2010 | 99.0 |
| 2011 | 98.7 |
| 2012 | 98.8 |
| 2013 | 95.2 |
| 2014 | 92.8 |
| 2015 | 97.2 |
| 2016 | 96.6 |
| 2017 | 95.9 |
| 2018 | 99.3 |
| 2019 | 96.4 |
| 2020 | 99.7 |
| 2021 | 93.9 |
| 2022 | 101.3 |
| 2023 | 100.9 |
| 2024 | 94.7 |
Lewiston vs every U.S. metro
Where this metro sits in the national cost distribution
95 Top 44% higher than 56% of 387 US metros
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities · 2024
Lewiston cost breakdown
BEA RPP by category, 100 = national average
- Rents
Rents
69 RPP
- Services
Services
134.4 RPP
- Overall
Overall
94.7 RPP
- Goods
Goods
97.2 RPP
What this shows Lewiston's strongest departure is services at 134.4; rents follows at 69.0. Labor-priced local activity, rather than housing alone, is the first budget line to investigate.
Goods vs. housing, where Lewiston's cost comes from
Metros near Lewiston's overall cost, plotted by their goods price (horizontal) and housing price (vertical). Same headline RPP, very different structures.
Read the chart as text
- Lewiston (Lewiston, this metro): goods RPP 97.2, rents RPP 69
- San Antonio: goods RPP 93.8, rents RPP 94.6
- Daphne: goods RPP 96.4, rents RPP 89.2
- Pittsburgh: goods RPP 100.7, rents RPP 72
- Chambersburg: goods RPP 100.7, rents RPP 71.9
- Kalamazoo: goods RPP 93.7, rents RPP 81.6
- Glens Falls: goods RPP 99.7, rents RPP 76.2
Price Index Summary
Goods
97.2
Below avg
Services
134.4
Expensive
Rents
69.0
Cheap
Service-cost-led profile
How Lewiston's cost structure works
Services are the defining pressure in Lewiston: the BEA services component is 134.4, farther above the national baseline than local rents or tradable goods. That service-heavy pattern explains an overall RPP of 94.7 differently from a housing-led metro.
Across all reported metros, the closest component-profile matches are Binghamton, NY, Utica-Rome, NY, Glens Falls, NY. They resemble Lewiston across goods, services, and rents together, so they are stronger structure peers than a place selected only because its overall RPP happens to be nearby.
Across 2008-2024, Lewiston's overall index has fallen by 3.0 points. This is a relative price-level history, not a prediction or a personal affordability recommendation; pair it with current local wages and housing options before making a decision.
Salary Equivalent
A $100,000 salary at the national average cost of living equals:
$94,736
in Lewiston-Auburn, ME purchasing power
$50,000 nationally
$47,368
$75,000 nationally
$71,052
$125,000 nationally
$118,420
$150,000 nationally
$142,104
$200,000 nationally
$189,472
Use the salary calculator for custom amounts.
Affordability score
C
70/100
How far the median local paycheck goes here, combining income and housing cost
Purchasing power
Not reported
Housing affordability C
70th percentile
A weighted composite (60% purchasing power, 40% housing affordability) percentile-ranked against every other tracked metro; a missing input redistributes its weight rather than deflating the score. Sources: Census ACS 5-Year 2023 (income) + BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 (cost). Vintages differ by design; see methodology.
ME-relative analysis
Goods prices places Lewiston-Auburn, ME near the bottom of ME's metros
Among the 3 ME metros PlainCost tracks with reported goods prices data, Lewiston-Auburn, ME ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide rank above: it compares Lewiston-Auburn, ME only against its own state's metros, not the full US field.
Goods prices
#1 of 3
0th percentile in ME
Services prices
#3 of 3
0th percentile in ME
Rent prices
#3 of 3
0th percentile in ME
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "more expensive is worse", see the national comparison above for direction context. This is a comparison within ME only, not a livability score.
Nationwide metros with similar overall cost or rent prices
Two BEA RPP-derived peer sets for Lewiston-Auburn, ME: nearest metros by overall regional price parity and by rents RPP. These are cross-state neighborhoods, not the in-state metro list below.
Similar overall RPP
Nearest metros by overall regional price parity (94.7 here).
Similar rents RPP
Nearest metros by rents regional price parity (69.0 here).
Other ME Metros
View all ME metros → Cheapest in ME → Most expensive in ME →
Decision peers
Metros with a similar cost mix
These metros are closest to Lewiston's combined goods, services, and rents profile. They may not have the same overall RPP, but their price pressures are shaped in a similar way.
Binghamton, NY
Goods 99.7 · Services 131.6 · Rents 69.7 Utica-Rome, NY
Goods 99.7 · Services 131.9 · Rents 66.1 Glens Falls, NY
Goods 99.7 · Services 133.8 · Rents 76.2 Elmira, NY
Goods 99.7 · Services 131.6 · Rents 76.4 Bangor, ME
Goods 97.2 · Services 134.8 · Rents 77.7 Syracuse, NY
Goods 99.7 · Services 133.4 · Rents 80.7
Metros with Similar Cost of Living
These metros have an overall RPP closest to Lewiston-Auburn, ME's index of 94.7.
Showing the 6 closest of 387 metro areas tracked nationally.
Shareable data card
Take this cost snapshot with you
Download the data card or share this exact metro record. The card uses the same BEA-derived values shown above.
Cost of living guides →, cheapest and most-expensive metro rankings, salary negotiation with RPP data, and step-by-step comparison walkthroughs.
Compare to Other Metros
What this means for Lewiston
How to read Lewiston's cost of living before a move, a job offer, or a budget.
- Budget to local prices, not headline pay, a $100K national salary spends like about $105,556 in Lewiston. Salary calculator
- Start with services: it indexes at 134.4, the largest departure from the national benchmark in this metro's BEA cost mix. Compare it with the other components before treating the overall RPP as a complete household budget.
- Compare Lewiston head-to-head against a specific destination before you decide. Compare metros
RPP is BEA's annual price-level benchmark for the data year shown, not a live market quote. Pair it with current local wages and housing costs before deciding.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cost of living in Lewiston-Auburn, ME?
Lewiston-Auburn, ME has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) index of 94.7, meaning it is 5.3% less expensive than the national average. Goods are indexed at 97.2, services at 134.4, and rents at 69.0. It ranks #172 out of 387 U.S. metro areas by overall cost.
What salary do I need in Lewiston-Auburn, ME to match $100K nationally?
To maintain the same purchasing power as a $100,000 salary at the national average, you would need approximately $94,736 in Lewiston-Auburn, ME. Conversely, $100K earned in Lewiston-Auburn, ME has the purchasing power of $105,556 at the national average.
How expensive is rent in Lewiston-Auburn, ME?
Rents in Lewiston-Auburn, ME are indexed at 69.0, which is 31.0% below the national average. This makes the area relatively affordable for renters.
Is Lewiston-Auburn, ME getting more expensive?
From 2008 to 2024, Lewiston-Auburn, ME's overall cost index changed by -3.0 points (from 97.7 to 94.7). The cost of living has been declining.
What costs the most in Lewiston-Auburn, ME?
The priciest category in Lewiston-Auburn, ME is services at 134.4, 34.4% above the national average. The most affordable category is rents at 69.0, 31.0% below average.
What metros have a similar cost of living to Lewiston-Auburn, ME?
Metros with the most similar overall cost index include San Antonio-New Braunfels, Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, Pittsburgh. These areas have RPP values within a few points of Lewiston-Auburn, ME's 94.7.
Data sources
- BEA Regional Price Parities (RPP), the cost-of-living indices shown on this page
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), gross-rent observations behind the rents component
- BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI), goods and services price relatives
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), labor-driven services component
- HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR), 40th-percentile rent cross-reference
Every figure on PlainCost is rendered directly from BEA Regional Price Parity source data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, our changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-11. Rankings measure the published cost-of-living index only; we don't recommend where to live or rate any metro's quality of life.