State rental intelligence

Maine rental market data

A source-traced view across 4 metro markets and 16 counties. State figures below are labelled medians and totals—not a made-up statewide investment score.

4/4 metros scored16/16 counties with FEMA risk14 sources used in this analysis

Median scored metro47.0out of 100 · 4 measured metros

Maine identity diorama showing regional landscape, cities, housing, and infrastructure

Median metro home value$332kmedian across published metro values

Median metro rent$1,543monthly · published metro values

Median gross yield5.4%annual rent ÷ price · before costs

Median job trend▲ 0.1%trailing 12-month metro employment

State research brief

Rent growth is outrunning home-value growth by 2.0 percentage points at the median across four measured metros even as median job growth is only 0.1%, sharpening the need to screen Maine locality by locality.

Updated 2026-07-31 · evidence current to the releases listed below.

Across four measured metros, median asking-rent growth is 3.2% year over year, compared with 1.3% for home values; the supplied spread is 2.0 percentage points. Median employment growth is only 0.1%, and the measured range runs from -0.8% at the 10th percentile to 0.3% at the 90th. Rent momentum is therefore a positive signal, but labor demand does not strongly confirm it.

A genuine counter-signal comes from migration: all 16 counties contributed to a net inflow of 3,638 people, or 2.6 per 1,000 residents, and inbound mover AGI exceeded outbound AGI by $108,384. Screening should pair those demand measures with local resale conditions, renter burden and operating-cost exposure. The packet cannot establish achieved rent, occupancy, net operating income, financing cost or parcel-level hazard exposure. County coverage is also uneven: rent levels cover 12 counties, rent growth covers six and listing measures cover 14.

Four-metro median rent growth of 3.2% versus 1.3% home-value growth → test whether property-level lease evidence supports the headline rent momentum rather than relying on appreciation.

Net migration of 3,638 people alongside only 0.1% median metro job growth → separate household inflow from payroll-supported rental demand.

Bangor's 5.0 months of supply, 58 days on market and 31.8% price-reduction share → potential acquisition leverage comes with greater resale friction.

A 48.4% median county renter-burden rate and 2.2% median large-multifamily share → screen rent ceilings and property format at county level.

County property-tax rates spanning 0.88% to 1.16% between the measured percentiles → operating-cost assumptions should not be transferred across Maine counties.

Price and rent momentum

Bangor, Lewiston and Portland all show rents outrunning values

The four-metro distribution shows median rent growth of 3.2% against median home-value growth of 1.3%. The same separation appears in each named market: Bangor recorded 3.8% rent growth and 1.9% value growth, Lewiston 3.7% and 1.4%, and Portland 2.7% and 1.1%.

Bangor also has the highest gross yield among these named markets at 6.5%, compared with 5.4% in Lewiston and 5.1% in Portland. That combination makes Bangor more attractive on headline income relative to price, but these are gross, index-based yields. They do not include vacancy, maintenance, taxes, insurance, financing or concessions and therefore do not establish net returns.

Evidence: Zillow ZHVI — metro home values · Zillow ZORI — metro market rents

Employment and household movement

Positive migration counters a nearly flat employment picture

Employment growth across the four measured metros has a median of 0.1%, with a 10th-to-90th-percentile range of -0.8% to 0.3%. Portland and Lewiston each registered about 0.3% growth, while Bangor was down 0.2%. This is a weak confirmation signal for the observed rent increases.

Migration points the other way. The 16-county total was a net inflow of 3,638 people, equal to 2.6 per 1,000 residents, while aggregate inbound mover AGI exceeded outbound AGI by $108,384. That is a genuine demand counter-signal, but it does not prove where newcomers rented, what they could afford or whether the inflow persisted. Employment and migration also come from different reporting periods, so they should not be treated as simultaneous measures.

Evidence: Census ACS 5-year — population · BLS CES — payroll employment · BLS LAUS — resident employment · IRS SOI — county migration and mover income

Supply and resale conditions

Bangor shows negotiating room while Portland carries the permit load

Across four measured metros, the medians are 3.0 months of supply, 37.5 days on market and price reductions on 28.2% of listings. Bangor is the softest named resale market: 5.0 months of supply, 58 days on market, price reductions on 31.8% of listings and a 96.5% sale-to-list ratio. Portland is tighter at 2.7 months, 30 days, 22.3% price reductions and a 100.1% sale-to-list ratio.

Permitting is uneven. Portland recorded 4,020 permitted units, or 7.1 per 1,000 residents, compared with 452 units in Lewiston and 478 in Augusta. Bangor's resale figures indicate more acquisition negotiating room, but they also flag greater exit friction. Portland's permits warrant a supply-pipeline screen, although permits are not completed units and do not establish how much rental competition will enter the market.

Evidence: Census Building Permits Survey — permitted units · Redfin Data Center — inventory, days on market, and price cuts

Housing stock and tenant conditions

High county vacancy coexists with renter strain and little large multifamily stock

The 16-county median housing vacancy rate is 22.6%, with a 10th-to-90th-percentile range of 13.8% to 38.8%. Yet the median renter share is only 22.4%, while the median single-family share is 77.0% and the median large-multifamily share is 2.2%. The median share of renters paying at least 30% of income toward rent is 48.4%, reaching 51.8% at the 90th percentile.

Oxford County combines a 34.5% vacancy rate with 54.2% renter burden, and Washington County combines 34.7% vacancy with 52.2% burden. Androscoggin County has a much lower 7.0% vacancy rate, a 32.1% renter share and 51.4% burden; its median year built is 1969. These figures support county-specific affordability and building-condition screens. The ACS vacancy rate covers vacant housing generally, however, and cannot be read as the share of units available for immediate long-term rental.

Evidence: Census ACS 5-year — county housing value, tenure and stock

County market dispersion

Somerset's higher measured yield contrasts with slow listings in Aroostook and Washington

Somerset County pairs a measured price of $238,735 with rent of $1,385 and a 7.0% gross yield. Its FHFA index rose 9.7% year over year and 79.2% over five years. Knox County shows a lower 4.7% gross yield and 3.8% annual HPI growth despite an 84.0% five-year increase, while Oxford County's gross yield is 6.0%. The spread shows that entry price, current income and prior appreciation do not rank counties identically.

Separate county listing data identify exit friction in Aroostook County, with 66 days on market, price reductions on 18.7% of listings and an 11.9% pending ratio. Washington County recorded 64 days, 17.3% reductions and a 10.8% pending ratio; Piscataquis County recorded 53 days. Because the yield examples and slow-listing examples are different counties, the packet does not establish that higher yield and slower resale occur together in the same place.

Evidence: FHFA House Price Index — annual county appreciation · Realtor.com Economic Research — county listing inventory · Zillow ZHVI and ZORI — county values and rents

Physical risk and property tax

Inland flood leads the county hazard labels, while tax and loss burdens vary separately

FEMA assigns inland flood as the mutually exclusive leading-hazard label in 15 counties and hurricane in one. Across 16 measured counties, the median climate-loss ratio is 0.117%, with a 10th-to-90th-percentile range of 0.100% to 0.146%. Franklin County's measured ratio is 0.157%, alongside a 1.04% property-tax rate and $2,027 median tax.

Property-tax rates have a county median of 1.04% and a 10th-to-90th-percentile range of 0.88% to 1.16%. Knox County illustrates why the cost screens should remain separate: its tax rate is 1.17% and median tax is $3,786, while its climate-loss ratio is 0.105%. These county measures can inform operating-cost comparisons, but a leading-hazard label is not parcel-level exposure and a loss ratio is not an insurance quote.

Evidence: FEMA National Risk Index — hazard loss ratios · Census ACS 5-year — effective property tax

Evidence selected for Maine

The ranges behind the analysis

Each row keeps its own unit and shows the measured 10th percentile, median and 90th percentile. A single-value row is labelled directly.

Price and rent momentumAre home values and asking rents moving together or separating?

Employment and household movementDo jobs, household movement and mover income point in the same direction?

Supply and resale conditionsWhat do permits, inventory, marketing time and price cuts say about pressure?

Shape of the state

Distribution before conclusion

A statewide median can hide a wide spread. These SVG charts render at build time and carry no chart library or browser-side data request.

Metro score distribution4 scored metros · median 47.0

County evidence coverageEvery gap stays visible as missing—not estimated

Highest measured metro gross yieldsscreening metric only · before expenses and financing

Metro leaderboard

Markets touching Maine

Multi-state CBSAs appear in every member state. Score is still a metro score; no value is reweighted into a statewide ranking.

#	Metro	Score	Price	Rent	Yield	Jobs
1	Lewiston, ME	60	$338k	$1,522	5.4%	▲ 0.3%
2	Portland, ME	49	$550k	$2,352	5.1%	▲ 0.3%
3	Bangor, ME	45	$290k	$1,563	6.5%	▼ 0.2%
4	Augusta, ME	40	$325k	$1,481	5.5%	▼ 1.0%

Below the metro line

Largest counties in Maine

County figures join on the five-digit FIPS code. The table uses measured local values and prints “n/a” wherever a publisher has no record.

County	Population	Price	Rent	Yield	Hazard
Cumberland County, ME	308,827	$574k	$2,445	5.1%	inland flooding
York County, ME	216,731	$537k	$2,151	4.8%	inland flooding
Penobscot County, ME	154,710	$290k	$1,563	6.5%	inland flooding
Kennebec County, ME	126,808	$325k	$1,481	5.5%	inland flooding
Androscoggin County, ME	113,423	$338k	$1,522	5.4%	inland flooding
Aroostook County, ME	67,058	$174k	$1,052	7.3%	inland flooding
Oxford County, ME	59,255	$328k	$1,628	6.0%	inland flooding
Hancock County, ME	56,460	$434k	$1,525	4.2%	inland flooding
Somerset County, ME	50,959	$239k	$1,385	7.0%	inland flooding
Knox County, ME	41,003	$450k	$1,742	4.7%	hurricane
Waldo County, ME	40,192	$352k	$1,892	6.5%	inland flooding
Sagadahoc County, ME	37,285	$443k	$1,868	5.1%	inland flooding

County yield sample12/16counties have the rent needed to compute yield

Statewide net migration+3,638IRS tax-return households summed across counties

Median investor share7.8%among counties with HMDA purchase records

Sources used in this analysis

Measured releases, not a global source count

Only sources supporting the selected evidence modules are listed here.

Bear case

What can break the thesis

The rent and home-value series are market indices, while gross yield excludes vacancy, repairs, management, taxes, insurance and financing; the apparent rent advantage may not translate into net income.
Employment and migration come from different reporting periods, so positive migration cannot by itself validate current rent growth or sustained tenant demand.
The high ACS county vacancy rates cover vacant housing generally and may include units not offered for long-term rent, making them an unreliable standalone measure of rental availability.
Maine's county evidence is incomplete and uneven: rent levels cover 12 of 16 counties, rent growth covers six and listing measures cover 14, limiting statewide and county-to-county conclusions.
FEMA's county leading-hazard labels and loss ratios cannot identify parcel exposure, building resilience, insurance availability or the actual premium for a specific acquisition.

Investor questions

Before underwriting a property

Is rent growth clearly ahead of home-value growth?

Yes within the four measured metros: median rent growth is 3.2%, median value growth is 1.3% and the supplied gap is 2.0 percentage points. Bangor, Lewiston and Portland each show the same direction, but the evidence does not establish achieved rent for a specific property.

Which named metro presents the strongest income-versus-liquidity tension?

Bangor has the highest gross yield among the named momentum markets at 6.5%, but employment declined 0.2%, listings took 58 days, supply reached 5.0 months and the sale-to-list ratio was 96.5%. Its headline income advantage therefore comes with weaker demand and exit signals.

Does positive migration resolve the weak employment signal?

No. Net migration was positive by 3,638 people, or 2.6 per 1,000 residents, but median metro employment growth was only 0.1%. The packet does not show where movers settled, whether they rented or how the timing aligns with current employment.

Do high county vacancy rates mean rental units are easy to find?

Not necessarily. The 16-county median vacancy rate is 22.6%, but ACS vacancy covers all vacant housing rather than only units offered for immediate long-term rent. Heavy renter burden in Oxford and Washington counties reinforces why vacancy and rental availability should not be treated as equivalent.

How complete is the county-level screen?

Core housing-stock, migration, tax and climate measures cover 16 counties, but market coverage is narrower: county rent levels cover 12, rent growth covers six and listing measures cover 14. Conclusions for counties without those observations must remain unresolved.