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<\/a><\/p>\nAccounting for inflation, Maine and 20 other states saw no statistically significant change in income from 2023 to 2024, according to the Office of the State Economist. <\/p>\n
Office spokesperson Sharon Huntley noted that Maine\u2019s older population means relatively fewer people are earning wages, and the state generally has smaller household sizes, partly because of older adults living alone. That can skew the median income, which represents the middle of all households.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe largest contributor to inflation recently has been shelter, and housing prices have continued to increase faster in Maine than in much of the U.S. as we continue to be challenged by an imbalance between supply and demand for housing,\u201d Huntley wrote in an email.<\/p>\n
Patrick Woodcock, president of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce, partly echoed that sentiment. He said the consumer price index, which is used to calculate inflation, is largely driven by factors like labor availability and the costs of housing and energy, which are already pain points in Maine\u2019s economy.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe housing issue has continued to really put pressure on CPI, and that erodes disposable income. And the Northeast has really continued to have an acute housing shortage,\u201d particularly in Maine, he said.<\/p>\n
Home prices fell slightly in July<\/a>, the latest month for which data is available, with the median sale price ticking down to $419,950, according to the Maine Association of Realtors. But with a 5% year-over-year price hike, statewide home value increases far outpaced the national average of 0.3%.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, it is a kind of slowing (the) housing market,\u201d Woodcock said. But any decline in values \u201creally has not occurred at the level that we\u2019re seeing nationally.\u201d<\/p>\n MAINE AS AN OUTLIER<\/p>\n Woodcock pointed to Maine\u2019s lower-than-average labor participation rate, which measures the number of working-age people employed or seeking employment compared to the total population. <\/p>\n Maine saw 59.9% participation in July, the lowest in New England, according to the latest available data<\/a> from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Meanwhile, the national rate<\/a> was 62.2%; neighboring New Hampshire saw 66% participation<\/a>.<\/p>\n James Myall, an analyst with the Maine Center for Economic Policy, said it is important to distinguish between median income and average earnings from wages, rather than supplemental sources like Social Security or retirement benefits. Wage earners contributed to just under three quarters of all Maine households in 2024.<\/p>\n Average household wage earnings went from $97,997 in 2023 to $104,743 the following year \u2014 a roughly 6.9% jump, the survey shows. The survey does not include the median figure for wages, and the mean growth is not necessarily evenly distributed among earners.<\/p>\n \u201cMy takeaway from it is that the labor market in Maine is still pretty strong and people who are able to take advantage of that are doing relatively well,\u201d Myall said. \u201cBut then, I think, you\u2019ve got a group of folks who aren\u2019t able to take advantage of that labor market in that same way.\u201d<\/p>\n Myall said the retrospective data appears to reinforce beliefs that last year\u2019s economy was \u201cdoing pretty well,\u201d though core costs like rent and groceries still meant tightened belts and higher stress for many Americans.<\/p>\n But underwhelming job creation<\/a> and rising unemployment, coupled with the long-awaited impacts to prices of President Donald Trump\u2019s tariffs, could mean a weaker economic outlook in the longer term, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cUnsatisfying as the 2024 economy might have felt, I\u2019m worried that (2025 and 2026 are) going to feel even worse,\u201d Myall said. \u201cWe\u2019re at a real risk, I think, of folks being squeezed at both ends.\u201d<\/p>\n MINIMUM WAGE UPPED<\/p>\n Matt Schlobohm, executive director of the Maine AFL-CIO, which represents more than 40,000 workers in the state, said residents are feeling price hikes in \u201cbig-ticket\u201d items like housing and tuition, while also getting pinched with day-to-day purchases like gas and groceries.<\/p>\n \u201cI think of it as like an inflation sandwich,\u201d Schlobohm said. \u201cWe are a paycheck-to-paycheck state, and a lot of people are struggling.\u201d<\/p>\n Beyond measuring current inflation, the consumer price index carries direct effects for things like Maine\u2019s minimum wage and Portland\u2019s allowable rent increase each year.<\/p>\n Also on Thursday, the Maine Department of Labor announced a new minimum wage for 2026: $15.10, up from the current $14.65. That figure is pegged to the federal cost-of-living index and\u00a0must grow at the same rate<\/a>\u00a0(rounded to the nearest 5 cents).<\/p>\n About 5% of Maine\u2019s wage-paid and salaried workers made less than $15 per hour last year and will see their wages rise with the minimum, the department said. But Schlobohm said the new minimum could also create pressure in the overall labor market and help drive up wages for those making a little more.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of workers that we all rely on will see a slight uptick, an increase in their pay,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n