Southern or northern Maine to live? Southern Maine offers the most jobs, amenities, and coastal access, plus proximity to Boston, but at the state’s highest cost. Northern Maine offers dramatic affordability, wide-open space, and the great outdoors, with fewer jobs and services. Choose southern Maine for opportunity and convenience, northern Maine for value and wilderness.
“Southern or northern Maine?” shapes the whole experience of living in the state. After three decades covering Maine, here is an honest look at the tradeoffs between the busy, higher-cost south and the affordable, wide-open north.
The Big Difference: Busy, Costly South vs Affordable, Wild North
Southern Maine — Portland, the southern beaches, and the corridor toward New Hampshire — is the state’s population, economic, and tourism center, with the most jobs, amenities, and coastal desirability, and the highest costs. Northern Maine — Bangor and beyond into Aroostook County and the North Woods — is sparsely populated, dramatically more affordable, and defined by forests, farmland, and wilderness, with fewer jobs and services.
Cost of Living
Northern Maine wins overwhelmingly on cost. Southern Maine, especially Greater Portland and the coast, has the state’s highest home prices and cost of living. Head north and housing becomes remarkably affordable — some of the lowest home prices in New England are in northern and eastern Maine. For pure affordability, the north is unbeatable; the south commands a premium. See our cheapest places to live in Maine.
Jobs and Amenities
Southern Maine wins decisively on jobs and services. Greater Portland is the state’s economic engine, with the most diverse job market, healthcare, dining, culture, and its jetport. Northern Maine’s opportunities concentrate around Bangor, with rural areas having limited jobs and services. For career options and amenities, the south leads; the north suits remote workers, retirees, or those with work arranged. See our guide to the best places to live in Maine for jobs.
Nature and Lifestyle
Both are beautiful, differently. Southern Maine has the famous beaches, walkable coastal towns, and a lively, more populated feel. Northern Maine has vast forests, Moosehead Lake, Baxter State Park and Katahdin, the Allagash, and true wilderness, with a quiet, rural, tight-knit character. The south is coast-and-town living; the north is wilderness-and-small-town living.
Weather
Northern Maine has longer, colder, snowier winters; southern Maine’s coastal climate is milder and its season a bit longer. Winter-sports lovers and those who embrace real winters favor the north; those wanting milder weather favor the south.
Who Should Choose Southern Maine
Choose southern Maine for the most jobs, the best amenities and dining, coastal access, and proximity to Boston — if you can manage the higher cost. It suits career-focused people, those wanting convenience, and anyone drawn to the southern coast.
Who Should Choose Northern Maine
Choose northern Maine for dramatic affordability, wide-open space, wilderness and the outdoors, and a quiet rural life. It suits remote workers, retirees, outdoor enthusiasts, and anyone prioritizing value and nature over jobs and amenities.
Our Honest Take
If you need the job market and want amenities and the coast, southern Maine is worth its higher cost. But northern Maine offers something increasingly rare — genuine affordability, space, and wilderness — that is ideal for remote workers, retirees, and anyone who values the outdoors over convenience. Many newcomers settle in the middle, around Bangor or the Midcoast, to balance the two. Decide by what you need most: opportunity and convenience, or value and wilderness.
Southern vs Northern Maine FAQ
Is southern or northern Maine better to live in?
It depends on your priorities. Southern Maine has the most jobs, amenities, and coastal access at a higher cost. Northern Maine offers dramatic affordability, space, and wilderness with fewer jobs and services. The south suits career and convenience; the north suits value and the outdoors.
Is northern Maine cheaper than southern Maine?
Yes, dramatically. Southern Maine, especially Greater Portland and the coast, has the state’s highest housing costs, while northern and eastern Maine have some of the lowest home prices in New England. Affordability is the north’s biggest advantage.
Where are the jobs in Maine?
Most of Maine’s jobs are in the south, centered on Greater Portland, along with the regional hubs of Bangor, Lewiston-Auburn, and Augusta. Northern and rural Maine have far fewer opportunities, so many who settle there work remotely or arrange work first.
More relocation comparisons: Maine vs New Hampshire · Portland vs Bangor · Coastal vs Inland Maine · Maine vs Massachusetts
Job hunting? Browse current jobs across Maine on JobsInMaine, from southern Portland to central Bangor and Augusta.
See also our cheapest places to live in Maine, best places for jobs, and guide to moving to Maine. MaineGuide.com has been Maine’s resource guide since 1995.
Maine employer hiring? Reach local Maine candidates directly — post a job on JobsInMaine.com, Maine’s job board since 1997.