Cost of Living & Housing in Houlton
Houlton's cost of living centers on genuinely affordable Aroostook County housing offset by a real, high local property tax rate.
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Learn moreGenuinely affordable housing, with a disclosed cross-source spread
Houlton's home-value estimates ran from approximately $84,191-$87,609 (one source) to $129,600 (a separate 2024 ACS-derived figure) -- both well below the roughly $355,000-$375,000 range commonly cited nationally in 2026 (base record).
A genuinely high 1.94% effective property tax rate
Houlton's own 1.94% effective property tax rate (Ownwell) runs meaningfully above the national median (1.02%) and Maine's own statewide median (1.47% per this source), though the resulting $1,917 median annual tax bill still runs below the national median dollar bill of $2,400 (base record).
Maine's 7.15% top income tax rate and 5.5% sales tax
Maine's real, current 2026 individual income tax tops out at 7.15% for the overwhelming majority of taxpayers (with a new 2% millionaire's-tax surcharge above $1M/$1.5M income), alongside a 5.5% general sales tax with no local-option layer (base record; see maine.js).
Aroostook County's real, lower-income context
Aroostook County carried a real, disclosed 2024 median household income of $56,700, one of Maine's two lowest-income counties, even as Houlton's own town-specific median household income ($61,058) ran somewhat closer to Maine's statewide figure (base record).
Key takeaways
- Houlton's home values run in the roughly $84,000-$130,000 range, genuinely affordable relative to national and Maine statewide figures.
- Houlton's own 1.94% effective property tax rate runs genuinely high, though the resulting dollar bill stays below the national median.
- Maine's 7.15% top income tax rate and 5.5% sales tax (no local option) apply in Houlton as they do statewide.
- Aroostook County's median household income ($56,700) runs among Maine's lowest, though Houlton's own town-specific figure runs somewhat higher.
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