Property Taxes in Maine
Maine's property tax runs genuinely, but only modestly, above the national average -- a statewide effective rate clustering around 1.10% (real cross-source range 0.98%-1.10%), against a roughly 0.91%-1.0% national average -- a real, disclosed, moderate elevation this record credits honestly without overstating it, alongside real county-level variation.
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Learn moreMaine's statewide effective rate, and its real cross-source range
This pass's 2026 cross-source research found Maine's statewide effective property tax rate spread across approximately 0.98% (Tax Foundation) to 1.02% (taxbycounty.com) to 1.10% (propertytaxrates.org), with one outlier source citing a notably higher 1.47% not corroborated elsewhere. This record anchors at 1.10% while disclosing that spread honestly -- placing Maine only modestly above the roughly 0.91%-1.0% national average, a genuinely smaller gap than several other higher-property-tax New England states this dataset has documented (New Hampshire's roughly 1.4x-1.9x national average, by contrast).
County-level variation is real within an already-modest statewide elevation
This pass's research found effective rates ranging from approximately 0.78% in Piscataquis County (the state's lowest) up to approximately 1.19% in Androscoggin County (Maine's highest). A single aggregator source put Maine's statewide median annual property-tax bill at approximately $2,926 on a $266,400 home -- this record discloses that figure as a single, not independently cross-corroborated anchor rather than a firm consensus number. Confirm the specific current mill rate for any target town directly, since Maine relies heavily on local property taxes to fund schools and municipal services.
Because the elevation is modest, not extreme, this record does not apply a HIGH_PROPERTY_TAX tag
This record discloses Maine's property-tax picture as genuinely, but only modestly, above the national average -- not extreme enough to warrant a HIGH_PROPERTY_TAX tag, in contrast with states carrying a substantially larger gap. A prospective mover should still confirm the specific effective rate for any target address directly rather than relying on a statewide figure alone.
What this means for a buyer, renter, or retiree
Maine's modestly elevated property tax sits alongside a real, layered income-tax picture (a 7.15% top rate for most filers, now joined by a new 2026 millionaire's-tax surcharge above $1M/$1.5M income) and a real, substantial retiree-tax advantage: a full Social Security exemption plus a $48,216 pension income deduction (tax year 2025), subject to a real, disclosed income-based phaseout. See the income-taxes topic for the fuller retiree-relevant picture, and the homeowners-insurance topic for how Maine's genuinely favorable insurance market helps offset total ownership cost.
Key takeaways
- Maine's statewide effective property tax rate clusters around 1.10% (range approximately 0.98%-1.10%), only modestly above the roughly 0.91%-1.0% national average.
- County-level rates range from approximately 0.78% in Piscataquis County to approximately 1.19% in Androscoggin County.
- A single-source statewide median annual bill of approximately $2,926 (on a $266,400 home) is disclosed as not independently cross-corroborated.
- Because the national-average gap is modest rather than extreme, this record does not apply a HIGH_PROPERTY_TAX tag to Maine, unlike several other higher-property-tax New England states this dataset has documented.
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