What is the cost of living in Bangor?

Bangor has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 96.5, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 77.7, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,392/month.

What is the median salary in Bangor?

The median salary in Bangor is $65,577 annually (mean: $68,697). Top occupations include Fast Food and Counter Workers, Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Retail Salespersons.

The violent crime rate in the Bangor area is 102 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 1149 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Bangor?

The state of ME has 570 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 11.1:1. Charter schools make up 2.3% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Bangor?

Infant center-based childcare in the Bangor area averages $11,325 per year. Preschool averages $9,566/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Bangor a good place to relocate?

Bangor has a Life Score of 47.9/100 (D), based on 7 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This is a middle-of-the-pack score, where the composite lands for most US metros; look at individual dimensions to see the real trade-offs.

Where does Bangor sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Bangor ranks #23 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Bangor, ME

LiveAbility 63.3/100 places Bangor #23 of 387 (top third of scored metros).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

96.5
Cost index (US=100): $1,392
2BR rent / mo: $65,577
Median salary: 63.3
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Bangor ranks #23 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (63.3/100), with its strongest marks in schools and low hazard.

#23
of 387 US metros · Excellent: 1,405,012
metro-area population: 102
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 570
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: climate (13/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Bangor ranks #23 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 96.5 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,392/mo, median salary $65,577; LiveAbility Score 63.3/100, strongest in schools and low hazard.

Signature: LiveAbility 63.3/100 places Bangor #23 of 387 (top third of scored metros).

Purchasing power sits mid-band: BEA RPP 96.5 between corpus terciles 91.5 and 97.0. Median 2BR rent $1,392/mo.

LiveAbility 63.3/100 puts Bangor in the top third (#23 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Bangor area is 66,130.

Bangor vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

63 Top 6% higher than 94% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Bangor housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Bangor MSA; housing RPP 77.7 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,392/mo.

Studio

$982

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,061

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,392

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,799

/month

4 Bedroom

$2,010

/month

Bangor wages and employment

Bangor posts 66,130 total employment with median salary $65,577.

Median Salary

$65,577

Mean Salary

$68,697

Total Employment

66,130

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$34,140
Home Health and Personal Care Aides	$37,900
Retail Salespersons	$35,560
Registered Nurses	$93,940
Cashiers	$32,200

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Bangor area from NCES.

Schools

570

Enrollment

166,683

Student:Teacher

11.1:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for the Bangor area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$11,325

per year

Toddler (Center)

$10,451

per year

Preschool (Center)

$9,566

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Bangor's composite Life Score is 47.9/100 (D), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

35/100

Below average

Wages

54/100

Average

Rent

39/100

Below average

Crime

92/100

Elite

Schools

0/100

Bottom decile

Childcare

37/100

Below average

Environment

66/100

Strong

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Bangor ranks #23 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 63.3/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Schools (100/100)

Schools

100
Low hazard

96
Air quality

93
Safety

92
Job market

54
Housing

39
Cost of living

35
Climate

13

What this shows Bangor's strongest dimensions are schools and low hazard; its weakest among scored dims is climate at 13/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Bangor to

Sebastian-Vero Beach-West Vero Corridor Sebring Sheboygan Sherman-Denison Shreveport-Bossier City Sierra Vista-Douglas

Metros near Bangor on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Bangor on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Bangor cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Bangor wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Bangor?

Bangor runs a $65,577 median salary at a 96.5 cost index, ranking #23 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Bangor's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Bangor head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Bangor
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.