Cost of living in Calais, Maine

Calais, Maine has about 3,097 people. That count is a 2020–2024 Census average, not a headcount from one day.

A typical home is worth about $111,100.

HUD's fair-market rent for a 2-bedroom in this town's area (Washington County, ME) is $1,230 a month. That rate runs from October 2026 through September 2027.

Maine's prices sit at 97.0 when the U.S. average is 100. This place is not in a metro area with its own index, so this is the state number from BEA for 2024.

Maine taxes wages. A typical combined sales tax is 5.5% as of January 1, 2026. That mix is statewide, not Calais's exact store tax.

In July 2026, a typical Maine home paid 32.41¢ per kilowatt-hour. That is a state average from EIA, not Calais's bill.

EIA does not publish a Maine gasoline price. For the week of October 12, 2026, the New England (PADD 1A) all-grades price was $4.433 a gallon. At 12,000 miles a year and 25 mpg, the index counts that as $2,127.84 a year. Those miles are our standard, not a Census figure, and every town in Maine shares this price.

Among 95 places we list in Maine with a rent figure, 49 have higher typical rent than Calais.