Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Even on the area’s higher pay, Brunswick costs more to live in than 80% of U.S. towns
It ranks #116 of 143 in Maine for affordability. Up 2.5% in a year, 21% above the Maine typical home.
Census 2020–24 home values, rents, tax bills and cost burden, measured against the median household income of the Portland-South Portland, ME metro area ($92K). How TownRatings grades cost of living
The grade measures what housing costs against what households in the area earn. Brunswick’s area earns well above the typical U.S. town ($92K against $74K), but homes, rent and taxes here run higher still. Owners keep up better than renters: 22% of owners pay 30% or more of income for housing (typical U.S. town: 20%), against 56% of renters.
In dollars
- $497Ktypical home, 21% above the Maine typical homeZillow, September 2026
- $1,910a month for a two-bedroom, utilities includedHUD Fair Market Rent, 2026
- 102prices across the Portland metro, where the U.S. is 100 (housing 105)BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
In paychecks the grade
- 4.1 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$92K, Portland-area income
- 19%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 56%of renters pay 30%+ of income for housing; across Maine: 48%Census 2020–24
- 22%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
What kind of housing town is Brunswick?
Read from the numbers below. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Brunswick’s grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Brunswick is more affordable than 20% of U.S. towns, #116 of 143 in Maine. Property tax pulls the grade down most; rent holds it up.
Prices here have kept pace with Maine: up 29.0% in five years, against 26.8% statewide (Zillow).
Up 29% in five years
About the same pace as Maine (26.8%).
Show as a table
| January | Brunswick | Maine |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | $241,000 | $205,000 |
| 2018 | $258,000 | $219,000 |
| 2019 | $282,000 | $232,000 |
| 2020 | $295,000 | $244,000 |
| 2021 | $337,000 | $285,000 |
| 2022 | $393,000 | $333,000 |
| 2023 | $436,000 | $364,000 |
| 2024 | $478,000 | $395,000 |
| 2025 | $490,000 | $408,000 |
| 2026 | $490,000 | $409,000 |
| September 2026 | $497,000 | $412,000 |
A typical Brunswick home worth $237K in October 2016 is worth about $497K today.
Zillow Home Value Index: the typical value of all homes (middle third), smoothed and seasonally adjusted, through September 2026.
Too few sales to read the market
Only 16 homes sold in May 2026, the latest month in Redfin’s figures: too few to describe the market or quote a median sale price.
A typical home costs 4.1 years of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Brunswick’s own median, or type yours.
That’s $156K short of a typical Brunswick home.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,910 a month here, $1,220 less than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Brunswick’s typical property tax (1.26% of value a year, from the Census) and insurance of about 0.35%. Mortgage insurance, HOA fees and other debts aren’t included.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,910
Renters already here pay a median of $1,469, so moving in tends to cost more than staying put.
Fair Market Rent a month, utilities included
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents by ZIP code (Cumberland County, ME (part) HUD Metro FMR Area): the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
153 new homes permitted in 2025
Builders were permitted 153 new homes in Brunswick in 2025: 38 single-family houses and 115 in buildings with two or more homes, worth about $86.4 million to build. That's 6.8 per 1,000 residents, about the pace of Maine as a whole. Over the past 10 years, Brunswick has permitted 760 homes in all.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Brunswick gained 1,478 residents while 376 new homes were permitted: about 3.9 new residents per new home. Population grew faster than building, so existing homes filled up: a sign of tight supply. Across Maine: 0.9 new residents per new home.
Every year as a table
| Year | New homes | Single-family | 2+ per building | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Jan–Aug) | 83 | 32 | 51 | $23.4 million |
| 2025 | 153 | 38 | 115 | $86.4 million |
| 2024 | 120 | 53 | 67 | $39.4 million |
| 2023 | 77 | 73 | 4 | $25 million |
| 2022 | 59 | 55 | 4 | $23.6 million |
| 2021 | 71 | 69 | 2 | $29.5 million |
| 2020 | 69 | 69 | 0 | $28.3 million |
| 2019 | 60 | 60 | 0 | $18.7 million |
| 2018 | 57 | 57 | 0 | $15.9 million |
| 2017 | 35 | 33 | 2 | $10.9 million |
| 2016 | 59 | 35 | 24 | $12 million |
| 2015 | 23 | 21 | 2 | $8.1 million |
| 2014 | 34 | 34 | 0 | $8.6 million |
| 2013 | 34 | 34 | 0 | $8.5 million |
| 2012 | 26 | 26 | 0 | $8.8 million |
| 2011 | 22 | 20 | 2 | $5.5 million |
| 2010 | 26 | 26 | 0 | $6.8 million |
| 2009 | 21 | 21 | 0 | $5.7 million |
| 2008 | 21 | 21 | 0 | $4.7 million |
| 2007 | 68 | 66 | 2 | $14.5 million |
| 2006 | 121 | 73 | 48 | $21.7 million |
| 2005 | 86 | 80 | 6 | $18.7 million |
| 2004 | 96 | 77 | 19 | $20.1 million |
| 2003 | 122 | 104 | 18 | $23.1 million |
| 2002 | 111 | 97 | 14 | $18.1 million |
| 2001 | 88 | 88 | 0 | $14.3 million |
| 2000 | 86 | 86 | 0 | $11.1 million |
Homes authorized by building permits, counted in the year the permit was issued. U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.
Property tax runs above the Maine norm
The median bill is $4,756 (Maine: $3,036), 1.26% of a home’s value a year, against 1.02% statewide.
Census American Community Survey 2020–24: the median real-estate tax bill homeowners report, and that bill ÷ the median home value. Bills include town, school and county taxes. The Census reports bills over $10,000 only as “$10,000+”.
The rest of a budget near Brunswick
Only figures published free for the whole country, each labeled with the area it covers: the Portland-South Portland, ME metro area, or Maine. Groceries follow the goods price level; nobody publishes them town by town.
| Cost | Here | Compared with | Area | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prices overall U.S. = 100 | 102 | ME 97 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Goods (groceries, clothing, cars…) U.S. = 100 | 97 | ME 97 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Utilities U.S. = 100 | 135 | ME 135 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Other services U.S. = 100 | 103 | ME 103 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
Price levels: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities 2024 (metro area and state). Electricity: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A.
Brunswick vs. its neighbors
Of the 7 towns here with a Zillow value, Brunswick has the 4th-lowest.
Cost next door · one source per column
| Town | Cost | Typical home Zillow, September 2026 | Median value Census 2020–24 | Tax rate bill ÷ value | 2-bed rent HUD 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brunswick | C− | $497K | $376K | 1.26% | $1,910 |
| Topsham | C | $469K | $361K | 1.18% | $1,820 |
| Harpswell | C | $719K | $610K | 0.52% | $1,860 |
| West Bath | B | $537K | $423K | 0.83% | $1,470 |
| Freeport | C− | $685K | $508K | 0.99% | $2,210 |
| Bath | C+ | $375K | $311K | 1.24% | $1,470 |
| Durham | C | $444K | $322K | 1.17% | $1,920 |
Questions about the cost of living in Brunswick
Is Brunswick expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Brunswick costs more than 80% of U.S. towns: a C− for cost of living, #116 of 143 in Maine. The typical home costs 4.1 years of the median household income of the Portland-South Portland, ME metro area ($92K).
How much does a house cost in Brunswick?
About $497K, Zillow’s typical value for September 2026, up 2.5% in a year. The Maine typical home is $412K.
What salary do you need to live in Brunswick?
To buy the typical home with 20% down at 6.3%, about $134,000 a year, keeping the payment (about $3,130 a month with tax and insurance) at 28% of income. To rent a two-bedroom at 30% of income, about $76,000.
How much is rent in Brunswick?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $1,910 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $1,469 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Brunswick?
The median bill is $4,756 a year, 1.26% of the median home value (Maine: $3,036, 1.02%), from the Census 2020–24.
Are home prices in Brunswick going up?
Yes: up 2.5% in the past year and 29.0% in five years, against 26.8% across Maine (Zillow).
Neighbors talk housing
What Brunswick buyers, sellers and renters are saying.
Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Zillow Research, September 2026. Sales, days on market and supply: Redfin Data Center, May 2026. Income, ownership, taxes and rent: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. New homes: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey. Fair Market Rents: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The calculator is an estimate, not a loan offer. Regional price levels: BEA; electricity: EIA. How TownRatings grades cost of living.