Cost of living in Bath, ME — Housing, Rent & Index

All states·Maine·Bath·Cost of living

Housing, rent, and a comparison to the US average.

$371,163
Median home value
$1,700/mo
Median rent
105
Cost index (US=100)
-1.2%
Home YoY change

The median home value in Bath, ME is $371,163 as of 2026-04. That places Bath near the US average for housing cost, with a cost index of approximately 105 versus a national baseline of 100.

Over the past 12 months, the median home value in Bath has moved sideways, and over the past five years it has averaged +7.4% annual growth. The current price sits -1.6% from its 5-year peak in 2025-06.

Renters pay a median of $1,700 per month in Bath. Rents have changed — over the last year and averaged — per year over five years.

Beyond housing, day-to-day costs in Bath are shaped by state and local taxes, utility rates, transportation, and groceries. This page focuses on the housing component, which is the largest single line in most household budgets and the easiest to compare across cities using consistent national data.

Housing

Median home value$371,163
1-year change-1.2%
5-year price growth+7.4%
10-year price growth+8.6%
vs 5-year peak-1.6%

Source: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI).

How Bath compares

Cost index105 (near US)
Median home vs US (~$355k)+4.6%
Population8,817
Momentum score65 (Rising)

Cost index is currently a housing-only proxy; full BLS basket coming with ACS pull.

Affordability reality

Prices only mean something against local pay. Here’s how Bath’s housing lines up with what people here actually earn.

Median rent vs income29% of local median income
Home price-to-income5.3× local median income

At $1,700/mo, rent eats about 29% of the local median household income of $69,390 — within the 30% rule of thumb for affordable housing.

The median home runs about 5.3× the local median income (severely stretched — a stretch even for local earners).

Daily life in Bath

Climate

80°/58° summer28°/11° winter196 sunny days60″ snow/yr45″ rain/yr

Summers run mild (highs near 80°F) and winters are cold (highs near 28°F), with about 60″ of snow a year.

Natural-hazard & insurance risk

Flood: lowTornado: very lowHurricane: lowWildfire: very lowEarthquake: very low

No single natural hazard scores high in Bath — a relative plus for insurance cost and peace of mind.

Getting around

The average commute is 26 min — about the US average of ~27 min; 19% of workers are remote; 64% own their home.

Sources: Zillow ZHVI (home values), Zillow ZORI (rents), US Census ACS + place population. Updated when source agencies publish revisions.