Tour and Travel Guides Salary
In Maine, tour and travel guides earn $44,940 at the median, or about $21.61 an hour. The range runs from $33K at the entry level to $55K for experienced workers. Adjusted for local prices (RPP 97.7), that's roughly $45,998 in purchasing power. A 2-bedroom apartment runs $1,281/month, about 41.3% of take-home, which is tight.
Statewide average. Salary and cost of living vary significantly across Maine. Jump to a metro for precise data:
So what does $45K get you in Maine?
About tour and travel guides
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What this looks like in Maine
Maine sits well above the national pay line for tour and travel guides, local pay runs about 18% higher than the U.S. median of $38K. The catch: housing math doesn't keep up. A 2-bedroom at the HUD median rents for $1,281/month, which is 42.3% of the median worker's take-home, past the 30% guideline most planners use. Cost of living (RPP 97.7) is near the national average, so spending patterns here track the typical American budget fairly closely. The pay premium is real, but so are the offsets.
Compensation breakdown
Annual earnings by percentile, Maine
Entry-level tour and travel guides (10th percentile) start around $33K. Mid-career wages sit at $45K. Top earners bring in $55K or more, a $22K spread from bottom to top.
Tour and Travel Guides salary by metro in Maine
1 metro area with BLS data, ranked by median pay
| Metro area | Median salary | vs. state | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portland-South Portland | $47K | +5% | 150 |
Compare to other states
Track tour and travel guides salary changes
BLS updates this data quarterly. We'll email you when Maine numbers change.
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Frequently asked questions
Can a tour and travel guide afford a 2BR apartment alone in Maine?
It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $45K, rent takes 42.3% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,281/month. The 30% guideline puts the comfortable ceiling at roughly $900/month in rent — so roommates or a 1-bedroom would ease the math significantly.
What’s the entry-level salary for tour and travel guides in Maine?
The 10th-percentile wage — what new tour and travel guides typically earn — is $33K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $1,975/month. At HUD’s $1,281/month FMR, rent would take 65% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.
Is tour and travel guide a high-paying job in Maine?
Local pay is 18% above the national median — $45K here vs. $38K nationally.
How does Maine compare to the national average for tour and travel guides?
Maine pays $45K median vs. the U.S. average of $38K — that’s +18%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 97.7), the purchasing-power equivalent is $46K — still ahead of the national median.
How much do tour and travel guides make in Maine?
The median is $44,940 a year, that works out to about $22 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $32,910, and experienced tour and travel guides can clear $55,240. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.
Is $45K enough to live in Maine?
On that salary, you'd take home roughly $3,028/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,281/month, which eats 42.3% of your paycheck. That's above the 30% rule of thumb, housing will be a stretch at the median salary, though you can manage with roommates or a smaller place.
How far does a tour and travel guides salary go in Maine?
Maine has a Regional Price Parity of 97.7 (100 is the national average). That's below average, your money stretches further here than the raw salary number suggests. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median tour and travel guides salary is worth about $45,998 in national-average purchasing power.
Where do tour and travel guides get paid the most?
The table above ranks every state by median pay for this role. Keep in mind that the highest-paying states tend to have the highest costs of living, so the top salary doesn't always mean the most money in your pocket.