Maine Loves Being Maine. It’s a Lot Less Sure You Can Make a Living Here.

Our Mindsets of Maine research put a number on something Maine business leaders have probably understood for a while. Mainers will enthusiastically recommend this state as a place to live — Net Promoter Score of +38. Ask them whether they’d recommend it as a place to start or grow a business, and that number drops 37 points to barely positive. Same people. Same state. Two very different answers.

That gap has always mattered. Right now, with consumers tightening up and economic uncertainty disrupting regular buying behavior, it matters even more. We dug into what’s driving it, which audiences are pulling it in which direction, and what it actually means for organizations trying to reach Maine audiences with business-positive messages this spring.