ORONO — Anyone looking to enjoy the benefits of Orono will have to pay the piper to do it, which could cost more than living near the president in Kennebunkport.

After plugging various cost-of-living factors into a formula, Orono received a ranking of 109.9, the second-highest surveyed, according to a report recently issued by the Maine Agricultural Experiment Station at the University of Maine. The scores ranged from 89.3 for Lubec to 111.2 for Scarborough. To further compare the scores, Old Town ranked 97.8, Bangor 104.1, and Portland 109.5. The national average is 100, to which 137 Maine towns and cities were compared.

The formula used by the researchers attempted to determine the cost-of-living index by studying income, wealth, and population, and was designed to evaluate the effect of supply and demand within the towns. Also, data from the 1980 census, which could be outdated, was used.

According to the report, cost-of-living estimates tend to show that the more expensive communities are in the southern part of the state, information that is likely to surprise few people. The farther north and inland the community, the lower the value of the index, the report said.

Another possible factor in Orono’s high index rating is the relatively small amount of industry there. Although there are many small businesses in Orono, it does not enjoy the benefits of having a large industry, such as the James River Corp. paper mill in Old Town, which provides that city with nearly 53 percent of its tax base. Also, the Orono area has seen rapid growth recently, which has caused a strain on certain services, such as education and housing.

Town Manager Bruce A. Locke also said that Orono has only 2,200 parcels of taxable land, which he said is much lower than other towns with comparable populations. Orono’s population is about 10,500.