Kahului-Wailuku Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater

Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources

Should you move?

Moving from Kahului-Wailuku to Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater is neutral, depends on priorities: BEA regional price parity goes from 109.4 to 100.9 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $515/mo.

-$4,300
BLS median salary lower in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater
230 to 210
violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
14.1:1 to 17.8:1
NCES student-teacher ratio
$4,825
DOL infant care lower / yr in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater

BEA Regional Price Parity, HUD Fair Market Rent, BLS OEWS, FBI UCR, NCES, and DOL. The table below lets you override the composite with your own priorities.

Verdict
Neutral, depends on priorities
Cost Index: 109.4 → 100.9
Rent Delta: -$515/mo

Pros of Moving

  • + 9% lower cost of living
  • + $515/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
  • + More affordable childcare

Cons of Moving

  • - $4K lower median salary
  • - Higher student-teacher ratios
  • - More environmental violations

Purchasing power opens up: BEA RPP falls from 109.4 to 100.9, so each dollar covers more in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater (ratio 0.92). HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent drops $515/mo ($6,180/yr) from $2,492 in Kahului-Wailuku to $1,977 in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater.

The seven-dimension ledger splits (4 destination wins · 3 origin wins); priorities decide this move. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater sits #338 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (bottom third of the corpus). Kahului-Wailuku is #155/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Neutral, depends on priorities. Override it with the dimension table below.

BLS OEWS median salary moves $4,300 lower ($72,704 → $68,404). Labor-market size: 67,610 tracked jobs at origin vs 1,402,180 at destination.

State retirement friendliness is near-even: Hawaii 56 (D, #33/51) vs Florida 62 (C, #23/51). Full state tax and healthcare sub-scores sit in the retirement desk below.

Dimension
Kahului-Wailuku
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater
Winner
Cost of Living
RPP 109.4
RPP 100.9
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater
Rent (2BR)
$2,492/mo
$1,977/mo
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater
Wages
$72,704
$68,404
Kahului-Wailuku
Crime
230 per 100K
210 per 100K
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater
Schools
14.1:1
17.8:1
Kahului-Wailuku
Childcare
$15,330/yr
$10,505/yr
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater
Environment
31 violations
2736 violations
Kahului-Wailuku

State retirement friendliness

Primary-state scores from PlainRelocate's retirement registry (tax + healthcare + climate composite). Metro pairs use each metro's primary state abbreviation.

Origin state · Hawaii
56 D #33/51
Income tax
72
Property tax
96
Estate tax
50
Healthcare
58
Destination state · Florida
62 C #23/51
Income tax
100
Property tax
67
Estate tax
100
Healthcare
12

Full retirement ranking · Source composite documented on methodology (Tax Foundation + AARP tax guides + federal healthcare/climate inputs).

Salary Adjustment Calculator

Enter your current salary in Kahului-Wailuku to see what you'd need to earn in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater to maintain the same purchasing power.

Equivalent salary in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater
-

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA; retirement desk: Tax Foundation + AARP tax guides June 2026