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State relocation profile · Federal data

Hawaii

Cost of living, fair-market rent, wages, safety, schools and childcare for Hawaii - every figure straight from federal data.

110.0
Cost index (US=100)
$2,433
2BR rent / mo
$73,975
Median salary
32.5
Life Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Hawaii scores 32.5/100 (F) on the composite Life Score, with its strongest marks in wages and safety.

32.5
Life Score · F
110.0
Cost of living (US=100)
$73,975
Median annual salary (BLS)
$2,433
2BR fair-market rent / mo (HUD)

Weakest dimension: rent (0/100). State-level figures are a benchmark, individual metros can diverge sharply, so weigh each dimension against your own priorities.

According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and five other federal agencies, Hawaii has a cost-of-living index of 110.0 (100 = national average), a median 2-bedroom rent of $2,433/mo, and a median salary of $73,975. Its composite Life Score is 32.5/100 (F), with its strongest marks in wages and safety.

How Hawaii ranks nationally

Where Hawaii's composite Life Score falls among all 51 US states scored.

Life Score distribution - Hawaii marked 0 US states at 0–10 0 0 US states at 10–20 10 0 US states at 20–30 20 5 US states at 30–40 5 30 16 US states at 40–50 16 40 24 US states at 50–60 24 50 6 US states at 60–70 6 60 0 US states at 70–80 70 0 US states at 80–90 80 0 US states at 90–100 90 Life Score →
Bottom 1% by Life Score Lower Life Score than 100% of all 51 US states.

Hawaii has life score of 32.5. Distribution: 0 US states at 0-10; 0 US states at 10-20; 0 US states at 20-30; 5 US states at 30-40; 16 US states at 40-50; 24 US states at 50-60; 6 US states at 60-70; 0 US states at 70-80; 0 US states at 80-90; 0 US states at 90-100.

Evaluating Hawaii as a relocation target starts with the statewide BEA Regional Price Parity of 110.0 - where 100 is the national average, so every point above or below translates to percent-level cost of living difference. Housing costs in Hawaii index at 125.3, goods at 111.6, and services at 190.2. HUD Fair Market Rents averaged across Hawaii counties put a 2-bedroom at $2,433/month, the figure HUD uses to cap Section 8 voucher payments, so it reflects real submarket rents rather than listings bias.

On the income side, BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics report a statewide median salary of $73,975 with a mean of $76,895 across 605,850 tracked jobs. For safety context, FBI UCR data shows a violent crime rate of 230 per 100,000 residents and a property crime rate of 2053 per 100K. These state-level reads let you benchmark Hawaii against both your origin state and national medians before zooming into specific metros.

Family and education costs often decide a move. Department of Labor data for Hawaii shows center-based infant care running $15,330/year, preschool at $10,845/year, and toddler care at $10,845/year. Hawaii contains 2 metropolitan statistical areas in our dataset - Kahului-Wailuku, Urban Honolulu - each with its own rent, wage and crime profile that can diverge sharply from the statewide average. The composite Life Score of 32.5/100 (F) folds all seven federal sources into one number for quick comparison.

Key Metrics

Cost of Living (RPP)
110.0
100 = national avg
Avg 2BR Rent (FMR)
$2,433
per month
Median Salary
$73,975
annual
Violent Crime Rate
230
per 100K

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for Hawaii (DOL data).

Infant (Center)
$15,330
per year
Toddler (Center)
$10,845
per year
Preschool (Center)
$10,845
per year

Life Score Breakdown

Hawaii's composite Life Score is 32.5/100 (F), computed across 7 dimensions.

Strongest dimension: Wages (80/100)

Hawaii - Life Score dimensions

Percentile vs all US states (100 = best in the nation for that dimension)

/100

What this shows Hawaii's strongest dimensions are wages and safety; its weakest is rent at 0/100. Each dimension is a federal-data percentile; the composite folds all seven into one comparable figure.

Source BEA · HUD · BLS · FBI · NCES · DOL · EPA As of Federal data, latest available vintage
Cost
2/100
Bottom decile
Wages
80/100
Elite
Rent
0/100
Bottom decile
Crime
66/100
Strong
Schools
42/100
Below average
Childcare
18/100
Bottom decile
Environment
2/100
Bottom decile

Metros in Hawaii

Explore detailed relocation data for 2 metropolitan areas in Hawaii.

Kahului-Wailuku, HI Urban Honolulu, HI

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Relocating within or to Hawaii?

State figures are the benchmark, drill into a metro before you commit.

  • Hawaii has 2 metro areas with rent, wage and crime profiles that diverge from the statewide average, start with Kahului-Wailuku. View Kahului-Wailuku
  • Put two places on the same scorecard across cost, rent, wages, safety and schools before you decide. Compare metros
  • See how every US metro ranks on the composite LiveAbility Score, then re-weight it to your priorities. Rankings

Cost, rent and wages are state-level reads; safety, schools and childcare use state data where metro-level isn't published. Always verify the latest figures at the official source before you move.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the cost of living in Hawaii?
Hawaii has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 110.0, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 125.3, which is above the national average. The average 2-bedroom fair market rent is $2,433/month.
What is the median salary in Hawaii?
The median salary in Hawaii is $73,975 annually (mean: $76,895). Total employment across the state is 605,850.
How safe is Hawaii?
The violent crime rate in Hawaii is 230 per 100,000 population. The property crime rate is 2053 per 100K.
How much does childcare cost in Hawaii?
Infant center-based childcare in Hawaii averages $15,330 per year. Preschool averages $10,845/year. Toddler care averages $10,845/year. These are state-level averages from the Department of Labor.
How many metro areas are in Hawaii?
Hawaii has 2 metropolitan statistical areas tracked by PlainRelocate, including Kahului-Wailuku, Urban Honolulu.
Is Hawaii a good state to relocate to?
Hawaii has a Life Score of 32.5/100 (F), based on 7 dimensions: cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment. This places Hawaii in the bottom decile of scored states; compare individual dimensions to see where the biggest gaps are.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Data Sources

  • Cost of Living: Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) Regional Price Parities
  • Rent: HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR)
  • Wages: Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES)
  • Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR)
  • Schools: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
  • Childcare: Department of Labor (DOL)
  • Environment: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

This information is for research purposes only.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Related

Browse all → | Rankings →

Verify with U.S. Census Bureau →

Every figure on PlainRelocate is rendered directly from federal source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on federal source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.