Alaska & Hawaii · Updated October 2026
Hawaii in numbers, from the same public data Locustep uses to rank all 50 states: rent, pay, taxes, safety, disaster risk and weather, plus the cities worth a look.
Two-bedroom rent
$2,467/mo
U.S. average $1,759
HUD Fair Market Rents FY2027 (40th percentile, population-weighted across the state)
Rent vs. income
29.4%
of median household income for a year of two-bedroom rent
HUD Fair Market Rents FY2027 ÷ 2024 ACS 1-year estimates (Census B19013)
State income tax
11%
top marginal rate, single filer
State revenue departments, 2026 income tax rates (sources listed per state)
Property tax
0.27%
effective rate on owner-occupied homes
Everyday costs
106.1
index, housing excluded (U.S. = 100)
BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024 (released February 2026), housing and utilities removed
Natural disaster risk
93rd
percentile, FEMA expected annual loss (lower is safer)
Where Hawaii stands out: the 8th lowest violent crime, the 4th highest median household income and the lowest property taxes among the 50 states.
What to weigh: the highest natural-disaster risk, the 3rd most expensive two-bedroom rent, the 4th biggest rent-to-income bite, the highest everyday costs and the 2nd highest top income-tax rate.
Overall, a married couple on the U.S. median household income would pay about 7.3% of it in state and local income, property and sales tax here, the 25th lowest of the 50 states.
Average afternoon highs and overnight lows in Honolulu (Honolulu Intl Airport station), NOAA 1991–2020 normals.
| Season | High | Low |
|---|---|---|
| Winter (Dec–Feb) | 81°F | 68°F |
| Spring (Mar–May) | 83°F | 70°F |
| Summer (Jun–Aug) | 88°F | 75°F |
| Fall (Sep–Nov) | 86°F | 74°F |
$2,542/mo two-bedroom · $1,951 one-bedroom (Urban Honolulu, HI MSA)
Honolulu is a genuinely urban tropical city with high-rises, traffic and a large military presence, plus beaches and mountains within minutes. Housing and groceries are the most expensive in the country, and island life takes adjustment.
$2,081/mo two-bedroom · $1,615 one-bedroom (Hawaii County, HI)
Hilo is the Big Island's rainy, low-key eastern town — lush, affordable by Hawaii standards, with a farmers' market culture and volcanoes nearby. Very wet, quiet after dark, and a limited job market outside education and healthcare.
$2,081/mo two-bedroom · $1,615 one-bedroom (Hawaii County, HI)
Kailua-Kona is the Big Island's dry, sunny west side — resorts, coffee farms, snorkelling and a strong triathlon culture. Tourism-driven, expensive, and far more developed than Hilo.
$2,656/mo two-bedroom · $2,030 one-bedroom (Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, HI HUD Metro FMR Area)
Lahaina is a historic west-Maui town devastated by the 2023 wildfire and still in the middle of a long rebuild. Housing is severely constrained, and anyone considering it should look closely at current conditions.
$2,656/mo two-bedroom · $2,030 one-bedroom (Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, HI HUD Metro FMR Area)
Kihei is south Maui's sunny, sprawling condo strip — beaches, snorkelling and the most affordable housing on an expensive island. Windy afternoons, heavy tourist traffic, and a service-based economy.
$2,105/mo two-bedroom · $1,609 one-bedroom (Kauai County, HI)
Lihue is the government and commercial centre of Kauai, the greenest and most rural of the main islands. Stunning and slow-paced, with very high costs, few jobs outside tourism, and flooding and hurricane exposure.
Rents: HUD Fair Market Rents FY2027 (40th percentile, population-weighted across the state) (metro areas). City notes: Locustep.
Closest on Locustep’s match factors: cost, housing, taxes, safety, jobs, schools, healthcare, outdoors, disaster risk and climate.
Ranks compare the 50 states. Locustep updates these figures when the agencies publish new data.
Yes. Hawaii’s top marginal income-tax rate for a single filer is 11% (Hawaii tax law, 2026). Counting property and sales tax too, a married couple on the U.S. median household income would pay about 7.3% of income in state and local taxes (Locustep estimate, 2026).
A typical two-bedroom rents for about $2,467 a month and a one-bedroom for about $1,895, using HUD’s FY2027 Fair Market Rents averaged across the state by population. That is $708 more than the U.S. average of $1,759. Rent in the bigger metros can be well above the state figure.
Leaving housing aside, everyday prices (goods and services other than housing) index at 106.1 against a U.S. average of 100 (BEA, 2024), and the median home value indexes at 242.9 against the U.S. median (Census, 2024). Two-bedroom rent takes 29.4% of the state’s median household income of $100,745.
Hawaii recorded 217.7 violent crimes per 100,000 residents in 2024 (FBI), the 8th lowest rate of the 50 states. Crime varies a lot between and within cities, so check the specific area you’re considering.
The main hazards are hurricanes and earthquakes. On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Hawaii’s expected yearly loss from natural hazards sits at the 93rd percentile nationally (lower is safer). Risk differs sharply by county, so look up the county too.
Places people most often weigh include Honolulu, Hilo, Kailua-Kona, Lahaina and Kihei. Each has a different cost, climate and character; Locustep compares their rent, disaster risk, weather and pay side by side.