Is Hawaii Still Worth It?

What it costs to live here, and how good a place it is to live, in plain numbers.

Best place to live rank

#39

39th out of 50 states overall.

Among the weaker states for overall quality of life.

How we rank states ›

Cost to live here

#50

50th cheapest state, about 65% above average.

To live the way $75,000 affords in an average state, you would need about $124,000 here.

How we measure cost ›

Hawaii ranks 39th of 50 states for overall quality of life and 50th for affordability. It does best on climate, healthcare, and air quality, and struggles most with economy, cost, and dog friendly. A typical household earns about $98,600 a year, and the cost of living runs about 65% above average.

Why Hawaii ranks #39 for living

Our Best Life Rank scores every state on the things that shape daily life, from cost and climate to schools and safety. Here is how Hawaii scores on each, best to worst.

Climate
#2 of 50
Healthcare
#2 of 50
Air quality
#2 of 50
Walkability
#10 of 50
Safety
#14 of 50
Green space
#17 of 50
Education
#39 of 50
Economy
#45 of 50
Cost of living
#50 of 50
Dog friendly
#50 of 50

Each factor is ranked 1 (best) to 50 (worst) across all states. Green is strong, yellow is middling, red is weak.

Hawaii at a glance

Typical household income

$98,600

5th highest

Typical home price

$824,000

1st highest

Overall cost of living

65% above average

50th cheapest

Total taxes on a typical household

About 10%

2nd highest income tax

Typical commute

About 27 min

one way

Taxes in Hawaii

See your real Hawaii take-home pay

Enter your salary and get your actual paycheck after Hawaii taxes.

Calculate my take-home pay ›
Sources: Cost and income from the U.S. Census and Bureau of Labor Statistics. Tax rates from the Tax Foundation. Best Life Rank factors from the Commonwealth Fund, NAEP, FBI, EPA, and NOAA. Cost measured by the BLISS Score, v1.3 method. Updated 2026.