Hawaii cities

The best places to live in Hawaii

Hawaii's largest cities ranked on cost, safety, schools, jobs and quality of life. Ewa Gentry leads the list.

We scored Hawaii's cities on the same factors as our state rankings, then ranked them. Below are the 10 largest by population. Two scores per city: value (what you get for the cost) and overall livability (everything combined). Tap any city for its full profile.

#CityMedian homeRentValueOverall
1 Ewa Gentry $618,600 $2,159 93 93
2 East Honolulu $970,800 $2,927 72 87
4 Kaneohe $829,900 $1,980 56 64
5 Kailua CDP $1,065,500 $2,698 43 64
8 Hilo $364,100 $1,136 64 54
9 Mililani Town $731,000 $2,051 56 52
10 Kahului $621,600 $1,354 38 51
12 Pearl City $728,500 $2,119 57 48
16 Urban Honolulu $726,000 $1,620 14 20
18 Waipahu $662,000 $1,390 13 10

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Sources: Home prices and rent from Zillow; income and jobs from the U.S. Census; schools from state education data; crime from the FBI; air quality from the EPA. Rankings are within Hawaii. Updated 2026.