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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
The difference between a comfortable retirement and a tight one often comes down to location. In Hawaii — known for the most isolated and expensive housing market in the US, we evaluated 1 cities on healthcare costs, tax burden, and cost of living. Honolulu is the top pick for 2026.
The difference between a comfortable retirement and a tight one often comes down to location. In Hawaii — known for the most isolated and expensive housing market in the US, we evaluated 1 cities on healthcare costs, tax burden, and cost of living. Honolulu is the top pick for 2026.
Why Honolulu ranks #1: the numbers tell a clear story. And depending on your situation, at 135 on the cost index, residents spend roughly 23% more than the typical American. Rent sits at $2,548/month — which, honestly, is lower than you'd expect here — while the median household pulls in $85,428/year. The Utilities category is particularly strong at 125, though Housing (189) lags behind. Home prices average $758,507 — $291,137 above the national median.
If you only look at rent, it's perfect. And roughly speaking, zoom out and it's complicated. In Honolulu, the housing index sits at 189 — above average and worth factoring in.
Bottom line: Honolulu leads this ranking for clear, data-backed reasons — but the "best" city depends on your priorities. Click into any city below to see the full detail page with 12-month trend charts, profession-specific salary data, and a breakdown of all five cost categories. If you're seriously considering a move, use our salary calculator to model your specific income against these numbers.
#1 Ranked: Honolulu — cost index 135, rent $2,548/mo, income $85,428
Retiree-weighted scoring: healthcare index 140, state tax 11%, cost index 135 — protecting fixed retirement income
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
341,778 residents · Hawaii
In plain English: at $2,548/month — we had to double-check this one — for rent and a cost index of 135, Honolulu is pretty much what you'd expect from a mid-size city in this part of the country. Income is $85,428. Fairly typical for a city this size (and that gap widens if you factor in state taxes).
Our persona scoring model weights cost of living, income, rent, healthcare costs, tax burden, and population size differently based on what matters most to retirees. Each factor contributes 10-25 points to a 0-100 composite score. Cities with the highest composite rank first. All data is sourced from federal agencies and verified research institutions. Cost of living indices are normalized to 100 (national median) using Zillow rent as the primary signal, with sub-category adjustments derived from regional BLS price data. Rankings are updated monthly as new data is released.
Honolulu ranks #1 in Hawaii for this analysis with a cost index of 135 and median income of $85,428.
Honolulu scores highest for retirees due to its strong income potential, median rent of $2,548/mo, and above-average median income of $85,428.
Our cost of living index uses real Zillow rent data as the foundation, indexed to 100 (national median). Sub-categories (housing, food, transport, utilities, healthcare) are derived from the overall index with regional adjustments. Data is updated monthly.
City data is refreshed monthly from Census Bureau population estimates, Zillow rent and home price indices, BLS salary data, and Tax Foundation tax rates. Last updated: 2026.
The median 1-bedroom rent in Honolulu is $2,548/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $653 above the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in Honolulu is $758,507, which is 8.9× the local median income. Most median-income households would stretch to buy at this ratio. The national median home price is $467,370.
Hawaii has a 11% state income tax rate. Combined state and local sales tax averages 4.44%, and the effective property tax rate is 0.27%.
This ranking was generated using data current as of early 2026. Population and income data comes from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (5-year estimates). Rent and home price data is from Zillow's monthly releases. Tax rates are from the Tax Foundation's 2025 edition. Rankings are refreshed monthly.