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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Young professionals don't just need cheap — they need opportunity. We scored 1 cities across Hawaii on income, market size, and transport costs. Honolulu ($85,428 median income, 341,778 people) ranks #1 for 2026.
Young professionals don't just need cheap — they need opportunity. We scored 1 cities across Hawaii on income, market size, and transport costs. Honolulu ($85,428 median income, 341,778 people) ranks #1 for 2026.
Here's Honolulu by the numbers — and there's a lot to like. Cost index: 149. Rent: $2,548/month. Income: $85,428/year. Home price: $758,507. Population: 341,778. The strongest category is Healthcare at 110; the most expensive is Housing at 149. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are costing renters $7,836 more per year vs. the national median. This alone could tip the scales.
Flip the lens, and you get a different read: Here's the state-level backdrop: Hawaii averages a 149 cost index, $2,548/mo rent, and $85,428 income across 1 cities. That's $653 more than the national rent average. The most isolated and expensive housing market in the US — and that context shapes every city in this ranking.
What to do with this data: use the ranking as a shortlist, then dig into the city profiles for trend lines and category breakdowns. The difference between #1 and #5 is often smaller than the difference between "good on paper" and "actually fits my life." Compare your top picks with our calculator to see real take-home numbers.
#1 Ranked: Honolulu — cost index 149, rent $2,548/mo, income $85,428
Young-professional scoring: income $85,428, population 341,778 (job market depth), transport index 112
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
341,778 residents · Hawaii
Why Honolulu ranks #1: the numbers tell a clear story. At 149 on the cost index, residents spend roughly 38% more than the typical American. Rent sits at $2,548/month while the median household pulls in $85,428/year. The Healthcare category is particularly strong at 110, though Housing (149) lags behind. Home prices average $758,507 — $291,137 above the national median.
Honolulu ranks #1 in Hawaii for this analysis with a cost index of 149 and median income of $85,428.
Honolulu scores highest for young professionals 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.