Loading
Assembling your view…
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Finding the right city for a family isn't just about cheap rent — it's about income, healthcare, schools, and room to grow. We scored 1 cities in Hawaii on the metrics families care about, and Honolulu comes out on top with a cost index of 149, median income of $85,428, and a healthcare index of 110…
Finding the right city for a family isn't just about cheap rent — it's about income, healthcare, schools, and room to grow. We scored 1 cities in Hawaii on the metrics families care about, and Honolulu comes out on top with a cost index of 149, median income of $85,428, and a healthcare index of 110.
Straight up: Honolulu earns its position at #1 through a combination that's hard to replicate. The 149 cost index sits 38 points above the national baseline, and the $85,428 median income means purchasing power here is partially offset by higher costs. Homes list at $758,507 — $291,137 above the national median, reflecting the local market dynamics. On the cost side, Healthcare leads the way at 110, while Housing trails at 149 (a figure that keeps climbing, by the way).
If the first stat impressed you, this one grounds it. And depending on your situation, hawaii — the most isolated and expensive housing market in the US. The 1 cities we track here average a cost index of 149 and median income of $85,428. Costs run above the national baseline — but pockets of real value exist if you know where to look. The typical rent runs $2,548/month, which is $653 more than the national median (not adjusted for inflation, but still telling).
In plain English: What to do with this data: use the ranking as a shortlist, then dig into the city profiles for trend lines and category breakdowns. And from what we can tell, 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. An outlier in the best sense.
#1 Ranked: Honolulu — cost index 149, rent $2,548/mo, income $85,428
Family-weighted scoring: income $85,428, healthcare index 110, population 341,778 — balancing career, care, and schools
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
341,778 residents · Hawaii
In plain English: Dive into Honolulu's numbers: cost index 149 (38 points above national average), rent $2,548/month, income $85,428, and a home price of $758,507. That tracks. The city's cost profile isn't flat — Healthcare is the cheapest category at 110, while Housing runs 149. With 341,778 residents, it balances mid-size city convenience with manageable costs.
Our persona scoring model weights cost, income, rent, healthcare, taxes, and city size based on what matters most to families. Each factor scores 10-25 points out of a 100-point composite. The guide ranks every tracked city in Hawaii by this personalized metric. 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 149 and median income of $85,428.
Honolulu scores highest for families 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.