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M Swiet Productions/Getty Images June 21, 2022 Mia Taylor is a contributor to Bankrate and an award-winning journalist who has two decades of experience and worked as a staff reporter or contributor for some of the nation's leading newspapers and websites including The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the San Diego Union-Tribune, TheStreet, MSN and Credit.com. Michele Petry is a senior editor for Bankrate, leading the site’s real estate content. Bankrate logo The Bankrate promise
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You have money questions. Bankrate has answers. Our experts have been helping you master your money for over four decades. We continually strive to provide consumers with the expert advice and tools needed to succeed throughout life’s financial journey. Bankrate follows a strict , so you can trust that our content is honest and accurate. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions. The content created by our editorial staff is objective, factual, and not influenced by our advertisers. We’re transparent about how we are able to bring quality content, competitive rates, and useful tools to you by explaining how we make money. Bankrate.com is an independent, advertising-supported publisher and comparison service. We are compensated in exchange for placement of sponsored products and, services, or by you clicking on certain links posted on our site. Therefore, this compensation may impact how, where and in what order products appear within listing categories. Other factors, such as our own proprietary website rules and whether a product is offered in your area or at your self-selected credit score range can also impact how and where products appear on this site. While we strive to provide a wide range offers, Bankrate does not include information about every financial or credit product or service. Renowned worldwide for its natural beauty, temperate climate and unique culture, Hawaii is a top vacation destination. It can also be an alluring place to live. The islands boast low crime rates and an abundance of recreational activities. Deciding which island to call home however, can be a daunting question. The state’s vary in character, affordability, opportunity, population size and pace of life: Oahu: The most populated of the islands by far, Oahu is the location of Hawaii’s capital city, Honolulu. Honolulu County, which encompasses the entire island, is home to 1,016,508 people, . Hawaii: Hawaii is not just the name of the state but also the name of the largest island in the archipelago, often referred to as “.” Known for its diversity, the island of Hawaii boasts the world’s tallest mountain, 266 miles of coastline and five national parks. It’s the second most populated island with just over 200,000 residents. Maui: The second largest Hawaiian island geographically, Maui is famous for its stunning beaches, as well as for producing sugar and pineapples. Kauai: Lush scenery, picturesque waterfalls and striking canyons are the highlights on Kauai. It’s the fourth largest Hawaiian island. Molokai: The island of Molokai is known for being protective of its and identity. A significant percentage of the population is Native Hawaiian, and island residents actively work to preserve a rural lifestyle. Lanai: For years, most of the island of Lanai was a pineapple plantation. However, tourism is now emerging on the island. As a remote island archipelago where many consumer goods must be shipped from other places, the is well-known. And like much of the rest of the country, inflation has been driving the cost of living on the islands even higher.
Hawaii statistics
Hawaii is the most expensive state in the country to live in, according to . As of December 2021, the was $1.06 million, according to real estate firm Locations Hawaii. However, it also has the fourth lowest poverty rate. Here are some of the state’s key characteristics. Median household income: Per capita income: $37,013 Average salary: Unemployment rate: Poverty rate: 8.9% Median age: for five years running. The most recent Census data shows the population as of July 2021 at about 1.4 million people, which was a decline of .7 percent from one year earlier. The Hawaiian islands are fourth in the nation for population decline, behind Illinois, New York and the District of Columbia.
Rental costs in Hawaii
Like so many other aspects of life in Hawaii, renting an apartment is very costly. It’s the country’s second most . The median price for a one-bedroom apartment in Honolulu is $1,630, according to 2022 , a rental listing platform. That’s an 11.6 percent increase over a year earlier. The cost of a two-bedroom is about $2,180, which is about 9.5 percent more expensive than one year ago. There’s a severe across the state of Hawaii, a crisis that’s being driven in part by many landlords selling their properties and evicting tenants. Real estate sales have increased 40 percent over the past two years. Hawaii has a 56.6 percent homeownership rate, with about 279,960 owner-occupied homes versus 185,339 renter-occupied units. Skyrocketing rents and dwindling inventory has been particularly challenging for longtime residents, including blue collar workers and service industry workers. Both rent and mortgage payments are prohibitive in the current overheated real estate market.
Housing costs in Hawaii
Similar to many other places in the country, real estate sales are on a hot streak in Hawaii at the moment. The median price of homes in December 2021 was $1.06 million, a 22 percent increase from 2020, according to Locations Hawaii. The past six quarters have been the busiest in the history of Hawaii’s real estate market, with some buyers entering into purchase contracts without having even visited or seen a property. Skyrocketing home prices are being driven by various factors, including record low inventory, two years of low mortgage rates and an influx of buyers who are freed up by remote work conditions and office shutdowns. This overheated housing market has dramatically impacted the in Hawaii, making it difficult for many working families to make ends meet or find affordable housing.
Job market in Hawaii
As the COVID-19 pandemic becomes less of an issue, the job market in Hawaii has improved. Between October 2020 and 2021, Hawaii witnessed the largest unemployment rate decrease of any state in the country. There was a 7.7 percent decline, with unemployment dropping from 14 percent to 6.3 percent. As of March 2022, the unemployment rate had decreased further, to 4.1 percent, A number of large, well-known employers maintain headquarters on the islands. The five largest are: Company Number of People Employed