Most Expensive Cities in Hawaii: 2024 Metro Ranking
Compare the most expensive cities and metro areas in Hawaii, ranked by the 2024 BEA cost-of-living index. 2 metro areas are available.
Where the Premium Lives in Hawaii
Urban Honolulu, HI and Kahului-Wailuku, HI form a photo finish at the top, separated by only 1.6 RPP points. The useful signal is the cluster rather than the nominal first-place label; small release revisions could change their order without changing the state's expensive-market tier.
Local services creates the strongest upward pressure in Urban Honolulu, HI, at 187.3 against the national benchmark of 100. Its other components are housing 135.5 and tradable goods 111.6, so the top metro's premium is not interchangeable with a market led by another budget category.
Every listed Hawaii metro sits above the U.S. benchmark. A household comparing places inside the state is choosing among premiums; the practical follow-up is whether local pay and housing supply offset the specific market's index.
At Urban Honolulu, HI's price level, a national-average $100,000 lifestyle translates to about $110,961. Treat that as a purchasing-power screen, then verify occupation pay, current HUD rent, and state tax treatment before comparing an offer.
Latest BEA release change
How Urban Honolulu, HI held against the national line
From 2023 to 2024, Urban Honolulu, HI's overall RPP fell by 0.5 points, from 111.4 to 111.0. The largest component move was rents , which changed by -7.9 points . RPP is a relative price index, so this reports movement against the U.S. benchmark rather than a household's dollar bill.
Local services are the pressure category on the latest snapshot (187.3 services RPP vs 111.0 overall). The listed metros span 1.6 overall RPP points inside Hawaii.
| # | Metro | Overall |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Urban Honolulu, HI | 111.0 |
| 2 | Kahului-Wailuku, HI | 109.4 |
According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Urban Honolulu, HI has the highest overall Regional Price Parity in this Hawaii ranking at 111.0. The national average is 100, so this comparison identifies the highest relative price level among the metro areas BEA reports; it does not estimate a household budget or explain why local prices differ.
- Urban Honolulu, HI ranks first of 2 listed Hawaii metro areas by overall cost
- 2 of 2 listed metros are above the U.S. price-level benchmark
- Urban Honolulu, HI's overall RPP fell 0.5 pts from 2023 to 2024
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Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities Index where national average = 100
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
Every figure on PlainCost is rendered directly from BEA Regional Price Parity source data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, our changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-11. Rankings measure the published cost-of-living index only; we don't recommend where to live or rate any metro's quality of life.