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Everyone wants a home that mixes affordability with comfort and Hawaii does this very well. Families love the Aloha State's beaches, midlands, and mountains as tourists before moving here and calling it home.
But before you decide to relocate, you have to do some research into the exact cost of living around the state -- and that's how we're going to help you.
These are the places in Hawaii that cost a pretty penny -- the most expensive cities in the state.
After we saved up for months and could finally afford it, we landed on this list of the ten most expensive cities in Hawaii for 2020.
So where is the most expensive place to live in Hawaii? That would be Wailea.
the 2014-2018 American Community Survey for the 49 places in Hawaii with more than 5,000 people.
Here are the 10 most expensive places to live in Hawaii for 2020:
- Wailea (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Kailua CDP (Honolulu County) (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Urban Honolulu (Homes For Sale)
- Aiea (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- East Honolulu (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Kula (Homes For Sale)
- Wahiawa (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Laie (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Kihei (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Kaneohe (Photos | Homes For Sale)
What's the most expensive place to live in Hawaii? Well, HomeSnacks crunched the numbers and discovered that Wailea is the most expensive place to live in Hawaii.
So hopefully Hilo (the cheapest place to live in Hawaii) can show these guys how to live on a budget in the coming years. Read on for how these places had costs rise faster than inflation.
And if you already knew these places were expensive, check out some more reading about Hawaii and the most expensive cities in the country:
The 10 Most Expensive Places To Live In Hawaii For 2020
/10
Population: 5,656
Rank Last Year: 1 (Down 2)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 13.8x (1st most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 38.9x (5th most expensive)
More on Wailea: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Wailea comes in at $72,072 and the median home value is $994,000 for 2020.
/10
Population: 36,662
Rank Last Year: 4 (Down 1)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 8.3x (7th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 46.1x (13th most expensive)
More on Kailua Cdp (Honolulu County): Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Kailua Cdp (Honolulu County) comes in at $112,797 and the median home value is $938,200 for 2020.
/10
Population: 350,003
Rank Last Year: 3 (Down 3)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 9.5x (3rd most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 47.0x (15th most expensive)
More on Urban Honolulu: Real Estate | Data
The median income in Urban Honolulu comes in at $68,873 and the median home value is $652,200 for 2020.
/10
Population: 9,439
Rank Last Year: 10 (Up 2)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 7.3x (19th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 44.4x (10th most expensive)
More on Aiea: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Aiea is a census-designated place located in the City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the CDP had a total population of 9,338.
The median income in Aiea comes in at $106,556 and the median home value is $780,400 for 2020.
/10
Population: 47,770
Rank Last Year: 2 (Down 8)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 7.3x (20th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 47.6x (17th most expensive)
More on East Honolulu: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in East Honolulu comes in at $126,608 and the median home value is $921,200 for 2020.
/10
Population: 7,541
Rank Last Year: 9 (Down 2)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 11.6x (2nd most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 57.2x (39th most expensive)
More on Kula: Real Estate | Data
The median income in Kula comes in at $80,581 and the median home value is $932,600 for 2020.
/10
Population: 17,422
Rank Last Year: 5 (Down 7)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 8.9x (4th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 48.5x (20th most expensive)
More on Wahiawa: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Wahiawa comes in at $62,987 and the median home value is $562,700 for 2020.
/10
Population: 6,111
Rank Last Year: 28 (Up 15)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 7.4x (16th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 55.0x (33rd most expensive)
More on Laie: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Laie is a census-designated place located in the Koolauloa District on the island of Oahu in Honolulu County, Hawaii, United States. In Hawaiian, lie means "ie leaf". The population was 6,138 at the 2010 census.
The median income in Laie comes in at $95,304 and the median home value is $709,100 for 2020.
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Population: 21,879
Rank Last Year: 14 (No Change)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 7.7x (11th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 47.7x (19th most expensive)
More on Kihei: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Kihei comes in at $72,152 and the median home value is $556,100 for 2020.
/10
Population: 33,739
Rank Last Year: 7 (Down 7)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 6.9x (23rd most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 54.9x (32nd most expensive)
More on Kaneohe: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Kaneohe comes in at $104,784 and the median home value is $728,200 for 2020.
How We Determined The Most Expensive Places To Live In The Aloha State For 2020
The two most important things to think about when it comes to being able to afford if you can live comes down to:
- How much do money do I make?
- How much do I have spend to live there?
You need to understand your costs in the context of how much money you make.
For example, if the median household earns $100,000 and spends $40,000 on housing it's actually cheaper to live there than a place with a median income of $50,000 and housing costs of $21,000. You might spend more on housing, but you have more money overall to play with.
With that example in mind, we derived several statistics from the latest Census American Community Survey 2014-2018 around incomes and costs. They are:
- Median Home Price / Median Income (lower is better)
- Median Income / Median Rent (Higher is better)
- Median Home Price
We added simply median home price because high home prices generally correlate with higher expenses for all costs related to homes (heating, electricity, etc).
You can then compare these metrics in each of the places in Hawaii to figure out which is the most expensive.
What you are left with is a "Cost of Living Index" by taking the average rank of each of these metrics for each city.
So we used that cost of living index in order to rank all of the 49 places in Hawaii that have more than 5,000 people.
The place with the highest cost of living in Hawaii according to the data is Wailea. You can download the data here.
Taking A Chunk Out Of Your Paycheck In Hawaii For 2020
Well there you have it, the places in Hawaii that have the highest cost of living, with Wailea ranking as the most expensive city in the Aloha State.
Here's a look at the most affordable cities in Hawaii according to the data:
- Hilo
- Waimea CDP (Hawaii County)
- Waianae
For more Hawaii reading, check out:
- 10 Best Places To Live In Hawaii
- 10 Cheapest Places To Live In Hawaii
- These Are The 10 Richest Cities In Hawaii
Detailed List Of The Most Expensive Cities In Hawaii
| Rank | City | ExpensiveScore |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wailea | 2.33 |
| 2 | Kailua Cdp (Honolulu County) | 7.33 |
| 3 | Urban Honolulu | 10.33 |
| 4 | Aiea | 11.33 |
| 5 | East Honolulu | 13.67 |
| 6 | Kula | 14.67 |
| 7 | Wahiawa | 18.0 |
| 8 | Laie | 19.0 |
| 9 | Kihei | 20.67 |
| 10 | Kaneohe | 20.67 |
| 11 | Ocean Pointe | 21.33 |
| 12 | Pearl City | 21.67 |
| 13 | Wailua Homesteads | 22.0 |
| 14 | Lahaina | 22.33 |
| 15 | Mililani Mauka | 22.67 |
| 16 | Makaha | 23.67 |
| 17 | Halawa | 24.0 |
| 18 | Royal Kunia | 25.0 |
| 19 | Pukalani | 25.0 |
| 20 | Kalaheo | 25.33 |
| 21 | Mililani Town | 25.33 |
| 22 | Holualoa | 26.33 |
| 23 | Waipahu | 26.33 |
| 24 | Makawao | 26.67 |
| 25 | Lihue | 27.33 |
| 26 | Wailuku | 29.0 |
| 27 | Kalaoa | 30.0 |
| 28 | Waipio | 31.0 |
| 29 | Ahuimanu | 31.33 |
| 30 | Waipio Acres | 32.67 |
| 31 | Makakilo | 33.67 |
| 32 | Maili | 33.67 |
| 33 | Hanamaulu | 34.0 |
| 34 | Waimalu | 34.33 |
| 35 | Nanakuli | 34.33 |
| 36 | Waimanalo | 35.0 |
| 37 | Waikele | 35.0 |
| 38 | Kahului | 35.67 |
| 39 | Ewa Gentry | 37.0 |
| 40 | Waikoloa Village | 37.67 |
| 41 | Hawaiian Paradise Park | 38.0 |
| 42 | Kailua Cdp (Hawaii County) | 38.33 |
| 43 | Ewa Villages | 38.67 |
| 44 | Ewa Beach | 40.67 |
| 45 | Kapolei | 40.67 |
| 46 | Kapaa | 41.67 |
| 47 | Waianae | 43.33 |
| 48 | Waimea Cdp (Hawaii County) | 45.0 |
| 49 | Hilo | 46.67 |
