Key takeaway: By the federal government’s measure, prices in Hawaiʻi run 10% above the U.S. average, second only to California (BEA, 2024 data). A survey built around a professional household’s budget puts Honolulu 84.8% above average (Kiplinger, citing C2ER). Both are right. They measure different things. Numbers checked October 30, 2026.
Two measures, two answers
| Area | BEA price level (U.S. = 100) | C2ER index |
|---|---|---|
| Hawaiʻi, statewide | 110.0 (#2 of states, after California 110.7) | |
| Urban Honolulu (Oʻahu) | 111.0 | 84.8% above U.S. average, #2 urban area |
| Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina (Maui County) | 109.4 | |
| Hawaiʻi and Kauaʻi counties (nonmetro) | 106.4 | |
| San Francisco–Oakland | 115.6 | |
| New York–Newark | 112.6 |
BEA regional price parities for 2024, released Feb 2026: BEA, Honolulu, Maui, nonmetro, San Francisco, New York (via FRED). C2ER 2026 figure via Kiplinger.
Why they disagree
The BEA measure covers everything people actually buy, weighted the way the average local household spends, including people who’ve held the same lease or home for decades. C2ER prices a set list of goods and services for a professional household new to the area, including a newly rented apartment and a new mortgage. If you’re moving here, the C2ER number is closer to your first year. The BEA number is closer to the long-run average.
On housing alone, BEA puts Urban Honolulu rents at 135.5, more than a third above the U.S. average (FRED).
The gap has narrowed
Hawaiʻi’s BEA price level was 113.3 in 2020 and 110.0 in 2024, as prices on the mainland caught up. That’s why older articles say Hawaiʻi is the most expensive state. On BEA’s measure, it now ranks second (BEA).
People are leaving
Hawaiʻi’s population fell by about 22,400 between 2020 and July 2025. In the year to July 2025, about 8,900 more people moved to other states than arrived from them (Hawaiʻi State Data Center). Census figures don’t record why people leave.