New York, NY vs Urban Honolulu, HI
Moving from New York to Urban Honolulu? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($727,625 → $851,163 median home) and taxes.
New York vs Urban Honolulu at a glance
Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.
To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in New York, NY, you'd need about $98,916 in Urban Honolulu, HI (−$1,084).
Livability — New York, NY: 44 · Urban Honolulu, HI: 48 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,099 sqft in New York vs 881 sqft in Urban Honolulu ($455 vs $567 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | New York, NY | Urban Honolulu, HI | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $42,036 | $35,760 | −$6,276 |
| Groceries | $5,415 | $5,517 | +$103 |
| Transportation | $3,895 | $3,900 | +$5 |
| Utilities | $3,180 | $5,040 | +$1,860 |
| Insurance | $1,600 | $1,100 | −$500 |
| Taxes | $23,496 | $14,943 | −$8,553 |
| Total | $79,622 | $66,260 | −$13,361 |
Side by side
| Metric | New York, NY | Urban Honolulu, HI |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 112.6 | 111.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.55% | 4.79% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -1.4% | 2.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 52 | 31 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.41 | $6.34 |
| Median home price | $727,625 | $851,163 |
| Home price ÷ income | 7.8× | 8.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 4.1% | 0.6% |
| Price per square foot | $455 | $567 |
| Median rent | $3,503 | $2,980 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 15.9% | 14.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.52% | 4.50% |
| Capital gains tax | 10.90% | 11.00% |
| Property tax rate | 1.74% | 0.28% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,800 | $5,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $17,000 | $15,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 36 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,100 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $550 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 29.4 | 46.6 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.45 | 4.70 |
| Violent crime /100k | 350 | 260 |
| Avg summer high °F | 83 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 16 | 66 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 5 |