Phoenix, AZ vs Urban Honolulu, HI
Moving from Phoenix to Urban Honolulu? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($448,352 → $851,163 median home) and taxes.
Phoenix 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 Phoenix, AZ, you'd need about $106,447 in Urban Honolulu, HI (+$6,447).
Livability — Phoenix, AZ: 62 · Urban Honolulu, HI: 48 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,063 sqft in Phoenix vs 881 sqft in Urban Honolulu ($242 vs $567 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Phoenix, AZ | Urban Honolulu, HI | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $20,904 | $35,760 | +$14,856 |
| Groceries | $4,919 | $5,517 | +$598 |
| Transportation | $3,960 | $3,900 | −$60 |
| Utilities | $1,668 | $5,040 | +$3,372 |
| Insurance | $1,800 | $1,100 | −$700 |
| Taxes | $7,280 | $14,943 | +$7,663 |
| Total | $40,531 | $66,260 | +$25,729 |
Side by side
| Metric | Phoenix, AZ | Urban Honolulu, HI |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 104.7 | 111.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.88% | 4.79% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 6.7% | 2.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.96 | $6.34 |
| Median home price | $448,352 | $851,163 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.6× | 8.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.7% | 0.6% |
| Price per square foot | $242 | $567 |
| Median rent | $1,742 | $2,980 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.5% | 14.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.38% | 4.50% |
| Capital gains tax | 2.50% | 11.00% |
| Property tax rate | 0.51% | 0.28% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,300 | $5,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,500 | $15,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.68% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,800 | $1,100 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $550 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $550 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.5 | 46.6 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.60 | 4.70 |
| Natural gas / mo | $54 | $42 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $106 | $194 |
| Home internet / mo | $77 | $69 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 260 |
| Avg summer high °F | 104 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 41 | 66 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 7.2 | 16.4 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 85% | 71% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 5 |