If you’re thinking about making a move to Hawaii, you’re probably already aware that it’s among the most expensive states in the United States. It may even be the most expensive, depending on which statistics and categories you check out.
Explore More: How Much Money Is Needed To Be Considered Middle Class in Every State?
Try This: How To Get Rich in Real Estate Starting With Just $1,000
Advertisement
To help you figure out which locations may be the best for your salary, GOBankingRates analyzed cities in Hawaii to find the salary needed to live comfortably as a single person. Here’s a look at some of the most expensive ones, where the salary needed to live comfortably is over $200,000. The household median income and total cost of living annually are also listed.
If $200,000 is out of reach for you, check out the full study to find out where you might be able to make your home.
It’s Going Viral: Want to Retire Rich? Suze Orman Says You’re Missing This Key Money Move
Kaneohe
Population: 35,493
Household median income: $120,451
Total cost of living annually: $101,694
Salary needed to live comfortably: $203,387
Find Out: See What a $100K Salary Looks Like After Taxes in Your State
Honolulu
Population: 348,547
Household median income: $82,772
Total cost of living annually: $112,875
Salary needed to live comfortably: $225,751
Kihei
Population: 22,247
Household median income: $89,892
Total cost of living annually: $118,915
Salary needed to live comfortably: $237,830
Kailua
Population: 40,323
Household median income: $138,363
Total cost of living annually: $127,857
Salary needed to live comfortably: $255,714
Ways To Cut Back
If you want to live in a more expensive location but your salary isn’t quite there, you might want to think about ways to cut back on spending.
Advertisement
Track Your Spending
According to Debt.org, one of the first steps to take is to figure out where your money is going. That means tracking your spending habits, including fixed and variable expenses. While fixed expenses pretty much stay the same each month, variable ones may fluctuate month to month.
Create a Budget
Once you track your spending, it’s time to create a budget and stick to it. “This is where the mind-shifting begins,” according to Debt.org. “Write down how much money you make and how much you spend every month.”
Review Your Subscriptions
Take time to look at all the subscriptions you’re paying for each month or for the full year. The most obvious choices may be streaming and entertainment subscriptions. You may be able to cut back on some or even all of these. Look at your other subscriptions, as well, to make sure you need all those services.
Shop Smarter
Per Forbes, one simple way to cut back is to buy sale items and generic brands at the grocery store. If it works for your budget, perhaps buying in bulk may help save you money.
Advertisement
You could also try making fewer trips to the store to potentially buy less and spend less on gas money.
Eat Smarter
It may not only be better for your budget to eat at home more, it may help improve your health. You can make healthy choices, because you’re in charge when you prepare your meals. When you do eat out, per Forbes, you can choose water and smaller portions to save money and make healthier decisions.
Methodology: GOBankingRates analyzed cities in Hawaii to find the salary needed to live comfortably as a single person. GOBankingRates found cities in Hawaii. For each city, total population, total households, population 65 and over and median household income were all sourced from the U.S. Census American Community Survey, the cost-of-living indexes were sourced from Sperling’s BestPlaces, the average single-family home value was sourced from the Zillow Home Value Index, and the livability index was sourced from AreaVibes. With the cost-of-living indexes and using the national average expenditure costs as sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey for a single person, the average cost of expenditures was found for each city. With the average home value, assuming a 10% down payment, and using the national average 30-year fixed mortgage rate as sourced from the Federal Reserve Economic Data, the average mortgage cost was calculated. Using the average mortgage and expenditure costs, the total cost of living was calculated. Using the 50/30/20 budgeting rule that states needs should not exceed 50% of the household income, the total cost of living was doubled to find the cost of living comfortably. Using the household median income and the total cost of living comfortably as a single person, the leftover savings were calculated for each city. All data was collected on and is up to date as of Sept. 18, 2024.
More From GOBankingRates
This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Hawaiian Cities Where You Need a Salary Over $200K To Live Comfortably
Comet C/2025 A6, better known as Comet Lemmon, was one of the latest icy visitors to swing through our neighborhood of the solar system, leaving astronomers and casual skywatchers equally delighted. For observers in Hawaii, the glow of the Milky Way didn’t dim the streak of light made by this comet passing through.
What is it?
Comet Lemmon was discovered in January 2025 and made its closest approach to Earth in late October 2025. But by November 2025, when this image was taken, it had brightened to about the same apparent brightness as the planet Uranus, making it visible to the naked eye even from suburban skies.
Where is it?
This image was taken atop the volcanic peak Mauna Kea, on the Big Island of Hawaii.
Comet Lemmon could be seen with the naked eye as it streaked across the sky. (Image credit: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURAImage processing: M. Rodriguez (International Gemini Observatory/NSF NOIRLab) & M. Zamani (NSF NOIRLab))
Why is it amazing?
Comets are notoriously unpredictable, so Comet Lemmon’s surprising visibility has felt like a bit of a cosmic bonus for Hawaiian stargazers. And this was a rare treat, as the comet won’t return to Earth’s skies for another 1,350 years, around the year 3375.
Framing this comet is the glow of our home galaxy, the Milky Way, which is easier to spot at higher elevations like Mauna Kea’s peak, where there is less light pollution. The image gives us a souvenir from a celestial visitor that won’t be back for more than a millennium.
Want to learn more?
You can learn more about comets and skywatching.
Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!
WASHINGTON, D.C. (HawaiiNewsNow) – U.S. Senators Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Tammy Duckworth (D-Illinois) reintroduced a piece of legislation on Thursday to strengthen protections for immigrant families and address long-standing problems in the family immigration system.
The Reuniting Families Act aims to reduce visa backlogs, boost efficiency across the immigration process, and ensure a fairer, more humane process for immigrant families.
“Immigrant families currently experience unnecessary obstacles and delays due to our country’s broken immigration system, keeping families separated for potentially long periods of time,” Hirono said. “By reducing family-based immigration backlogs and making common sense updates to how we treat families, the Reuniting Families Act will help take the first step in the right direction to keeping families together as they navigate our immigration system.”
According to the senators behind this bill, nearly four million people with approved visa applications are currently trapped in a massive immigration backlog, with many waiting more than a decade to reunite with their loved ones.
Advertisement
“As Donald Trump’s inhumane mass deportation campaign rips apart families and communities across the country, it’s paramount we address the unnecessary barriers in our immigration system that have created backlogs and kept families apart for years,” Duckworth said. “Our legislation would implement commonsense reforms to help end family-based backlogs, which keep too many with approved green card applications stuck in bureaucratic limbo, and help get more families where they belong—together.”
The Reuniting Families Act would shorten delays by recapturing unused visas, rolling them into future years, expanding who qualifies as a family member to include permanent partners, and increasing both the total number of available family preference visas and per-country limits.
The bill would also put a time limit on visa processing, so no applicant has to wait more than 10 years for a visa if they have an approved application.
Click here to read the full bill.
Copyright 2025 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
HONOLULU (AP) — Henry Rouhliadeff scored 16 points to lead six Hawaii players in double figures and the Rainbow Warriors beat Division-II Hawaii Hilo 98-46 on Wednesday night.
Rouhliadeff made 6 of 9 from the field and finished with nine rebounds and five assists. Dre Bullock scored 12 points for Hawaii (9-2) and Hunter Erickson, Aaron Hunkin-Claytor, Gytis Nemeiksa and Isaac Finlinson added 11 points apiece.
Jamal Entezami led Hawaii Hilo with 11 points and Jessiya Villa scored 10.
Advertisement
Hawaii shot 51% overall and made 13 3-pointers. The Rainbow Warriors, who went into the game averaging 13.4 assists per game, had a season-high 25 assists on 35 made field goals.
The 52-point margin of victory was Hawaii’s largest since a 106-49 win over Redlands on Jan. 28, 1972, and the third largest in program history. The Rainbow Warriors beat BYU Hawaii by 67 (106-49) in the 1962-63 season.
___
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball