Hawaiian Cities Where You Need a Salary Over $200K To Live Comfortably

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.

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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.

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Kaneohe

• Population: 35,493

• Household median income: $120,451

• Total cost of living annually: $101,694

• Salary needed to live comfortably: $203,387

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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.

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.

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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.

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.

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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Hawaiian Cities Where You Need a Salary Over $200K To Live Comfortably