Pros, cons, key stats, and the strongest Hawaii cities to consider. Based on our analysis of 26 tracked Hawaii city markets.
It depends on your budget and city choice. The better answer is city-specific: Hawaii contains both stronger and weaker markets, and the right fit depends on your budget, job needs, climate tolerance, and tax situation.
Pros
- Low effective property tax rate (0.32%)
- Social Security is not taxed by the state
- Lihue is one of the strongest current city signals in Hawaii
Cons
- High top state income-tax rate (11%)
- Expensive tracked-city housing ($954,088 median)
- State averages hide major city-by-city differences
- Best-known places can price above the statewide median
What this means in practice
Across 26 tracked Hawaii city markets, the median home costs $954,088 with a 1-year change of +0.2% and a median momentum score of 63 out of 100.
On taxes, Lowest property tax rate in the country. Income tax up to 11%. Sales/GET 4% (broadly applied). SS untaxed; pensions untaxed. That matters because the cheapest state on paper can still be expensive if property tax, insurance, or local housing costs overwhelm the headline rate.
State-level averages mask city-level variation — within any state, individual cities can have radically different cost, climate, and trajectory. Use the strongest-momentum cities below as a starting point.