Living in Honolulu, HI
Big city in Hawaii
Honolulu is a big city in Hawaii, home to about 346,000 people, with 986,000 living within 31 mi. Day to day, you can walk or take transit almost everywhere. Life moves at a fast pace, and homes are mostly apartments.
Is Honolulu a good place to live? Pros and cons
👍 Pros
- Mild summers: highs around 79°F
- Strong healthcare: 5 top-rated (4–5★) hospitals within 31 mi
- Sunny: more sunshine and clearer skies than most places
- Easy flying: HNL is 5 mi away
👎 Cons
- Fewer family amenities than most places
- Pricey housing: a typical 3-bedroom home is about $1.20M, and rent is $3,670 a month
- Few dog parks: 10 within 9 mi
- Smaller job market: about 986,000 people live within 31 mi
Whether it's a good place for you depends on what you value. Take the quiz to see how Honolulu ranks against your own priorities.
Key facts
Living in Honolulu: common questions
What is the cost of living in Honolulu?
A typical 3-bedroom home is worth about $1.20M, and a 3-bedroom rents for about $3,670 a month including utilities. Overall living costs are above the US average (index 111, where the US is 100).
What are taxes like in Honolulu?
Hawaii collects about $2,274 in state income tax per resident, and homeowners here pay about 0.29% of their home's value in property tax each year.
Is Honolulu safe?
Violent crime is well below the national rate (0.7× in FBI 2019 data).
What is the weather like in Honolulu?
Honolulu is warm all year: winter days average around 76°F and summer days around 79°F.
Does Honolulu get natural disasters?
Natural disaster risk is moderate, mainly from flooding and earthquakes: 9 federally declared disasters have hit the county since 2000, and FEMA expects about 0.75 deaths or injuries per 100,000 residents a year.
What is the nearest major airport to Honolulu?
The nearest major airport is HNL, about 5 mi away.
How Honolulu scores
Each bar compares Honolulu with the other 1143 places in Best Life Fit Me. A dot shows where it sits between two ends, such as major metro and small town; neither end is better. Coloured bars run from poor (red) to excellent (green).
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Is Honolulu right for you?
Answer 27 quick questions and see how it ranks against your priorities.