Average Salary in Hawaii (HI)

Hawaii has the highest cost-of-living index in the country at 192 — nearly double the national average — a direct consequence of geography: nearly everything consumed in the state has to be shipped in from 2,400 miles away or farther. That single fact distorts nearly every economic metric. The $94,814 median household income is among the top five in the US, but in purchasing-power terms Hawaii's effective median is closer to Mississippi's. Honolulu has consistently ranked as one of the least affordable major housing markets in the country — median single-family home prices in the core of Oahu exceed $1 million. The economy is dominated by three sectors: tourism (the single largest private-sector employer cluster), the US military (roughly 50,000 active-duty service members plus civilian contractors, making Hawaii one of the largest federal footprints per capita in the country), and agriculture (macadamia nuts, coffee, tropical fruit, much of it export-focused). State income tax has the second-highest top marginal rate in the country at 11%, with an unusually progressive seven-bracket structure. The $14/hour minimum wage is indexed and scheduled to reach $18 by 2028. Full breakdown follows.