Families In This State Have Just 9% Of Their Income Left After Taxes And Basic Expenses

The rising cost of living is on many Americans' minds, but residents of some states are feeling the pinch more than others. Research by the Common Sense Institute (CSI) found that Hawaii ranks as the least affordable place to live in the U.S. Using 2025 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the U.S. Census Bureau, CSI calculated that Hawaii residents retained just 9% of their income after accounting for basic expenses. For a family of four with two adults working full-time at the state's median hourly wage, that works out to just $800 per month remaining for other expenses such as car payments, cell phones, internet, and clothing.

While Hawaii has one of the highest costs of living in the U.S., it doesn't fall among the states with the highest average salary. As of 2025, the median household income in Hawaii was $105,013, per the U.S. Census, which was about 24% higher than the national median of $84,780 that same year. However, the difference in the cost of living is far greater — roughly 86% higher than the national average in Q2 2026, per the Missouri Economic Research & Information Center (MERIC). 

Meanwhile, CSI's calculations found that the average American household had 24.7% of its income remaining after taxes and essentials, or $2,170 per month — over double that of Hawaii. On the other end of the spectrum, in Iowa — which is among the the states with the lowest cost of living – residents kept 34.7% of their household income after expenses, or nearly $2,900 per month.

CSI ranked Hawaii as the most expensive for both housing and gas, with 28.8% of a household's income going to shelter and utilities, and 3.6% going to fuel. As of September 2026, the median price for a single-family home in Hawaii was $1,027,000, per Hawai'i REALTORS®, versus the national median price of $422,700 per the National Association of REALTORS®, and the average rent, per Zillow, is $3,200 as of October 2026. Meanwhile, Hawaii's average gas prices are over $1 more per gallon than the national average, per AAA, at $5.65 per gallon, as of October 29, 2026.

Hawaii also ranked as the fifth and sixth most expensive for groceries and childcare, accounting for 14.4% and 19.8% of a household's income, respectively. MERIC reports that groceries in Hawaii were nearly 36% higher than the national average in Q2 2026, and the USDA's Thrifty Food Plan estimate for a family of four in Hawaii was $1,573.60 as of September 2026 — versus $1,024 for the rest of the country. Meanwhile, per 2024 data from Childcare Aware of America, childcare in Hawaii can cost between $7,000 and $24,000, depending on the child's age.

Given all of these high costs, it's perhaps not a surprise that Hawaii is one of the states with the highest credit card debt. In fact, the only categories in which Hawaii ranked as more affordable than most states were health insurance and car insurance, which cost 6% and 2.1% of a household's income, respectively.