Cost of living comparison
compared to
Hawaii vs. California Cost of Living Summary
Hawaii is 14.6% more expensive than California.
Hawaii vs. California Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Hawaii instead of California, you would:
pay 23.8% more for restaurants
|
California
|
Hawaii
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$22.31
|
$30.50
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.78
|
$14.21
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.96
|
$3.38
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.26
|
$2.82
|
|
California vs. Hawaii - Cost of restaurants
pay 64.0% more for groceries
|
California
|
Hawaii
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.33
|
$7.91
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.51
|
$9.88
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.92
|
$7.39
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.18
|
$8.21
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.10
|
$7.56
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.32
|
$3.94
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.94
|
$1.54
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.02
|
$3.89
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.60
|
$4.77
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.61
|
$2.62
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.39
|
$2.82
|
|
California vs. Hawaii - Cost of groceries
pay 0.9% more for transportation
|
California
|
Hawaii
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$5.53
|
$5.07
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$64.45
|
$75.40
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,604.61
|
$35,814.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$20.97
|
$20.59
|
|
California vs. Hawaii - Cost of transportation
pay 4.4% more for housing
|
California
|
Hawaii
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$69.16
|
$73.95
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,414.89
|
$2,389.72
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,061.17
|
$2,073.89
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$172.98
|
$227.50
|
|
California vs. Hawaii - Cost of housing
pay 12.8% less for childcare
|
California
|
Hawaii
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,659.26
|
$1,779.83
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$30,706.19
|
$21,749.17
|
|
California vs. Hawaii - Cost of childcare
pay 5.6% more for entertainment and sports
|
California
|
Hawaii
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.15
|
$7.67
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.63
|
$7.08
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.42
|
$13.25
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$65.06
|
$60.03
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.07
|
$15.09
|
|
California vs. Hawaii - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 3.6% more for clothing
|
California
|
Hawaii
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$58.89
|
$61.60
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$43.96
|
$43.66
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$91.63
|
$98.78
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$130.37
|
$134.12
|
|
California vs. Hawaii - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this
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