Cost of living comparison
compared to
California vs. Honolulu Cost of Living Summary
California is 5.3% cheaper than Honolulu.
- Restaurants
-
pay 17.0% less in California
- Groceries
-
pay 39.9% less in California
- Transportation
-
pay 11.4% less in California
- Housing
-
pay 1.2% more in California
- Childcare
-
pay 48.4% more in California
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 6.4% less in California
- Clothing
-
pay 12.3% less in California
The cost of childcare and housing in California are more expensive than in Honolulu. Expenses including groceries, restaurants, clothing, transportation, and entertainment and sports are lower in California.
California vs. Honolulu Cost Breakdown
If you lived in California instead of Honolulu, you would:
pay 17.0% less for restaurants
|
Honolulu
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$23.50
|
$21.84
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$15.00
|
$12.33
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.63
|
$2.79
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.72
|
$2.17
|
|
Honolulu vs. California - Cost of restaurants
pay 39.9% less for groceries
|
Honolulu
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$6.58
|
$4.20
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$15.27
|
$6.77
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$7.79
|
$4.73
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$7.51
|
$5.14
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$9.58
|
$6.05
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$3.43
|
$2.30
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.96
|
$0.92
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.72
|
$1.91
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.89
|
$2.38
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$2.75
|
$1.50
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$2.31
|
$1.41
|
|
Honolulu vs. California - Cost of groceries
pay 11.4% less for transportation
|
Honolulu
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.68
|
$4.72
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$80.00
|
$63.04
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,265.95
|
$30,529.84
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$24.38
|
$21.43
|
|
Honolulu vs. California - Cost of transportation
pay 1.2% more for housing
|
Honolulu
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$67.46
|
$67.96
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,197.86
|
$2,385.40
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,857.69
|
$2,043.56
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$200.52
|
$171.94
|
|
Honolulu vs. California - Cost of housing
pay 48.4% more for childcare
|
Honolulu
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,633.33
|
$1,633.13
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$20,440.00
|
$30,339.97
|
|
Honolulu vs. California - Cost of childcare
pay 6.4% less for entertainment and sports
|
Honolulu
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$7.31
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$6.46
|
$5.58
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.00
|
$10.92
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$55.37
|
$68.02
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$18.00
|
$14.99
|
|
Honolulu vs. California - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 12.3% less for clothing
|
Honolulu
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$57.50
|
$56.47
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$55.83
|
$40.47
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$105.00
|
$87.50
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$124.17
|
$119.94
|
|
Honolulu vs. California - Cost of clothing
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you.
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world.
Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025
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