Hawaii vs. Massachusetts Cost of Living Summary

Hawaii is 22.3% more expensive than Massachusetts.

Restaurants
pay 30.4% more in Hawaii
Groceries
pay 72.2% more in Hawaii
Transportation
pay 13.8% more in Hawaii
Housing
pay 11.2% more in Hawaii
Childcare
pay 19.9% less in Hawaii
Entertainment and Sports
pay 15.1% more in Hawaii
Clothing
pay 13.9% more in Hawaii

The cost of groceries, restaurants, entertainment and sports, clothing, transportation, and housing in Hawaii are more expensive than in Massachusetts.

Hawaii vs. Massachusetts Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Hawaii instead of Massachusetts, you would:

pay 30.4% more for restaurants

 
Massachusetts
Hawaii
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $21.38
 
$30.50
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$11.97
 
$14.21
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.74
 
$3.38
 

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pay 72.2% more for groceries

 
Massachusetts
Hawaii
Bread
1 loaf
$3.86
 
$7.91
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $7.01
 
$9.88
 
Milk (1 gallon) $4.07
 
$7.39
 

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pay 13.8% more for transportation

 
Massachusetts
Hawaii
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.83
 
$5.07
 
Monthly public transit pass $71.50
 
$75.40
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $35,766.23
 
$35,814.00
 

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pay 11.2% more for housing

 
Massachusetts
Hawaii
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$73.63
 
$73.95
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $2,181.37
 
$2,389.72
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,944.96
 
$2,073.89
 

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pay 19.9% less for childcare

 
Massachusetts
Hawaii
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $2,041.15
 
$1,779.83
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $29,539.47
 
$21,749.17
 

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pay 15.1% more for entertainment and sports

 
Massachusetts
Hawaii
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $6.35
 
$7.67
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.18
 
$7.08
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$12.90
 
$13.25
 

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pay 13.9% more for clothing

 
Massachusetts
Hawaii
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$51.91
 
$61.60
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$36.86
 
$43.66
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$92.15
 
$98.78
 

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

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