Hawaii vs. Rhode Island Cost of Living Summary

Hawaii is 25.0% more expensive than Rhode Island.

Restaurants
pay 22.7% more in Hawaii
Groceries
pay 78.7% more in Hawaii
Transportation
pay 12.4% more in Hawaii
Housing
pay 13.9% more in Hawaii
Childcare
pay 9.1% less in Hawaii
Entertainment and Sports
pay 15.3% more in Hawaii
Clothing
pay 27.0% more in Hawaii

The cost of groceries, clothing, restaurants, entertainment and sports, housing, and transportation in Hawaii are more expensive than in Rhode Island. Notably, groceries is significantly more expensive in Hawaii.

Hawaii vs. Rhode Island Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Hawaii instead of Rhode Island, you would:

pay 22.7% more for restaurants

 
Rhode Island
Hawaii
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $22.00
 
$30.50
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$13.38
 
$14.21
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.87
 
$3.38
 

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pay 78.7% more for groceries

 
Rhode Island
Hawaii
Bread
1 loaf
$3.98
 
$7.91
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $5.94
 
$9.88
 
Milk (1 gallon) $3.94
 
$7.39
 

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pay 12.4% more for transportation

 
Rhode Island
Hawaii
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.02
 
$5.07
 
Monthly public transit pass $70.00
 
$75.40
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $36,541.58
 
$35,814.00
 

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pay 13.9% more for housing

 
Rhode Island
Hawaii
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$76.56
 
$73.95
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $2,081.88
 
$2,389.72
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,759.17
 
$2,073.89
 

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pay 9.1% less for childcare

 
Rhode Island
Hawaii
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,824.60
 
$1,779.83
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $25,666.67
 
$21,749.17
 

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pay 15.3% more for entertainment and sports

 
Rhode Island
Hawaii
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $6.25
 
$7.67
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.40
 
$7.08
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$13.11
 
$13.25
 

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pay 27.0% more for clothing

 
Rhode Island
Hawaii
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$47.12
 
$61.60
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$27.75
 
$43.66
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$92.50
 
$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 November 2026). How we calculate this

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