Moving to Hawaii from Idaho
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from Idaho to Hawaii — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from Idaho to Hawaii, you would find that Hawaii is 61.8% more expensive than Idaho. A $75,000 salary in Idaho would need to be roughly $121,000 in Hawaii to maintain the same lifestyle. Expect a noticeable climate shift — Honolulu averages 84°F vs 59°F in Idaho Falls, making it significantly warmer. Idaho Falls and Honolulu are about 3,050 mi apart.
Is Hawaii cheaper than Idaho?
The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 61.6% more
Groceries
pay 2.2 times more
Transportation
pay 32.1% more
Housing
pay 71.2% more
Childcare
pay 30.6% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 26.4% more
Data: MyLifeElsewhere's crowdsourced cost of living database, with prices submitted and updated by users worldwide. Exchange rates are refreshed regularly from public sources.
What salary do you need in Hawaii?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $121,000
To maintain the same standard of living in Hawaii
Calculate with your salary →Key Indicator Comparison
How Idaho and Hawaii stack up on safety, healthcare, jobs, and infrastructure.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Idaho generally does better on safety, though Hawaii leads in violent crime rate.
How's the healthcare?
share of people without health insurance
share of adults with obesity
share of adults with diabetes
share of adults who smoke
Hawaii generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Idaho leads in diabetes rate.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Idaho performs better than Hawaii across all what about housing? metrics.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Idaho performs better than Hawaii across all infrastructure metrics.
What are the job prospects?
percentage of the labour force without work
a broad measure of economic output per person
typical annual income of a household
share of people below the poverty line
Hawaii generally does better on employment & economy, though Idaho leads in poverty rate.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
Hawaii performs significantly better than Idaho across all family life metrics.
Sources: US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) (2023), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (PLACES) (2022), FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (2023), Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025), Bureau of Economic Analysis (2024), OECD Regional Demography (2020). How we calculate this
Weather in Hawaii vs Idaho
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Idaho Falls | Honolulu |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 39°/19°F (4°/-7°C) | 80°/67°F (27°/19°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 69°/40°F (20°/5°C) | 85°/71°F (29°/22°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 83°/49°F (29°/9°C) | 89°/74°F (31°/24°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 45°/24°F (7°/-5°C) | 84°/71°F (29°/22°C) |
View all months
| Month | Idaho Falls | Honolulu |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 31°/14°F (-0.7°/-10.2°C) | 80°/66°F (26.7°/19.1°C) |
| Feb | 36°/17°F (2.3°/-8.4°C) | 80°/66°F (26.8°/18.9°C) |
| Mar | 49°/26°F (9.3°/-3.2°C) | 81°/68°F (27.3°/19.8°C) |
| Apr | 59°/33°F (15.2°/0.3°C) | 83°/69°F (28.2°/20.8°C) |
| May | 69°/40°F (20.3°/4.7°C) | 85°/71°F (29.2°/21.6°C) |
| Jun | 78°/47°F (25.6°/8.6°C) | 87°/73°F (30.6°/23.0°C) |
| Jul | 87°/53°F (30.7°/11.7°C) | 88°/74°F (31.1°/23.6°C) |
| Aug | 87°/51°F (30.6°/10.7°C) | 89°/75°F (31.5°/23.9°C) |
| Sep | 76°/42°F (24.3°/5.8°C) | 89°/74°F (31.4°/23.6°C) |
| Oct | 61°/33°F (16.3°/0.4°C) | 87°/73°F (30.4°/23.0°C) |
| Nov | 44°/24°F (6.4°/-4.7°C) | 84°/71°F (28.8°/21.9°C) |
| Dec | 31°/15°F (-0.5°/-9.7°C) | 81°/68°F (27.3°/20.2°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Hawaii than Idaho?
Day-to-day costs in Hawaii run about 62% higher than Idaho on average; specific cities can swing further.
How much money do I need to move to Hawaii?
A safe rule of thumb is 3 months of local expenses plus relocation costs. On a $75,000 comparable salary, that's around $30,250 in Hawaii for everyday spending, before movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Hawaii safe?
Idaho generally does better on safety, though Hawaii leads in violent crime rate.
How is healthcare in Hawaii compared to Idaho?
Hawaii generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Idaho leads in diabetes rate.
What's the weather like in Hawaii compared to Idaho?
The average high temperature in Honolulu is 84°F, compared to 59°F in Idaho Falls. Honolulu receives around 17.1 in of rainfall per year, while Idaho Falls gets 14.3 in.
