Moving to Hawaii from Illinois
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from Illinois to Hawaii — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from Illinois to Hawaii, you would find that Hawaii is 51.6% more expensive than Illinois. A $75,000 salary in Illinois would need to be roughly $114,000 in Hawaii to maintain the same lifestyle. Expect a noticeable climate shift — Honolulu averages 84°F vs 59°F in Chicago, making it significantly warmer. Chicago and Honolulu are about 4,250 mi apart.
Is Hawaii cheaper than Illinois?
The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 53.3% more
Groceries
pay 2.0 times more
Transportation
pay 15.6% more
Housing
pay 68.7% more
Childcare
pay 12.1% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 24.2% 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 → $114,000
To maintain the same standard of living in Hawaii
Calculate with your salary →Key Indicator Comparison
How Illinois 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
Hawaii performs significantly better than Illinois across all safety metrics.
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 Illinois leads in diabetes rate.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Illinois 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
Hawaii performs significantly better than Illinois 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 Illinois leads in gdp per capita.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
Illinois generally does better on family life, though Hawaii leads in life expectancy.
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 Illinois
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Chicago | Honolulu |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 38°/22°F (3°/-6°C) | 80°/67°F (27°/19°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 70°/48°F (21°/9°C) | 85°/71°F (29°/22°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 80°/60°F (27°/16°C) | 89°/74°F (31°/24°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 48°/32°F (9°/0°C) | 84°/71°F (29°/22°C) |
View all months
| Month | Chicago | Honolulu |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 31°/17°F (-0.6°/-8.6°C) | 80°/66°F (26.7°/19.1°C) |
| Feb | 35°/20°F (1.8°/-6.6°C) | 80°/66°F (26.8°/18.9°C) |
| Mar | 47°/29°F (8.1°/-1.6°C) | 81°/68°F (27.3°/19.8°C) |
| Apr | 59°/39°F (15.0°/3.8°C) | 83°/69°F (28.2°/20.8°C) |
| May | 70°/48°F (21.1°/9.1°C) | 85°/71°F (29.2°/21.6°C) |
| Jun | 80°/58°F (26.5°/14.5°C) | 87°/73°F (30.6°/23.0°C) |
| Jul | 84°/64°F (28.9°/17.7°C) | 88°/74°F (31.1°/23.6°C) |
| Aug | 82°/63°F (27.7°/17.2°C) | 89°/75°F (31.5°/23.9°C) |
| Sep | 75°/54°F (23.8°/12.4°C) | 89°/74°F (31.4°/23.6°C) |
| Oct | 62°/43°F (16.8°/6.0°C) | 87°/73°F (30.4°/23.0°C) |
| Nov | 48°/32°F (9.0°/0.2°C) | 84°/71°F (28.8°/21.9°C) |
| Dec | 35°/21°F (1.6°/-6.3°C) | 81°/68°F (27.3°/20.2°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Hawaii than Illinois?
Day-to-day costs in Hawaii run about 52% higher than Illinois 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 $28,500 in Hawaii for everyday spending, before movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Hawaii safe?
Hawaii performs significantly better than Illinois across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Hawaii compared to Illinois?
Hawaii generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Illinois leads in diabetes rate.
What's the weather like in Hawaii compared to Illinois?
The average high temperature in Honolulu is 84°F, compared to 59°F in Chicago. Honolulu receives around 17.1 in of rainfall per year, while Chicago gets 36.9 in.
