Honolulu vs Kahului leftover
Moving to Kahului costs you $210 a month
$946/mo leftover in Kahului vs $1,156 in Honolulu after tax and rent ($210 less). −$2,520 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Honolulu leftover
$1,156
a month after tax and rent
Kahului leftover
$946
−$210 vs Honolulu
Compare Honolulu to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Honolulu.
Monthly gap
Honolulu → Kahului
$210
less / month in Honolulu
$946 in Kahului · $1,156 in Honolulu · One adult, renting a 1-bedroom
Home
Only when you tap. We match the nearest metro and don't keep the coordinates.
Destination
−$210 / mo
| Per month | Honolulu | Kahului | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,958 | $7,568 | −$390 |
| Income and payroll tax | $2,169 | $2,021 | −$148 |
| Take-home pay | $5,790 | $5,547 | −$242 |
| Rent | $2,116 | $2,207 | +$91 |
| Getting around | $619 | $674 | +$55 |
| Groceries | $524 | $474 | −$50 |
| Healthcare | $590 | $534 | −$56 |
| Utilities | $328 | $297 | −$31 |
| Everything else | $459 | $415 | −$44 |
| Left over | $1,156 | $946 | −$210 |
To break even in Kahului, you'd need to earn
$95,000
Household gross, versus $95,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Honolulu does now.
The tax difference alone
+$386
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 27.3% in Honolulu, 26.7% in Kahului.
More about Kahului
Honolulu, HI in full
Lowest property tax in the nation, highest grocery bill.
Kahului, HI in full
State income tax topping out at 9%, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $2,627 and 246 sunny days; commutes average 23 minutes.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Kahului on Kahului wages.
Kahului → Honolulu →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Kahului than Honolulu?
A one-bedroom is about $2,116 in Honolulu versus $2,207 in Kahului. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $210 a month lower in Kahului. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Kahului have state income tax?
Kahului is in Hawaii, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Honolulu to Kahului?
Take-home pay is recalculated under Hawaii tax, rent is priced at the same bedroom count, and leftover is the gap. The from-to page also lists IRS households that already made the move, when that data exists.
Leftover is take-home after federal, state and city wage tax, minus asking rent at the bedroom count you set, minus a modelled month of groceries, utilities, healthcare, transport and childcare. It is not a cost-of-living index and not a moving quote. The dollar gap between Honolulu and Kahului moves when you change the job, remote versus local pay, or bedrooms. How the math works · Leftover vs a COL index · Why a cheaper COL% can still lose leftover.
Rent is Zillow's asking rent for each metro; taxes and living costs are modelled. An estimate, not a quote or tax advice. How this is calculated.