Phoenix, AZ → Honolulu, HI
Moving to Honolulu costs you $1,465 a month
−$17,580 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
In 2022-2023, 334 households moved Phoenix → Honolulu (avg AGI $79,180). 404 went the other way. The whole move →
| Per month | Phoenix | Honolulu | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,583 | $7,974 | +$391 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,709 | $2,175 | +$466 |
| Take-home pay | $5,875 | $5,799 | −$75 |
| Rent | $1,276 | $2,169 | +$893 |
| Getting around | $586 | $619 | +$33 |
| Groceries | $396 | $524 | +$128 |
| Healthcare | $446 | $590 | +$144 |
| Utilities | $248 | $328 | +$80 |
| Everything else | $347 | $459 | +$112 |
| Left over | $2,577 | $1,112 | −$1,465 |
To break even in Honolulu, you'd need to earn
$124,000
Household gross, versus $91,000 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Phoenix does now.
The tax difference alone
−$4,201
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 22.5% in Phoenix, 27.3% in Honolulu.
More about Honolulu
Phoenix, AZ in full
A 2.5% flat income tax, cheap housing for a big metro, and a genuinely dangerous July.
Honolulu, HI in full
Lowest property tax in the nation, highest grocery bill.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Honolulu on Honolulu wages.
Honolulu → Phoenix →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.