Kahului composite
37.7 /100
Grade D · weighted across 7 dims
Metro comparison
Kahului vs Urban Honolulu
Kahului-Wailuku, HI and Urban Honolulu, HI side by side, cost of living, rent, wages, crime, schools, childcare and environment, all from the same federal datasets so every number is directly comparable.
- 37.7
- Kahului Life Score
- D
- Kahului grade
- 43.6
- Urban Honolulu Life Score
- C
- Urban Honolulu grade
Head-to-head verdict
Across the seven dimensions, Kahului scores higher on 4 (cost of living, rent, safety, childcare) and Urban Honolulu on 3 (wages, schools, environment). The radar shows the full shape; the tables below break out every figure.
Kahului vs Urban Honolulu across all seven dimensions (each scored 0–100 as a national percentile, bigger area = stronger overall)
Where each metro wins, and by how much
Every dimension is a national percentile (0–100). Each bar leans toward the stronger metro, a long lean is a decisive edge, a near-even split is a toss-up. The radar shows the overall shape; this shows the per-dimension margins.
◖ Kahului Urban Honolulu ◗
cost of living
3
2
wages
82
90
rent
4
3
safety
75
75
schools
27
28
childcare
16
16
environment
45
92
Kahului and Urban Honolulu differ across eleven dimensions of livability. Kahului has a cost-of-living index of 109.4 vs Urban Honolulu's 111.0 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $72,704 in Kahului and $73,986 in Urban Honolulu. A 2-bedroom averages $2,492/mo vs $2,642/mo.
How to read this matchup
Reading the Kahului vs Urban Honolulu Comparison
Kahului (HI) and Urban Honolulu (HI) are assembled here from the same federal data pipeline, BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, FBI Uniform Crime Reports, NCES public-school counts, and EPA environmental indicators, so every number on this page is directly comparable. The overall cost index reads 109.4 for Kahului against 111.0 for Urban Honolulu, a 1.6-point gap on a scale where 100 equals the U.S. average. HUD's 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent, the figure used to set housing-choice voucher payment standards, is $2,492/mo in Kahului and $2,642/mo in Urban Honolulu, a $150/mo difference that compounds to $1,800 over a year.
On wages, BLS OES reports a median salary of $72,704 across 67,610 jobs in Kahului against $73,986 across 420,760 jobs in Urban Honolulu. Adjusted through the BEA cost-of-living lens, $100,000 earned in Kahului carries the same local purchasing power as $101,433 in Urban Honolulu - the most honest way to read the salary headline, because nominal wages and rents move together in tight metros. State-level violent crime, the most reliable geographic tier FBI UCR publishes, is 230.5 per 100,000 residents in HI vs 230.5 in HI, with property-crime rates of 2052.6 and 2052.6 respectively.
Schools are reported at the state tier by NCES: HI lists 295 public schools at a 14.1:1 student-teacher ratio, while HI lists 295 schools at 14.1:1, a signal of class-size staffing, though individual district and school-level variation within each state is substantial. Department of Labor center-based infant care runs $15,330/yr in the Kahului area versus $15,330/yr in Urban Honolulu - a line item that shifts the real cost-of-living picture for households with children under five far more than headline RPP does. When these pieces are read together rather than in isolation, Kahului and Urban Honolulu are not simply "cheaper" or "more expensive" - they trade across dimensions, and which metro wins depends on whether your household optimizes for rent, wages, schools, childcare, safety, or environment. Treat the tables below as inputs to that trade-off, not as a single ranking.
Urban Honolulu composite
43.6 /100
Grade C · weighted across 7 dims
Cost-of-living gap
-1.6 pts
Kahului vs Urban Honolulu BEA RPP
2-bed rent delta
$150 /mo
Urban Honolulu priced higher
Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale
Kahului
Kahului composite (Grade D)
Urban Honolulu
Urban Honolulu composite (Grade C)
Composite is a weighted roll-up of seven dimensions: cost (20%), wages (20%), rent (15%), safety (15%), schools (10%), childcare (10%), environment (10%). Each input normalized to a 0–100 percentile across all metros.
💰 Cost of Living BEA →
| Category | Kahului | Urban Honolulu |
|---|---|---|
| Overall RPP | 109.4 | 111.0 |
| Goods | 111.6 | 111.6 |
| Services | 190.6 | 187.3 |
| Rents | 119.2 | 135.5 |
Salary Equivalent Calculator
What salary in Urban Honolulu gives the same purchasing power as your salary in Kahului?
$
Equivalent in Urban Honolulu:
$101,433
Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (Kahului: 109.4, Urban Honolulu: 111.0, national avg = 100).
🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →
| Bedrooms | Kahului | Urban Honolulu |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $1,801/mo | $1,877/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $1,899/mo | $2,016/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $2,492/mo | $2,642/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $3,227/mo | $3,674/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $4,024/mo | $4,432/mo |
💼 Wages & Employment BLS →
| Metric | Kahului | Urban Honolulu |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Median Salary | $72,704 | $73,986 |
| Total Employment | 67,610 | 420,760 |
🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →
| Crime Type (per 100K) | Kahului (HI) | Urban Honolulu (HI) |
|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 230.5 | 230.5 |
| Property Crime | 2052.6 | 2052.6 |
🎓 Schools (state-level) NCES →
| Metric | HI | HI |
|---|---|---|
| Total Schools | 295 | 295 |
| Student-Teacher Ratio | 14.1:1 | 14.1:1 |
| Charter Schools | 12.5% | 12.5% |
👶 Childcare Costs (Annual Avg) (state-level) DOL →
| Age Group | HI | HI |
|---|---|---|
| Infant (Center) | $15,330/yr | $15,330/yr |
| Toddler (Center) | $10,845/yr | $10,845/yr |
| Preschool (Center) | $10,845/yr | $10,845/yr |
🌿 Environment (state-level) EPA →
| Metric | HI | HI |
|---|---|---|
| EPA Facilities | 38 | 38 |
| Water Systems | 118 | 118 |
| Superfund Sites | 4 | 4 |
| Water Violations | 29 | 29 |
Government-verified data - Air quality (EPA AQS), water safety (EPA SDWIS), healthcare access (HRSA), and disaster risk (FEMA NRI) are sourced directly from U.S. federal agencies. No crowdsourced estimates.
💨 Air Quality (EPA AQS) EPA AQS →
| Metric | Kahului | Urban Honolulu |
|---|---|---|
| Median AQI | 21.0 | 31.0 |
| Good Air Days | 99.7% | 98.4% |
| Unhealthy Air Days | 1 days | 0 days |
💧 Water Safety (EPA SDWIS, state-level) EPA SDWIS →
| Metric | HI | HI |
|---|---|---|
| Water Safety Score | 25/100 | 25/100 |
| Total Violations | 5,234 | 5,234 |
| Health-Based Violations | 2,289 | 2,289 |
| Systems with Violations | 80.3% | 80.3% |
🏥 Healthcare Access (HRSA, state-level) HRSA →
| Metric | HI | HI |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Access Score | 0/100 | 0/100 |
| Population in Shortage Area | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| HPSA Designations | 97 | 97 |
HPSA = Health Professional Shortage Area, designated by HRSA. Higher access score = better healthcare availability.
⚠️ Natural Disaster Risk (FEMA NRI, state-level) FEMA NRI →
| Metric | HI | HI |
|---|---|---|
| Disaster Safety Score | 30/100 | 30/100 |
| NRI Risk Score (avg county) | 75.0 | 75.0 |
| Expected Annual Loss Score | 75.4 | 75.4 |
FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) scores are county-level percentiles (0–100). Higher disaster safety score = lower relative risk. State-level values are county averages.
Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level. Metro-specific data for these dimensions is not available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Kahului more expensive than Urban Honolulu? ▼
Kahului has a cost of living index of 109.4 compared to Urban Honolulu's 111.0 (national average = 100). Urban Honolulu is 1.6 points above Kahului on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between Kahului and Urban Honolulu? ▼
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $2,492/mo in Kahului vs $2,642/mo in Urban Honolulu, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $1,801/mo to $1,877/mo.
How do salaries compare between Kahului and Urban Honolulu? ▼
The average median salary across all occupations is $72,704 in Kahului and $73,986 in Urban Honolulu, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. After adjusting for cost of living, $100,000 in Kahului has the same purchasing power as $101,433 in Urban Honolulu.
Is Kahului or Urban Honolulu safer? ▼
At the state level, HI has a violent crime rate of 230.5 per 100,000 residents compared to HI's 230.5 per 100,000. Property crime rates are 2052.6 vs 2052.6 per 100,000 respectively, based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
How do schools compare between Kahului and Urban Honolulu? ▼
HI has 295 public schools with an average student-teacher ratio of 14.1:1, while HI has 295 schools at 14.1:1. Charter schools make up 12.5% of HI schools vs 12.5% in HI. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Where does the comparison data come from? ▼
All data comes from official U.S. government sources: Bureau of Economic Analysis (cost of living), HUD (fair market rents), BLS (wages), FBI UCR (crime), NCES (schools), Department of Labor (childcare), EPA (environment, air quality, water safety), HRSA (healthcare access), and FEMA NRI (disaster risk). No crowdsourced estimates or proprietary ratings are used.
Research Guides
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Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, EPA AQS, EPA SDWIS, HRSA, and FEMA NRI. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.
Disclaimer: This comparison is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or relocation advice. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Related
Data sourced from official public datasets, current as of 2026. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial