$100k salary, packing up from Washington
changea dispatch from
honolulu
HI
21.31°N
157.86°W
Honolulu is Waikiki's high-rises pressed against turquoise water, Diamond Head crater glowing pink at dawn, and plate lunches that mix Hawaiian, Japanese, Filipino, Korean, and Portuguese into one perfect styrofoam container. Surf the south shore in summer, the north in winter. The North Shore is a 45-minute drive into a totally different world. Aloha here is a way of moving through the day.
in our guides
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read the guidethe verdict
more each month than Washington ran you
Honolulu costs meaningfully more. Whether it earns that back in the day-to-day is the actual question.
a quick ledger.
$2,843/mo
21% more expensive than Washington(vs $2,352/mo)
11%
$208/mo more in state tax than Washington
vs 8.5% in Washington
$4,574/mo
$699 less than Washington
gross of federal tax. a comparison, not a paycheck.
$1061k
69% more expensive than Washington
vs $626k in Washington
989k
vs 6.3M in Washington
field notes, weather & such.
316
pleasant days a year, in honolulu.
Washington only manages 177 of those.
Lighter on events: Washington packs 1.7× more into a month.
55/100
37% lower than Washington
vs 87/100 in Washington
Closest outdoor draw: Ahupuaa O Kahana State Park, 17.1 mi.
99/100
1% higher than Washington
vs 98/100 in Washington
51
68% fewer than Washington
vs 160 nonstops in Washington
neighbors of honolulu on the map of tradeoffs:
compare honolulu with:
