State

Hawaii

Hawaii has a quality-of-life score of 66 out of 100 (high), ranking #18 of 51 US states. It ranks best on effective property tax rate (low), life expectancy (high) and days with unhealthy air (low). It ranks worst on voter turnout (low), distance to an Amtrak station (high) and natural hazard risk (high).

66High
Quality-of-life score
#18 of 51 states
Population
1,432,820 (2025)
Land area
6,423 mi²
Density
223.1 /mi²
FIPS code
15

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 75 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Location of Hawaii

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US states.

  • Safety90#6/51
  • Economy74#14/51
  • Housing0#51/51
  • Health94#4/51
  • Healthcare72#15/51
  • Environment—
  • Education58#22/51
  • Infrastructure80#11/51
  • Community32#35/51
  • Leisure & amenities64#19/51

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Hawaii ranks highest and lowest among US states (score = percentile, 100 = best).

Strengths

Weaknesses

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

States like Hawaii five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Hawaii in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

Federal contract spending

Federal grants & assistance

Grants, loans (counted at their subsidy cost), direct payments and insurance, by fiscal year of the action (USAspending.gov, FABS). Reported apart from contracts and never added to them.

Public money & outcomes

Federal money per resident by fiscal year next to how the place changed, and, when its money jumped, how it compares with similar counties. A comparison, not cause and effect.

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Counties of Hawaii

All 5 counties, best quality-of-life score first.

  1. 1Kauai County86
  2. 2Honolulu County86
  3. 3Maui County80
  4. 4Hawaii County58
  5. 5Kalawao County—

Metro areas in Hawaii

Metropolitan and micropolitan areas based in Hawaii, largest first.

  1. Urban Honolulu, HI86988,703
  2. Hilo-Kailua, HI62210,043
  3. Kahului-Wailuku, HI75160,674
  4. Kapaa, HI9073,400

Largest cities and towns in Hawaii

By population.

  1. Urban Honolulu345,482
  2. East Honolulu51,360
  3. Hilo50,404
  4. Pearl City44,547
  5. Waipahu40,482
  6. Kailua39,640
  7. Kaneohe37,355
  8. Kahului28,288
  9. Mililani Town27,668
  10. Ewa Gentry26,563
  11. Kapolei22,232
  12. Kailua21,818
  13. Kihei21,567
  14. Mililani Mauka21,278
  15. Makakilo20,735
  16. Wahiawa17,996
  17. Ocean Pointe17,085
  18. Wailuku16,926
  19. Schofield Barracks16,270
  20. Halawa14,385
  21. Ewa Beach14,376
  22. Royal Kunia13,555
  23. Hawaiian Paradise Park13,203
  24. Waimalu13,061

All 163 cities and towns in Hawaii

Similar states

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

JSON · /api/v1/places/15