Hilo, Hawaii Cost Of Living

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Overall 49%

Goods & Services 34%

Housing 44%

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2021 and was released from C2ER in January, 2022; this is the most current data available.

The cost of living index is based on a national average of 100. For example, if the cost of living is 90, then it is 10% lower than average. If the cost of living is 110, then it is 10% higher than average. The breakdown for each index is as follows: goods & services (33%), groceries (13%), health care (5%), housing (30%), transportation (9%) and utilities (10%). If the cost of living data was unavailable for this city, estimates based upon nearby cities were used.
Index	Hilo	Hawaii	National
Cost of living	149	176	100
Goods & Services	134	130	100
Groceries	157	155	100
Health care	129	122	100
Housing	144	250	100
Transportation	151	142	100
Utilities	209	187	100

Key findings

The cost of living in Hilo is 15% lower than the Hawaii average
The cost of living in Hilo is 49% higher than the national average
Hilo housing is 44% higher than the national average
Hawaii general sales tax is 18% lower than the national average
Hawaii state income tax is 43% lower than the national average

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Price difference in compared to

Cost of living index
Goods & Services index
Groceries index
Health care index
Housing index
Transportation index
Utilities index

Median Income & Debt-To-Income Ratio

Median Income	Per Year	Per Month	Max Budget (28% DTI)	Max Budget (36% DTI)
Owners	$70,625	$5,885	$1,648	$2,119
Renters	$29,578	$2,465	$690	$887

To approximate the cost of living and the housing affordability in Hilo, HI, we can look at the percentage of income that is available to be spent on monthly housing, otherwise known as the debt-to-income ratio (DTI). To stay on the safe side, a consumer should not spend more than 28% of his or her gross income on housing-related expenses and costs and not more than 36% of income on all expenses and debts. Homeowners in Hilo have a median income of $70,625. Therefore, the amount that a consumer should spend on housing costs should be no more than $1,648 per month to avoid calamity and poverty. The renters in the city have an income of about $29,578, which would make their monthly maximum allowable rental costs $690.

Hawaii Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
Hawaii	4.166%	4.712%

Hawaii Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
Hawaii	1.4%	11%

Goods & Services

Item	Hilo	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$12.17	$20.27	40.0%
Beauty Salon	$31.47	$40.39	22.1%
Toothpaste	$4.08	$2.36	73.1%
Shampoo	$1.72	$1.08	60.1%
Movie	$10.04	$10.99	8.6%
Bowling	$13.87	$15.49	10.5%

Groceries

Item	Hilo	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$4.25	$4.30	1.0%
Fried Chicken	$2.19	$1.40	56.4%
Milk	$3.21	$2.20	45.5%
Potatoes	$4.25	$3.22	32.1%
Pizza	$12.30	$10.74	14.5%
Beer	$7.78	$9.60	18.9%

Health Care

Item	Hilo	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$136.85	$109.73	24.7%
Doctor	$133.68	$118.34	13.0%
Dentist	$112.79	$100.94	11.7%
Ibuprofen	$13.01	$9.93	31.0%
Lipitor	$398.63	$469.53	15.1%

Housing

Item	Hilo	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$298,500.00	$184,700.00	61.6%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$2,014.49	$1,229.62	63.8%
Apartment Rent	$961.00	$949.00	1.3%

Transportation

Item	Hilo	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$3.16	$2.71	16.7%
Tire Balancing	$72.96	$51.86	40.7%

Utilities

Item	Hilo	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$431.66	$170.84	152.7%
Phone	$39.39	$187.18	79.0%

Although the cost of living data is updated regularly, this cost of living information is to be used as estimates only as prices can change on an ongoing basis.

Nearby cities with low cost of living

City, State	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Eden Roc, HI	599	124	24%
Fern Acres, HI	1,392	132	32%
Nanawale Estates, HI	1,590	133	33%
Ainaloa, HI	3,102	133	33%
Papaikou, HI	1,198	135	35%
Hilo, HI	45,579	149	49%

Cities with similar population

City, State	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Charlottesville, VA	45,538	112	12%
Lacey, WA	45,644	115	15%
Wylie, TX	45,655	105	5%
Lincoln, CA	45,675	135	35%
Maricopa, AZ	45,473	98	-2%
Hilo, HI	45,579	149	49%

Source: The Hilo, HI cost of living data displayed above is derived from the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER) for 2021.