Cost Of Living in Lihue, HI

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	Lihue	Hawaii	National
Cost of living	177	173	100
Goods & Services	127	130	100
Groceries	117	137	100
Health care	123	126	100
Housing	289	250	100
Transportation	135	143	100
Utilities	151	180	100

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Cost Of Living Quick Facts

The cost of living in Lihue is 2% higher than the Hawaii average
The cost of living in Lihue is 77% higher than the national average
Lihue housing is 189% higher than the national average
Hawaii general sales tax is 22% lower than the national average
Hawaii state income tax is 46% 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	$115,511	$9,626	$2,695	$3,466
Renters	$49,935	$4,161	$1,165	$1,498

A good way to judge both the affordability of the housing and the cost of living in Lihue is by simply calculating the maximum that should be spent on housing, otherwise known as the debt-to-income ratio (DTI). The plan is to avoid spending more than 28 percent of the gross income on costs that pertain to housing and no more than 36 percent on all expenses and debts. Lihue has a median income of about $115,511 for people who own homes. Based on that number, a maximum of $2,695 should be spent on expenses related to housing. Renters have a slightly different median income, which is $49,935. Based on this average, renters should spend no more than $1,165 on all rental costs if they want to maintain a non-impoverished standard of living.

Hawaii Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
Hawaii	4%	4.712%

Hawaii Income Tax

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

Goods & Services

Item	Lihue	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$19.47	$24.26	19.8%
Beauty Salon	$76.67	$45.56	68.3%
Toothpaste	$3.68	$3.70	0.6%
Shampoo	$1.73	$1.28	34.8%
Movie	$15.08	$12.13	24.3%
Bowling	$25.33	$18.00	40.7%

Groceries

Item	Lihue	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$5.42	$5.84	7.2%
Fried Chicken	$2.85	$1.57	81.0%
Milk	$5.38	$4.67	15.1%
Potatoes	$5.94	$4.93	20.4%
Pizza	$14.99	$12.09	24.0%
Beer	$12.01	$10.41	15.4%

Health Care

Item	Lihue	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$236.67	$125.68	88.3%
Doctor	$191.36	$135.78	40.9%
Dentist	$114.44	$113.29	1.0%
Ibuprofen	$11.35	$10.65	6.6%
Lipitor	$573.90	$468.60	22.5%

Housing

Item	Lihue	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$635,700.00	$184,700.00	244.2%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$8,008.77	$2,346.69	241.3%
Apartment Rent	$1,518.00	$949.00	60.0%

Transportation

Item	Lihue	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$4.80	$3.46	38.8%
Tire Balancing	$75.37	$59.92	25.8%

Utilities

Item	Lihue	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$359.53	$193.99	85.3%
Phone	$184.47	$192.25	4.0%

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	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Anahola, HI	2,425	154	54.0%
Hanamaulu, HI	4,689	156	56.0%
Eleele, HI	2,710	157	57.4%
Puhi, HI	4,316	161	60.7%
Wailua, HI	2,481	165	65.1%
Lihue, HI	9,036	177	77.2%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
St. Anthony, MN	9,035	111	10.7%
Monett, MO	9,035	84	15.9%
Florence, OR	9,037	111	10.7%
University of California-Davis, CA	9,031	122	21.9%
Seven Corners, VA	9,041	138	37.6%
Lihue, HI	9,036	177	77.2%

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2023 and was released from C2ER in January, 2024; this is the most current data available.

Cost of Living in Lihue, HI