Living in Hawaii has it's advantages. The weather in the 50th state is practically perfect 365 days of the year.  We can enjoy the beach, sun and hike our mountains in the winter, where most of the continental U.S. is freezing and shoveling snow.   One of downside, is the cost of housing.  Whether you rent, buy or lease a home in Hawaii it is going to cost an arm, a leg and maybe your head.  Here are some interesting facts about our housing economics:

Hawai‘i’s low income residents face the highest cost of living in the nation, including the highest cost of housing.

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Housing Costs in Hawaii

• Hawaii’s rents exceed the national average by 50%, with about 75% of households in poverty spending more than half of their income on rent.
• Hawai‘i’s housing costs are the highest among the states, while Honolulu is the most expensive metropolitan area for housing.
• A minimum wage worker would have to work 177 hours per week, 52 weeks per year, to afford a two bedroom apartment at market rent. The “housing wage”—what a worker would need to earn hourly to afford a two bedroom apartment at fair market rent—is $32.14. Meanwhile, the average hourly wage for a renter is $13.56, while minimum wage is just $7.25.
• In large part due to the lack of affordable housing, Hawai‘i has the highest homelessness rate among the fifty states. Inability to pay rent and eviction are frequently cited as events leading to homelessness. Even for those who are working or ready to move into permanent housing, there are few affordable options, causing them to languish in shelters or transitional housing.
• Hawai‘i has the highest rate of “doubling up” in the country, where multiple generations live in one unit

resource:  http://hiappleseed.org/affordable-housing

Hawaii Apple is a center for Law and Economic Justice

Maybe I have to buy my dreamhouse in the Mainland and not in Hawaii? :(