States / Hawaii

State rental intelligence

Hawaii rental market data

A source-traced view across 4 metro markets and 5 counties. State figures below are labelled medians and totals—not a made-up statewide investment score.

4/4 metros scored5/5 counties with FEMA risk13 sources used in this analysis

Median scored metro47.0out of 100 · 4 measured metros

Hawaii identity diorama showing regional landscape, cities, housing, and infrastructure

Median metro home value$928kmedian across published metro values

Median metro rent$3,305monthly · published metro values

Median gross yield5.1%annual rent ÷ price · before costs

Median job trend▲ 0.6%trailing 12-month metro employment

State research brief

Asking rents rose 10.9% at the measured-metro median while home values rose just 0.7%, yet soft resale liquidity and net out-migration make that widening income signal difficult to underwrite.

Updated 2026-07-31 · evidence current to the releases listed below.

Hawaii's four measured metros show a clear rent-value split: median asking-rent growth was 10.9%, versus 0.7% for home values, a supplied gap of 10.2 percentage points. The corresponding medians were $3,304.50 in monthly rent, $928,441.50 in home value and 5.1% in gross yield. Those are distributions across four metros, not statewide terms available on every property.

The screening case is therefore about verifying current rental income rather than relying on appreciation. Resale indicators show long marketing times and meaningful price reductions, while renter-cost measures indicate limited room to stretch rents. Positive measured job growth and a positive mover-income gap provide counter-signals, but they coexist with net out-migration. Property-level rent, occupancy, insurance, maintenance and regulatory evidence is still required.

10.9% median asking-rent growth versus 0.7% home-value growth → screen for properties where current leases can verify the apparent income advantage rather than assuming continued appreciation

5.1% median gross yield alongside a 43.6% median rent-to-income ratio → stress-test expenses and tenant affordability before treating headline yield as durable cash flow

6.4 months of supply, 96.5 median days on market and an 18.4% price-reduction share → test purchase discounts while budgeting for a potentially slower resale

0.6% median job growth but net migration of -2,597 → require submarket-level occupancy and turnover evidence because measured demand signals conflict

52.0% median rent burden and 22.4% broad housing vacancy → avoid equating reported vacancy with rentable availability or assuming tenants can absorb unrestricted increases

Price and rent momentum

Rent growth has separated sharply from home-value growth

Across four measured metros, the middle home-value change was 0.7%, with the 10th-to-90th-percentile band running from -3.1% to 1.2%. Asking-rent growth was much stronger: the median was 10.9%, and its comparable band was 5.2% to 17.0%. The packet directly measures the median rent-growth advantage over home-value growth at 10.2 percentage points.

The separation appears in each displayed market but is not uniform. Kapaa, HI recorded 17.2% rent growth against 1.2% home-value growth, while Hilo, HI recorded 16.6% against 0.5%. Urban Honolulu, HI was the counterweight, with rent growth of 5.2% and home-value growth of 1.0%. These asking-rent indexes support deeper lease-level screening; they do not establish the rent that a particular unit can achieve or retain.

Evidence: Zillow ZHVI — metro home values · Zillow ZORI — metro market rents

Supply and resale conditions

Buyers face slower exits even where available supply differs

The four-metro medians were 6.4 months of supply, 96.5 days on market, an 18.4% price-reduction share and a 96.7% sale-to-list ratio. Together, these measures indicate room to test seller expectations, but they also warn that an eventual resale may require time and pricing flexibility.

The local combinations differ. Kapaa, HI had 5.6 months of supply but the longest displayed marketing time at 116 days, with 19.0% price reductions and a 96.1% sale-to-list ratio. Hilo, HI had 6.2 months of supply, 101 days on market and the highest displayed price-reduction share at 24.6%. Kahului, HI had 12.3 months of supply and a 94.9% sale-to-list ratio despite a shorter 92-day marketing time. Permitting also ranged from 1.8 units per 1,000 residents in Kapaa, HI to 6.2 in Hilo, HI, but permits are not completed or rentable units.

Evidence: Census Building Permits Survey — permitted units · Redfin Data Center — inventory, days on market, and price cuts

Entry cost and affordability

Higher displayed yields come with substantial tenant-income pressure

The measured-metro median gross yield was 5.1%, with a 10th-to-90th-percentile band of 4.3% to 5.9%. That headline sits beside a median rent-to-income ratio of 43.6% and a median price-to-income ratio of 9.2. Measured asking rents were 136.2% of the applicable two-bedroom HUD Fair Market Rent at the metro median.

Kapaa, HI paired a displayed 6.0% gross yield with a 62.7% rent-to-income ratio. Hilo, HI combined a 5.9% yield with a lower, though still substantial, 43.2% rent-to-income ratio. Kahului, HI showed a 4.3% yield and a 44.1% rent-to-income ratio. Gross yield excludes operating expenses, financing and vacancy, while the income ratios indicate that aggressive rent-growth assumptions require particular scrutiny.

Evidence: Census ACS 5-year — household income · HUD Fair Market Rents — Section 8 standard · Zillow ZHVI — metro home values · Zillow ZORI — metro market rents

Employment and household movement

Employment is positive, but household movement points the other way

Measured employment provides a genuine counter-signal to the cautious thesis. Across four metros, year-over-year job growth had a 0.6% median and a 10th-to-90th-percentile band of 0.2% to 1.0%. Kahului, HI registered 1.2%, Kapaa, HI 0.7% and Hilo, HI 0.6%.

Household movement was less supportive. Across four counties, 27,856 people moved in and 30,453 moved out, producing net migration of -2,597, or -1.8 per 1,000 residents. Aggregate mover income provided another counter-signal, with inflow exceeding outflow by $49,024. Because the employment, migration and income series cover different periods and concepts, they cannot establish a single current demand trajectory; underwriting still needs local occupancy and turnover evidence.

Evidence: Census ACS 5-year — population · BLS CES — payroll employment · BLS LAUS — resident employment · IRS SOI — county migration and mover income

Housing stock and tenant conditions

High reported vacancy does not translate directly into available rentals

Across five counties, the median ACS vacancy rate was 22.4%, the median renter share was 34.4% and the median share of renters spending at least 30% of income on rent was 52.0%. The median single-family share of housing was 75.5%. These figures describe broad housing stock and household conditions; ACS vacancy does not identify which units are offered to long-term tenants.

Honolulu County combined a lower 9.5% vacancy rate with a 40.2% renter share and 57.7% rent burden. Maui County recorded 22.7% vacancy and 55.9% burden, while Kauai County recorded 22.4% vacancy and 52.0% burden. Kalawao County, with a measured population of 67, had 62.6% vacancy, so the upper tail of the five-county distribution should not be treated as representative of a typical acquisition market.

Evidence: Census ACS 5-year — county housing value, tenure and stock

Physical risk and property tax

County hazard-loss ratios vary more than effective tax rates

The median FEMA hazard-loss ratio across five counties was 0.32%, and the 90th percentile was 0.69%. Hawaii County stood above that band among the displayed areas at 0.90%, compared with 0.38% in Maui County and 0.32% in Kauai County. All five counties have inland flood as their mutually exclusive leading-hazard label, but that county label does not establish exposure for any parcel.

Effective property-tax figures covered four counties, with a 0.25% median rate and a $1,666 median tax. Among the named areas, rates were 0.28% in Hawaii County, 0.16% in Maui County and 0.21% in Kauai County; Honolulu County had a $2,553 median tax. These measures can prioritize insurance, engineering and tax verification, but they cannot substitute for a parcel-specific quote, elevation review or assessment record.

Evidence: FEMA National Risk Index — hazard loss ratios · Census ACS 5-year — effective property tax

Evidence selected for Hawaii

The ranges behind the analysis

Each row keeps its own unit and shows the measured 10th percentile, median and 90th percentile. A single-value row is labelled directly.

Price and rent momentumAre home values and asking rents moving together or separating?

Supply and resale conditionsWhat do permits, inventory, marketing time and price cuts say about pressure?

Entry cost and affordabilityHow far do local prices, rents, incomes and HUD rent standards stretch?

Shape of the state

Distribution before conclusion

A statewide median can hide a wide spread. These SVG charts render at build time and carry no chart library or browser-side data request.

Metro score distribution4 scored metros · median 47.0

County evidence coverageEvery gap stays visible as missing—not estimated

Highest measured metro gross yieldsscreening metric only · before expenses and financing

Metro leaderboard

Markets touching Hawaii

Multi-state CBSAs appear in every member state. Score is still a metro score; no value is reweighted into a statewide ranking.

#	Metro	Score	Price	Rent	Yield	Jobs
1	Kapaa, HI	53	$1025k	$5,102	6.0%	▲ 0.7%
2	Kahului, HI	48	$999k	$3,571	4.3%	▲ 1.2%
3	Hilo, HI	46	$576k	$2,828	5.9%	▲ 0.6%
4	Urban Honolulu, HI	40	$858k	$3,038	4.3%	▲ 0.1%

Below the metro line

Largest counties in Hawaii

County figures join on the five-digit FIPS code. The table uses measured local values and prints “n/a” wherever a publisher has no record.

County	Population	Price	Rent	Yield	Hazard
Honolulu County, HI	1,001,146	$858k	$3,038	4.3%	inland flooding
Hawaii County, HI	205,769	$576k	$2,828	5.9%	inland flooding
Maui County, HI	164,522	$999k	$3,571	4.3%	inland flooding
Kauai County, HI	73,731	$1025k	$5,102	6.0%	inland flooding
Kalawao County, HI	67	n/a	n/a	n/a	inland flooding

County yield sample4/5counties have the rent needed to compute yield

Statewide net migration−2,597IRS tax-return households summed across counties

Median investor share23.9%among counties with HMDA purchase records

Sources used in this analysis

Measured releases, not a global source count

Only sources supporting the selected evidence modules are listed here.

Bear case

What can break the thesis

Zillow rents are asking-rent measures, and gross yield excludes vacancy, insurance, maintenance, financing, taxes and other operating costs; the displayed spread may not become net income.
Net out-migration and high renter-cost burdens could weaken the durability of rent growth even though measured employment and mover-income signals are positive.
Long marketing times, price reductions and below-list sale ratios create exit-price and holding-period risk if a property must be sold.
The sources use different release periods, so current housing, employment, ACS and migration measures cannot be read as one synchronized market snapshot.
Hawaii-specific coverage is thin: metro distributions contain four areas, effective property-tax figures cover four of five counties, and the packet has no parcel exposure, insurance quote, building-condition, condominium-fee or local rental-rule data.

Investor questions

Before underwriting a property

Are measured rents rising faster than home values?

Yes. Across four metros, median asking-rent growth was 10.9% and median home-value growth was 0.7%, a supplied difference of 10.2 percentage points. That does not prove the spread will persist or apply to a specific unit.

Which displayed metros pair the strongest gross yields with current rent data?

Kapaa, HI showed a 6.0% gross yield on a $1,024,943 home value and $5,102 monthly rent, while Hilo, HI showed 5.9% on $576,258 and $2,828. Kapaa's 62.7% rent-to-income ratio makes its stronger yield materially harder to underwrite than the yield alone suggests.

Do current resale measures support negotiating below the asking price?

They support testing seller flexibility, not assuming a discount. The four-metro medians were a 96.7% sale-to-list ratio, an 18.4% price-reduction share and 96.5 days on market, with meaningful variation among Kapaa, HI, Hilo, HI and Kahului, HI.

Is demand evidence strong enough to offset the migration loss?

Not conclusively. Median metro job growth was positive at 0.6%, and aggregate mover income had a positive $49,024 gap, but four counties recorded net migration of -2,597. Different periods and definitions prevent those measures from resolving local rental demand.

Can the county hazard label be used to reject or approve a property?

No. Inland flood is the mutually exclusive leading-hazard label for all five counties, and county hazard-loss ratios vary, but neither measure establishes parcel-level exposure. A property decision still requires parcel, insurance and physical-condition evidence absent from the packet.