Rent vs Buy in Honolulu, HI

Property tax in Honolulu comes to about $155 a month ($1,862 a year) on a $665,000 median home at 0.28%. It is the biggest owning cost renters skip entirely, so model it before comparing.

Average rent sits at $2,100 a month ($25,200 a year), the anchor for the renting side. At about 6.1% a year, appreciation in Honolulu tracks the long-run norm, so the calculator's 3 to 3.5% anchor sits close to recent local experience.

Homeowners insurance is modeled at the Hawaii average of $1,100 a year; swap in a real quote once you have a specific home.

Honolulu's price-to-rent ratio is about 26.4: the $665,000 median price divided by $2,100 a month in rent over a year. That is a middling ratio, so the rent-vs-buy call comes down to your down payment, the rate you lock, and how long you stay. Think of the ratio as a quick first read. It will not settle the decision on its own, but it shows which side starts in front.

With a mid-range ratio, renting and buying in Honolulu start on roughly even footing. Where the break-even lands depends on your down payment, rate, and how fast rents rise, which the calculator below pins down.

A handful of Honolulu particulars matter once you look past the ratio alone. Honolulu County, which aligns with the Urban Honolulu MSA, had an estimated 1,016,494 residents on July 1, 2024. Source. Hawaii's 2026 military factbook says the military supports 73,072 total personnel in Hawaii, including 43,118 active-duty service members, and that Honolulu County accounted for $5.6 billion of personnel spending in 2023. Source.