Moving from Hawaii to Washington

The salary comparison above is for W-2 earnings. Your retirement income and budget results appear in the calculator below.

State-median gross rent (2024 ACS): $1,942/month in Hawaii and $1,824/month in Washington. These are state benchmarks, not current rental quotes or your own housing costs. Compare your salary offer, housing and moving-cost recovery using the personal-budget option in the calculator.

Key facts: Hawaii to Washington

Median rent

$1,942 → $1,824/mo

Median home value

$875,900 → $602,200

Price level (U.S. = 100)

110.0 → 107.0

Natural hazard risk (FEMA)

Very high county-score mean (97.4 → 92.8 of 100)

What changes when you move to Washington

• Washington has no state income tax on wages. At $100,000 you'd stop paying about $5,796 a year in Hawaii income tax. Washington's paid-leave and long-term-care premiums cost about $1,387 a year (Hawaii's payroll taxes and premiums are about $390), so your take-home rises by about $4,799 a year.
• BEA's housing rents price index is 1% higher in Washington. Median rent goes from $1,942 to $1,824 a month and the median home value from $875,900 to $602,200.
• Homeowners pay more property tax: the median bill is $4,729 in Washington vs $2,385 in Hawaii.
• The average home electric bill is $124 a month in Washington vs $208 in Hawaii (EIA 2025), about $1,002 a year less.
• Prices for everyday goods are 6% lower (BEA). Hawaii's 4% base general excise tax is a tax on businesses, not a retail sales tax; county surcharges and any customer pass-on are separate. Washington's statewide sales tax rate is 6.5% before local sales taxes.

Who moves from Hawaii to Washington

In the latest IRS migration data (2022–2023), 2,451 households (4,424 people) filed their taxes in Washington after filing in Hawaii the year before. That makes Washington the #2 destination for people leaving Hawaii. These households reported an average adjusted gross income of $74,706. Going the other way, 1,761 households moved from Washington to Hawaii, a net gain of 690 households for Washington.

Five-year trend

Moves from Hawaii to Washington peaked in 2018–19 at 2,508 households, then held roughly steady by 2022–23. That is still down 2% from 2018–19.

Cost to move from Hawaii to Washington

Ranges combine 198 published quote ranges on 22 interstate routes (moveBuddha, retrieved 2026-09-24) with 47 independent published prices from U-Pack, HireAHelper and Move.org, which raised the top of several ranges. They are not quotes; get at least three written estimates.

Alaska and Hawaii ranges come from published carrier rates and moving quotes, dated in each row (Matson's household-goods rates, U-Pack, Royal Hawaiian Movers). See how we estimate.

Shipping a car from Hawaii to Washington

Modeled from 32 published 2026 route prices (SGT Auto Transport 'Ship a Car to Another State' sample routes, SGT Auto Transport cost calculator sample routes) plus published mainland-to-Hawaii and mainland-to-Alaska prices. Reverse ocean routes reuse those inbound prices as a proxy, not a separately sourced price for that direction. The 25% SUV and 35% enclosed-carrier uplifts are model assumptions; ocean carrier packages and vehicle charges can differ. Not a quote.

Hawaii vs Washington take-home pay at every salary

Single filer, 2026 tax rules, standard deduction. "Equal salary" keeps the same after-tax buying power.

At higher incomes, especially for homeowners, itemizing state and local taxes (deductible up to $40,400 in 2026) can lower your federal tax while you live in Hawaii, which narrows the gap shown.

Cost of living: Hawaii vs Washington

Hawaii's general excise tax (GET) is imposed on businesses, rather than customers. The table shows its 4% state base for ordinary retail and services, before the 0.5% county surcharge. A business may pass the tax on to customers; that charge can differ from the base rate. These taxes are not added to the calculator's selected-cost totals.

Renting and buying: Hawaii vs Washington

Mortgage at the Freddie Mac 30-year average with 20% down, plus the median property tax and the median homeowners insurance that owners with a mortgage paid in 2024 (Census ACS). Premiums have risen in most states since then, so get quotes. See buying a home in Washington for other down payments.

Your yearly budget: Hawaii vs Washington

On a $100,000 salary, taxes, gross rent including basic utilities, one car and health insurance for one adult come to $60,406 a year in Hawaii and $55,111 in Washington if you rent: $5,295 less after the move. If you buy the median home, those selected costs use mortgage, property tax, homeowners insurance and electricity instead of gross rent; they come to $100,781 and $80,144 ($20,637 less).

Compare cities: Hawaii to Washington

• Honolulu to Seattle

Cost of living in Washington cities: Seattle, Spokane, Olympia, Bremerton.

After you arrive in Washington

• Washington new resident checklist: driver license and vehicle registration deadlines.
• Taxes the year you move: part-year returns in Hawaii and Washington.
• How Washington taxes retirement income.

Frequently asked questions

Compare other moves

State-agency links identify the responsible tax office; they do not verify every modeled rule. Use forms and guidance for the year you are filing.