Most local residents are reminded of it every time they gas up their car, shop for groceries or open their electrical bill: A dollar doesn’t go far in Hawaii.
A long list of think tanks, human resource firms and websites have frequently pointed out that fact over the years. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that a new report from CNBC ranks the Aloha State as the most expensive in which to live.
The news follows a CNBC report last week that singled out Hawaii is as having the worst business climate among the 50 states.
The 2013 cost-of-living ranking was based on a comparison of costs of five basic goods and services. The report cited the following prices for Hawaii: $742,166 average price for a home (in Honolulu), $3.41 for a half-gallon of milk, $3.99 for a pound of ground beef, $333.51 for monthly energy costs and $101.80 for a doctor’s visit.
Hawaii was No. 1 and Alaska No. 2 for the second straight year. Rounding out the top five were Connecticut, New York and New Jersey. The least expensive state was Oklahoma, according to the report.
"Businesses don’t just look at their own costs when deciding where to set up shop. They also look at the costs for their employees and executives. After all, wages go further when the cost of living is low," CNBC said in the report published on its website.
Hawaii was ranked near the top in all the categories measured by CNBC, but it was in a league of its own in terms of energy costs. The average monthly energy bill of $333.51 was 32 percent higher than the next-highest bill of $252.39 in New Jersey.
Hawaii routinely has the highest gasoline prices in the nation, according to the AAA Daily Fuel Gauge. And the state’s electricity prices run about three times the national average, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
The category where Hawaii fared the best was in medical costs. The $101.80 quoted for a doctor’s visit compared favorable with other states with high costs of living. It cost $159.20 to see a doctor in Alaska, $130.57 in California, $114.55 in Connecticut and $102.30 in New Jersey, according to the report.
