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Cost & Benefits

Compare / Albany to Urban Honolulu

Albany, NY vs Urban Honolulu, HI

Simple answer

You'd likely save $831 a month in Albany.

This is the HUD 2-bedroom fair-market rent for October 2026 through September 2027. It is not your lease.

The largest cost gap in this pair is Census rent. Census median gross rent differs by $660, with Urban Honolulu higher.

New York taxes wages at rates up to 10.90%. Hawaii taxes wages at rates up to 11.00%. Combined sales tax differs by 4.0 percentage points, higher in New York. The effective property tax gap is 1.18 percentage points, higher in New York.

After a move from New York to Hawaii, these benefit results change for a family of four at $40,000 and a single adult at $18,000: LIHEAP.

A $75,000 salary in Albany lines up with about $83,584 in Urban Honolulu on the 2024 all-items price parity. Census median gross rent and the commute figures are 2024. Fair Market Rents are fiscal year 2027.

Albany

Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY

2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
$1,711
HUD area
Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY MSA
Census median gross rent
$1,341
All-items price parity
99.6
Goods price parity
99.7
Utilities price parity
134.0
Mean commute
23.7 min
Median household income
$86,637

Urban Honolulu

Urban Honolulu, HI

2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
$2,542
HUD area
Urban Honolulu, HI MSA
Census median gross rent
$2,001
All-items price parity
111.0
Goods price parity
111.6
Utilities price parity
187.3
Mean commute
27.3 min
Median household income
$105,205

Equivalent salary

The first number keeps the same place in the national price level. The second also runs 2026 federal income tax, employee Social Security and Medicare, and a simplified state income tax. Groceries use the BEA goods price parity, not a grocery receipt.

Same buying power

$83,584

Salary in Urban Honolulu that matches the 2024 all-items regional price parity.

After state and federal tax

$84,615

Gross salary in Urban Honolulu whose after-tax pay buys the same basket, using price parities.

Rent only

$111,426

Scales the salary by the ratio of HUD 2-bedroom Fair Market Rents. Rent is not the whole budget.

Taxes on the two sides of the move

TaxNew YorkHawaii
State income tax on wagesup to 10.90%up to 11.00%
Combined sales tax, Jan 1, 20268.5%4.5%
Effective property tax, ACS 2024 median / median1.45%0.27%

On a $400,000 home, the state median effective rate implies about $5,818 a year in New York and $1,089 in Hawaii. That illustration is not a local bill. Childcare prices are not in the verified dataset for these metros.

Benefits if you land in Hawaii

Same household, $40,000 a year, scored once in New York and once in Hawaii. This is an illustration, not your application.

  • Food stamps (SNAP)

    AlbanyLikely eligible

    Urban HonoluluLikely eligible

  • Medicaid and CHIP

    AlbanyLikely eligible

    Urban HonoluluLikely eligible

  • WIC

    AlbanyLikely eligible

    Urban HonoluluLikely eligible

  • School meals

    AlbanyLikely eligible

    Urban HonoluluLikely eligible

  • LIHEAP

    AlbanyMaybe

    Urban HonoluluLikely eligible

  • Earned Income Tax Credit

    AlbanyLikely eligible

    Urban HonoluluLikely eligible

  • Child Tax Credit

    AlbanyLikely eligible

    Urban HonoluluLikely eligible

  • Marketplace premium tax credits

    AlbanyUnlikely

    Urban HonoluluUnlikely

  • Lifeline phone and internet

    AlbanyLikely eligible

    Urban HonoluluLikely eligible

  • SSI

    AlbanyUnlikely

    Urban HonoluluUnlikely

LIHEAP changes. In Albany the result is “Maybe — the state picks the line inside the federal range.” In Urban Honolulu it is “Likely on the federal income floor.” Income is inside the federal floor, so an income-only denial should not apply.

Medicaid guide for Hawaii · SNAP guide

Related comparisons

From Albany

The eight largest 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent gaps from Albany.

Nearby metros

How the salary and tax math works · The reverse city order redirects to this address.