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Cost & Benefits

Compare / Urban Honolulu to Winston-Salem

Urban Honolulu, HI vs Winston-Salem, NC

Simple answer

You'd likely save $1,210 a month in Winston-Salem.

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 Fair Market Rent. The 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent gap is $1,210: Urban Honolulu is higher at $2,542 versus $1,332.

Hawaii taxes wages at rates up to 11.00%. North Carolina taxes wages at a flat 3.99%. Combined sales tax differs by 2.5 percentage points, higher in North Carolina. The effective property tax gap is 0.34 percentage points, higher in North Carolina.

After a move from Hawaii to North Carolina, 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 Urban Honolulu lines up with about $62,213 in Winston-Salem on the 2024 all-items price parity. Census median gross rent and the commute figures are 2024. Fair Market Rents are fiscal year 2027.

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

Winston-Salem

Winston-Salem, NC

2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
$1,332
HUD area
Winston-Salem, NC HUD Metro FMR Area
Census median gross rent
$1,102
All-items price parity
92.0
Goods price parity
96.6
Utilities price parity
88.4
Mean commute
23.8 min
Median household income
$65,903

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

$62,213

Salary in Winston-Salem that matches the 2024 all-items regional price parity.

After state and federal tax

$58,858

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

Rent only

$39,300

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

TaxHawaiiNorth Carolina
State income tax on wagesup to 11.00%3.99% flat
Combined sales tax, Jan 1, 20264.5%7.0%
Effective property tax, ACS 2024 median / median0.27%0.61%

On a $400,000 home, the state median effective rate implies about $1,089 a year in Hawaii and $2,455 in North Carolina. That illustration is not a local bill. Childcare prices are not in the verified dataset for these metros.

Benefits if you land in North Carolina

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

  • Food stamps (SNAP)

    Urban HonoluluLikely eligible

    Winston-SalemLikely eligible

  • Medicaid and CHIP

    Urban HonoluluLikely eligible

    Winston-SalemLikely eligible

  • WIC

    Urban HonoluluLikely eligible

    Winston-SalemLikely eligible

  • School meals

    Urban HonoluluLikely eligible

    Winston-SalemLikely eligible

  • LIHEAP

    Urban HonoluluLikely eligible

    Winston-SalemMaybe

  • Earned Income Tax Credit

    Urban HonoluluLikely eligible

    Winston-SalemLikely eligible

  • Child Tax Credit

    Urban HonoluluLikely eligible

    Winston-SalemLikely eligible

  • Marketplace premium tax credits

    Urban HonoluluUnlikely

    Winston-SalemUnlikely

  • Lifeline phone and internet

    Urban HonoluluLikely eligible

    Winston-SalemLikely eligible

  • SSI

    Urban HonoluluUnlikely

    Winston-SalemUnlikely

LIHEAP changes. In Urban Honolulu the result is “Likely on the federal income floor.” In Winston-Salem it is “Maybe — the state picks the line inside the federal range.” Income is inside the 150 percent option. Whether this state uses that line, a lower one, or 60 percent of state median income is not verified.

Medicaid guide for North Carolina · SNAP guide

Related comparisons

From Urban Honolulu

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

Nearby metros

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