Thursday, March 28, 2024
Hawai'i Free Press

Current Articles | Archives

Thursday, August 29, 2019
Hawaii: $100 goes a lot further on Sister Isles
By Tax Foundation @ 6:45 PM :: 3507 Views :: Hawaii Statistics, Cost of Living

Metropolitan Area --Real Value of $100

  • 4th Lowest -- Urban Honolulu, HI -- $80.19
  • Maui County $93.20
  • Kauai and Hawaii Counties – $99.50

What is the Real Value of $100 in Metropolitan Areas?

by Scott Eastman and Aida Vazquez-Soto, Tax Foundation, August 28, 2019

In May, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis released new data covering differences in purchasing power in different metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas in 2017. In layman’s terms, the data compares how much $100 can buy in different regions of the country. This post focuses on comparing the purchasing power in different metropolitan areas around the country.

There are large differences in price level by region. In general, the regions where $100 buys the least are concentrated around large cities in the Northeast and California. Conversely, $100 stretches the most in the rural areas of the Midwest and the Southeast.

Stay Informed on Tax Policy Research and Analysis

Select State Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

Table 1 shows the 15 most expensive metropolitan areas in the United States, where the real value of $100 is the lowest. For example, San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, California, is a high-price metropolitan area. There, $100 will buy you goods that would cost just $78.13 in a metropolitan area at the national average price level. In other words, residents of the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara area, for the purposes of day-to-day living, are around 22 percent poorer than their incomes suggest.

15 Most Expensive Metropolitan Areas in 2017 Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities. (Link: TABLE)

Metropolitan areas are characterized by a relatively high population density. In these areas, many residents seek to occupy a limited amount of available land, driving property prices up. This is a principal reason why metropolitan areas, particularly cities, are almost universally more expensive than rural areas.

However, some metropolitan areas are actually quite affordable. The 15 least expensive metropolitan areas in the United States, where the real value of $100 is the highest, are presented in the following table. LINK

The greatest disparity in price level is seen by comparing the most expensive metropolitan area (San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA) to the least expensive metropolitan area (Beckley, WV). The real value of $100 in San Jose is $76.39, vs. the real value of $100 in Beckley at $132.80. This means real purchasing power in the Beckley area is 74 percent greater than in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara area.

Variance in price level has important ramifications for economic policy: some areas are effectively richer or poorer than their nominal incomes suggest. Many policies are based on income, such as progressive taxes and means-tested federal benefits. If real incomes vary from place to place due to purchasing power, this matters for those policies.

What is the real value of $100 in your state?

read… FULL REPORT  

PBN: Here's how far $100 goes in Honolulu

Links

TEXT "follow HawaiiFreePress" to 40404

Register to Vote

2aHawaii

808 Silent Majority

Aloha Pregnancy Care Center

AntiPlanner

Antonio Gramsci Reading List

A Place for Women in Waipio

Ballotpedia Hawaii

Broken Trust

Build More Hawaiian Homes Working Group

Christian Homeschoolers of Hawaii

Cliff Slater's Second Opinion

DVids Hawaii

FIRE

Fix Oahu!

Frontline: The Fixers

Genetic Literacy Project

Grassroot Institute

Habele.org

Hawaii Aquarium Fish Report

Hawaii Aviation Preservation Society

Hawaii Catholic TV

Hawaii Christian Coalition

Hawaii Cigar Association

Hawaii ConCon Info

Hawaii Debt Clock

Hawaii Defense Foundation

Hawaii Family Forum

Hawaii Farmers and Ranchers United

Hawaii Farmer's Daughter

Hawaii Federalist Society

Hawaii Federation of Republican Women

Hawaii History Blog

Hawaii Homeschool Association

Hawaii Jihadi Trial

Hawaii Legal News

Hawaii Legal Short-Term Rental Alliance

Hawaii Matters

Hawaii's Partnership for Appropriate & Compassionate Care

Hawaii Public Charter School Network

Hawaii Rifle Association

Hawaii Shippers Council

Hawaii Smokers Alliance

Hawaii State Data Lab

Hawaii Together

HIEC.Coop

HiFiCo

Hiram Fong Papers

Homeschool Legal Defense Hawaii

Honolulu Moms for Liberty

Honolulu Navy League

Honolulu Traffic

House Minority Blog

Imua TMT

Inouye-Kwock, NYT 1992

Inside the Nature Conservancy

Inverse Condemnation

Investigative Project on Terrorism

July 4 in Hawaii

Kakaako Cares

Keep Hawaii's Heroes

Land and Power in Hawaii

Legislative Committee Analysis Tool

Lessons in Firearm Education

Lingle Years

Managed Care Matters -- Hawaii

Malama Pregnancy Center of Maui

MentalIllnessPolicy.org

Military Home Educators' Network Oahu

Missile Defense Advocacy

MIS Veterans Hawaii

NAMI Hawaii

Natatorium.org

National Christian Foundation Hawaii

National Parents Org Hawaii

NFIB Hawaii News

No GMO Means No Aloha

Not Dead Yet, Hawaii

NRA-ILA Hawaii

Oahu Alternative Transport

Obookiah

OHA Lies

Opt Out Today

OurFutureHawaii.com

Patients Rights Council Hawaii

PEACE Hawaii

People vs Machine

Practical Policy Institute of Hawaii

Pritchett Cartoons

Pro-GMO Hawaii

P.U.E.O.

RailRipoff.com

Rental by Owner Awareness Assn

ReRoute the Rail

Research Institute for Hawaii USA

Rick Hamada Show

RJ Rummel

Robotics Organizing Committee

School Choice in Hawaii

SenatorFong.com

Sink the Jones Act

Statehood for Guam

Talking Tax

Tax Foundation of Hawaii

The Real Hanabusa

Time Out Honolulu

Trustee Akina KWO Columns

UCC Truths

US Tax Foundation Hawaii Info

VAREP Honolulu

Waagey.org

West Maui Taxpayers Association

What Natalie Thinks

Whole Life Hawaii

Yes2TMT