Economy

...Hawaii has the second-poorest rich people, and the 10th-poorest poor people -- but the 2nd-richest middle class.  And yet middle class families still can't afford their first home and are fleeing Hawaii by the thousands. ...

... Hawaii Ranks 45th for Annual Median Household Income adjusted for cost of living ....

... Hawaii becomes the 4th blue state this year to raise their highest income tax rate ....

... net employment gain of 1,530 jobs in the private sector during the third quarter of 2025 ....

... UHERO projects visitor arrivals will grow about 2% this year before slowing sharply in 2027 ....

... visitor spending and real estate investment to defense contracting, prefabricated housing, education and captive insurance ....

...the extraordinary losses from the 2023 wildfires in Lahaina and Kula continue to dampen tourist numbers....

...For 23 of the past 25 years, more residents have left Hawaiʻi for the continent than have arrived....

... Japan’s downturn hit Hawaiʻi harder than almost anywhere else ....

...The buildout of 3,500 new homes at Koa Ridge in Central O‘ahu continued in 2025 for homebuilder Castle & Cooke....

... Hawai‘i’s Economy Shows Resilience Despite Global Uncertainty ....

... Tourism has stabilized ....

... spending by visitors in January 2026 was $2.26 billion up 19.0 percent compared to January 2025. A 10.4 percent growth in total arrivals to 874,358 visitors ....

... “left-behind places” share a common pattern: a dominant industry stops growing, productivity stalls, and incomes stagnate ....

... We demand you crush the TVRs ....

... Hawaiʻi’s wages and productivity have lagged the rest of the country for more than three decades, placing the state among the most economically distressed in the U.S. ....

... Despite evidence to the contrary, politicians continue to believe they can boost the economy through spending programs ....

"OER’s priority was to create staffing capacity over economic recovery and revitalization."

... This is MACRO’s first statewide Factbook dedicated to presenting defense economic data in a clear, accessible format for the public ....

... 3.6 percent decrease in total arrivals to 736,831 visitors ....

... identify harmful old ideas that have done nothing to help and should be sent to the scrapyard ....

... A tourism downturn is now underway, and job losses will occur in a number of sectors in 2026 ....

... Jobs Increased by 9,500 Year Over Year ....

... Every year, DBEDT and the Council of Revenues invent these numbers for the purpose of manipulating the legislative session.  In March or April, there will be a 'dramatic' shift in the numbers designed to pressure legislators into hiking taxes.  They do this EVERY year ...

... Visitors in October 2025 spent more on an average daily basis ($277 per person, +12.0%) which offset a 2.9 percent decrease in total arrivals to 749,095 visitors ....

... "More than half of this risk is concentrated in healthcare programs, with significant exposure also in human services, environment and education. Programs serving Native Hawaiians account for more than half of the state’s politically vulnerable funds" ....

... visitor numbers are down, job growth has stalled, and housing activity remains weak ....

... Hawaii’s economy to expand by 1.3 percent in 2025, a small upward revision from its previous forecast ....

... Mainland Lawyers, Local Leaders, and the People Left Behind ....

... Hawaii average tax cut $3,030 for 2026.  Hawaii long-term jobs created 3,519 ....

... 'equality' imposed by a tourism-driven economy and high cost of living ....

... Hawai‘i Projects 41,000 New Jobs by 2032, Led by Health Care and Food Services ....

... 49th for innovation, 50th for high-tech jobs ....

... This adjustment reflects the impact of tariffs on international imports, a slowdown in tourism, persistent consumer inflation and increasing uncertainty in both national and international economic policy ....

... Hawaii has the 4th-largest increase in mortgage delinquency ....

... volatile fiscal and immigration policies are undermining consumer confidence, raising inflation expectations, and worsening the business outlook ....

... Hawaii’s anemic economic growth — the second slowest in the country — should be a sign ....

... The downward adjustment was mainly due to the expected slowdown in tourism growth, higher projected consumer inflation and increasing policy uncertainty at the national and international levels ....

... The clearest near-term risk is federal layoffs, which will result in a loss of more than 2,000 local jobs ....

... Honolulu inflation is up 1% in just the last two months ....

... 35 Years of Stagnation: Tourism Income Flat Since 1988 ....

...By 2035 one in four people in Hawaii will be 65 or older....

... Sale price of $405M for 90.1% of ASB suggests that the sale is a 50%-off giveaway to ASB insiders ....

... The median price of a single-family home is up 9% statewide and 15% on Maui this year, and mortgage rates hover near 7%. Rising homeowner insurance premiums ....

... The economy (73%), personal finances (73%), and housing costs (64%) rank as the most significant stressors for residents, particularly for households with incomes below $50,000 ....

... With the income tax reform and the increase in the supply of affordable housing, we expect that living in Hawaii will be more affordable and our state’s outmigration will be mitigated ....

... The statewide average daily census was 208,032 visitors in October 2024 ....

... Real visitor spending as of today is actually below where we were in the late 1980s ....

... 29% of fire-affected households now live below the poverty line, compared to 14% before the fires ....

... Hawaiʻi has long seen dismal growth in per capita income, hampering our ability to attract in-migration of new families or to provide opportunities that would prevent out-migration of Hawaiʻi residents ....