Short, surprising insights hiding in the dashboard.
29 May 2026
Hawaiʻi is one of the safest states from violent crime but ranks #40 of 50 on property crime, and has almost always been both since 1960. The difference is due to tourism: opportunistic theft clusters where visitors do, in Waikīkī and the resort corridors.
27 May 2026
Hawaiʻi has ranked last on home price-to-income every year since 2008. On rent burden, it ranks #47, with Florida holding the worst spot. Two housing problems, not one, and supply alone won’t fix both.
25 May 2026
Hawaiʻi’s rainy day fund crossed the GFOA-recommended 10% floor in 2024 and held in 2025, the first time on record. The fund was built by vote, not by rule, and a vote can drain it.
17 May 2026
Every year since HUD began counting unsheltered homelessness in 2007, Hawaiʻi has ranked in the top tier of states on that metric while staying safer than the national median on violent crime. No other state has matched the combination every year. Oregon came closest at 16 of 17; Washington at 14.
12 May 2026
Hawaiʻi has one of the tightest labor markets in the country, but its productivity growth has almost stalled. From 2018 to 2024, Hawaiʻi fell from #7 to #46 on the BLS productivity index while the US median grew 10%.
9 May 2026
Hawaiʻi’s 8th-grade NAEP reading rank climbed from #45 to #26 while the score barely moved. The country fell to where Hawaiʻi was; Hawaiʻi was one of only three states whose score didn’t fall during COVID.
5 May 2026
Three of the four most unaffordable states for housing have high incomes to help. Hawaiʻi has the highest housing burden in the country and real per capita income fifth-from-bottom.
28 April 2026
From 2003 to 2024, Hawaiʻi’s renewable share quadrupled and the residential electricity price gap with the mainland more than tripled. A smaller ratepayer base is carrying both the legacy oil system and the clean-energy buildout.