Cost Estimators in Hawaii
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$60,699
after federal, FICA and Hawaii tax
Tax takes
$19,661
24.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$55,888
Hawaii costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Hawaii — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$80,360
Kept after tax
$60,699
Worth in national money
$55,888
State rank
19
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Hawaii is 19 of 51 states for cost estimators, with a middle wage of $80,360. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Cost estimators ranks 134 among 437 occupations Hawaii publishes pay for.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $80,360 the take-home is $60,699. But Hawaii costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $55,888 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $87,120, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Hawaii ranks 19 of 51 for cost estimators at $80,360. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Position 134 of 437 in Hawaii places cost estimators in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and Hawaii income tax is $60,699 for cost estimators, from $80,360. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $55,888. ⚠️ This is purchasing power and not a wage; cross-state offer comparisons that stop at the nominal figure systematically overvalue high-cost states. The mean of $87,120 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Cost Estimators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $46,030 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $80,360 |
| Top tenth earn over | $139,380 |
| This salary | $80,360 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Hawaii | $60,699 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $65,363 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$11,376 |
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $73,730 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$15,483 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 109 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $80,360 as a midpoint for Hawaii, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $46,030 and the ninetieth is $139,380 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Hawaii's $60,699, worked from $80,360. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 134 of 437.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $55,888 uses one figure for the whole of Hawaii. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 437 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 134.
- The Hawaii median of $80,360 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $46,030 to $139,380. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The Hawaii take-home of $60,699, on $80,360 for work ranking 134 of 437 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 134 of 437 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $55,888, worked from $80,360, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Hawaii address, on work sitting at 134 of 437 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $87,120, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $46,030 and the top tenth $139,380 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
A larger wage in a dearer place is not automatically more. Adjusted for local prices, this pay behaves like $55,888 of national purchasing power.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Hawaii adds its own income tax on top — which is why $60,699 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Hawaii is $87,120. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($46,030) and the ninetieth ($139,380) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Hawaii's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $55,888 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $60,699 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Hawaii income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.