
8. Honolulu, Hawaii
On the island of Oahu, this city is not only the capital of Hawaii, but it is also the largest city in the state. It secured its name in history books when it became the target of the Japanese attack on the 7th of December 1941. The attack happened in the early hours of the morning and was on the base Pearl Harbor very close to the city. It was named the 2nd safest city in the United States in 2015 and it had high liveability rankings.

Each year, tourism contributes $10 billion to the Hawaiian economy. Millions of people flock to the volcanic islands for a beach holiday which is like none other. They do not all stay in Honolulu but the majority of them pass through here at some point. This means that the biggest airport in Hawaii is in Honolulu.

This means that many of the large Hawaiian airlines have their headquarters are in this city. These include Aloha Air Cargo, Island Air, and Hawaiian Airlines. Military research, manufacturing, development, and defense all still play a rather large role in the economy of the city. Its location in the Pacific Ocean has also made it a center for trade which is being done from East to West and vice versa.

The average household income after taxes sits at $6,098. While 95% of this is spent on living expenses which sum up at $5,796. This is reflected in the overall cost of living rating for Urban Honolulu which is 199.80. As with previous cities, this is largely due to the housing which scores at 342. Other relatively large contributors to this elevated cost of living are the price of groceries and utilities. Groceries have a score of 152 and utilities come in at 165. All the other categories fall well above the national average of 100.