Honolulu vs San Mateo
The short version
- Honolulu is cheaper overall: prices in its metro run 4% lower than in the San Mateo area (BEA 2024).
- The median home costs $843,400 in Honolulu and $1,618,700 in San Mateo.
- Households earn more in San Mateo ($153,504 vs $86,504 median).
- Honolulu has the warmer winter: January highs of 81°F vs 58°F.
- Honolulu has more scorching days: 32 a year at 90°F or hotter vs 4.
- Commutes are shorter in Honolulu (22 vs 26 minutes each way).
Side by side
| Honolulu, HI | San Mateo, CA | |
|---|---|---|
| People | ||
| Population (2025) | 341,868 | 103,337 |
| Growth since 2020 | -2.6% | -2.2% |
| People per square mile | 5,639 | 8,516 |
| Median age | 43.0 | 38.3 |
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 42% | 58% |
| Money and housing | ||
| Median household income | $86,504 | $153,504 |
| Median home value | $843,400 | $1,618,700 |
| Home value to income | 9.7× | 10.5× |
| Median rent (with utilities) | $1,823 | $3,077 |
| Metro price level (US = 100) | 111.0 | 115.6 |
| Housing price level (US = 100) | 135.5 | 194.7 |
| $75,000 elsewhere equals | $83,200 | $86,700 |
| Homeowners | 49% | 50% |
| Top state income tax | 11% | 13.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 4.5% | 9.03% |
| Work and commute | ||
| Average commute (minutes) | 21.9 | 26.1 |
| Work from home | 10% | 25% |
| Take public transit | 7% | 5% |
| Unemployment (2020-24 avg) | 4.8% | 4.6% |
| Poverty rate | 11.9% | 8.2% |
| Weather | ||
| January high / low | 81° / 67° | 58° / 45° |
| July high / low | 88° / 75° | 73° / 55° |
| Precipitation per year | 16 in | 20 in |
| Snowfall per year | 0 in | 0 in |
| Days 90°F or hotter | 32 | 4 |
| Nights below freezing | 0 | 0 |
| Comfortable months | 7 | 9 |
| Risks, air and home prices | ||
| Natural hazard risk (FEMA, county) | Relatively High | Relatively High |
| FEMA risk score (lower is safer) | 98.8 | 99.2 |
| Good air days, 2025 | 97% | n/a |
| Home prices, past year | +11.1% | -0.3% |
| Home prices, past 5 years | +38.6% | +17.5% |
Highlighted cells are the better value where "better" is clear (lower prices, higher income, shorter commutes). Sources: Census Bureau 2025 estimates and ACS 2020-2024, BEA 2024, NOAA 1991-2020, Tax Foundation 2026.
Weather, month by month
Most comfortable months: Honolulu: November to May. San Mateo: March to November.
Full monthly tables: Honolulu weather by month and San Mateo weather by month.
What $75,000 is worth
A $75,000 salary in an average-priced US city buys about the same as $83,200 in Honolulu and $86,700 in San Mateo. Moving from Honolulu to San Mateo, you would need about $78,100 to match a $75,000 salary.
Moving between Honolulu and San Mateo
IRS county-to-county migration, 2022 to 2023 tax years, for the counties that contain each city. See where else people move from Honolulu and San Mateo.
Which would you pick?
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