State scorecard
Hawaii in the US Political Rank
Every place Hawaii holds across our state rankings, in one scorecard. Economy, taxes, education, crime, healthcare, and more, each measured the same way for all 50 states and each linked to the full cited ranking.
#2
of 50 on States Ranked by Health Care Outcomes
#50
of 25 on States Ranked by Housing Affordability
37.5%
Governor Josh Green performance score, rank 42 of 50
10
state rankings that score Hawaii
Governor
Hawaii's governor, Josh Green (Democrat), holds performance rank 42 of 50 at 37.5% this week in the Governor Performance Rankings, scored on 263 metrics and updated every Monday.
| Ranking | Hawaii's place | Score |
|---|---|---|
| States Ranked by Health Care OutcomesSecond overall in the 2025 Commonwealth Fund Scorecard, top five in access and affordability and in avoidable hospital use and cost (Commonwealth Fund, 2025; Hawaii Department of Health, 2025). Its life expectancy of roughly 81 years is the highest of any state (CDC NCHS, 2023). | #2 of 50 | 97.9 |
| States Ranked by Violent Crime Rate217.7 per 100,000, tied with New Jersey and about 39 percent below the national rate (FBI, 2024). | #8 of 50 | 217.7 |
| Ranking the 50 State Economies of 2026Among the lowest unemployment rates in the nation at roughly 2.5 percent (BLS LAUS, 2026). The labor market is tight even as the state's cost structure ranks among the nation's worst (CNBC, 2025). | #17 of 50 | 78.5 |
| Voting With Their Feet: States Ranked by Migration and Population GrowthA persistent net domestic outflow in the Vintage 2025 estimates, driven by the nation's second-highest cost of living (Census Bureau, 2025; CNBC, 2025), partly offset historically by international arrivals. | #38 of 50 | 42.8 |
| States Ranked by K-12 Education OutcomesBelow the national average in raw scores, but a strong performer once its student demographics are accounted for (NCES, NAEP 2024; Urban Institute, 2025). | #38 of 50 | 69.9 |
| States Ranked by Fiscal Health: Reserves, Pensions, and What They OweOne of the states whose per-capita pension liabilities exceed $36,000 under ALEC's valuation (ALEC, Unaccountable and Unaffordable). Retiree health obligations compound the load. | #43 of 20 | 42.5 |
| States Ranked by Dependence on Federal MoneyThe lowest federal share of state revenue in fiscal 2023 at 24.1 percent, and 25.9 percent in fiscal 2022 (Pew, 2025). The caveat is stated: heavy defense spending still makes Hawaii's balance of payments favorable, so this rank rests mainly on the budget ruler. | #45 of 50 | 46.9 |
| States Ranked by Total Tax BurdenA 14.9 percent burden, third highest in the nation (Tax Foundation, 2022), and collections of $9,758 per capita, fourth highest (Tax Foundation, FY2023). The general excise tax reaches nearly everything residents buy. | #48 of 50 | 35.5 |
| States Ranked by Business Climate: What the Major Raters Agree OnCNBC scores Hawaii 49th with the highest cost of doing business in America and the second-highest cost of living (CNBC, 2025). Distance and housing costs do the rest. | #49 of 25 | 34.1 |
| States Ranked by Housing AffordabilityThe least affordable state in the nation: a typical home value of $832,071 in Q1 2026 (Zillow), a price-to-income ratio around 9.1 (Visual Capitalist, 2026), and an income gap of about $93,209 between what buying requires ($191,449) and what the median household earns ($98,240) (Splitero, 2026). | #50 of 25 | 28.9 |
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