Price Of Paradise
People in Hawaii enjoy enviable weather, a culturally diverse community and a quality of life that makes it one of the nation's healthiest places. Indeed, Hawaii ranked first in the 2011 Gallup-Healthways well-being study. But those benefits come at a price. The state's position as the most isolated archipelago in the world means that about 80 percent of food and other goods must be imported, and higher fuel prices don't help. For example, consumers can pay half as much for milk on the U.S. mainland as they do in Hawaii. Former Bank of Hawaii economist Paul Brewbaker has said that the cost of living in Hawaii is 40 percent higher than elsewhere in the country. Slightly better wages — a per capita personal income of $41,661 in 2010 — aren't nearly enough to make up the difference.
