The Honest LocalA community forum for neighbors
Movers’ Report · Hawaii week of September 18, 2026

Honolulu's jobless rate drops 0.3 points while gas climbs past $5.46 statewide

The rest of Hawaii's job market isn't following Honolulu's lead, ticking up 0.1 points even as home values keep creeping higher everywhere.

By The Honest Local · every number links to its public source · 9 readings across 2 places
−0.3ptsunemployment rate in Honolulu, 3.1% to 2.8%BLS · Jul 2026
Diamond Head and Waikiki Beach seen from under the red umbrellas of a beachfront bar in Honolulu
Honolulu, where this week’s biggest move landed. Waikiki from a beach bar, Diamond Head at the end of the sand.
The movers largest changes this period, with source and date

Honolulu's the bright spot this month. Unemployment there fell from 3.1% to 2.8%, per BLS, a real drop of nearly a tenth. More people working, fewer people looking. That's the kind of number that actually changes a household's month.

Zoom out to the state and the picture's less clean. Hawaii's overall unemployment rate ticked up from 2.6% to 2.7%, per BLS. So the island capital's doing better while the rest of the state slips a touch. Don't read one as canceling the other, they're two different labor markets moving in opposite directions.

Gas is up everywhere, no exceptions. AAA's got the state average at $5.46 a gallon, up from $5.40. That's true in Honolulu and true across Hawaii, since it's one statewide read. A tighter jobless rate in the capital doesn't erase that extra cost at the pump.

Housing's mostly quiet. Honolulu's typical home value edged up to $856,305 per Zillow, and rent barely moved, $3,020 versus $3,015. Statewide, home values ticked up too, to $833,340, while listing prices actually dipped to $736,000 per FRED. Nothing dramatic, just a market holding its ground at a very high level.

  • Honolulu's unemployment rate fell 0.3 points to 2.8% in July 2026, from 3.1%, per BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics.
  • Hawaii's statewide unemployment rate rose 0.1 points to 2.7% in July 2026, from 2.6%, per BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics.
  • Honolulu's regular gas price rose 1.3% to $5.46 as of September 17, 2026, per AAA's HI state average.
  • Hawaii's statewide gas price rose 1.3% to $5.46 as of September 17, 2026, per AAA's HI state average.
  • Honolulu's typical home value rose 0.5% to $856,305 in August 2026, per Zillow Home Value Index.
  • Hawaii's median listing price fell 0.5% to $736,000 in August 2026, per FRED/realtor.com.
  • Hawaii's typical home value rose 0.3% to $833,340 in August 2026, per Zillow Home Value Index (state).
  • Honolulu's median rent rose 0.2% to $3,020 in August 2026, per Zillow Observed Rent Index.
How this report is built. Every figure comes from a public series read this week: Zillow’s rent and home value indexes, FRED’s listing price series from realtor.com, the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ local unemployment rates, and AAA’s state gas averages. The prose is drafted from those readings and checked number by number against them before it publishes. Unemployment moves are shown in percentage points. Nothing here is a forecast.
Sources and method
  1. AAA, HI state average · Regular gas
  2. FRED / realtor.com, series MEDLISPRI46520 · Listing price
  3. Zillow Observed Rent Index · Median rent
  4. Zillow Home Value Index · Home value
  5. BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics · Unemployment
  6. FRED / realtor.com, series MEDLISPRIHI · Listing price
  7. Zillow Home Value Index (state) · Home value

The Honest Local publishes a Movers’ Report for each state it covers, weekly, from public data. Readings that go stale are dropped, not carried. Every value on this page carries its source in the page’s structured data.