Honolulu metro, HI relocation guide
Moving to Honolulu County, HI
About Honolulu County
Honolulu County is a consolidated City and County of Honolulu — the entire island of Oʻahu plus the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, governed as a single city-county with no incorporated municipalities at all. Every community on the island (Kailua, Pearl City, Hawaiʻi Kai, etc.) is an unincorporated census-designated place governed directly by the city-county mayor and a nine-member City Council. It is by far Hawaiʻi's population and economic center (about 1.02 million residents in 2020), home to downtown Honolulu's financial district, Waikīkī, the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, and Daniel K. Inouye International Airport. Housing runs from Waikīkī high-rise condos and Kāhala estates to windward beach towns, central-Oʻahu master-planned suburbs, and leeward-coast single-family neighborhoods.
Home prices in Honolulu County
The median list in Honolulu County is $674,000.
Top places in Honolulu County
- Waikīkī Beach — the world-famous beach and resort district (shown in the Commons aerial photo below).
- Diamond Head State Monument — the iconic crater hike overlooking Waikīkī and Kāhala.
- Pearl Harbor National Memorial — USS Arizona Memorial and associated historic sites.
- ʻIolani Palace — the only royal palace on U.S. soil, in downtown Honolulu.
- Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve — the protected snorkeling bay in East Honolulu.
- Ala Moana Center and Ala Moana Beach Park — the state's largest open-air mall and its adjacent beach park.
- Downtown Honolulu skyline (shown in the Commons photo below) — the Pacific's financial center.
Commuting from Honolulu County
- The island's freeway spine is H-1 (Kapolei–Honolulu–Kāhala), H-2 (Pearl City–Mililani–Wahiawā), and H-3 (Halawa–Kāneʻohe/Kailua through the Koʻolau).
- Skyline, the elevated rail line operated by HART: the first segment opened June 2023 from Kualakaʻi (East Kapolei) to Hālawa (Aloha Stadium), with stations including Pouhala (Waipahu), Waiawa (Pearl Highlands/Pearl City), and Kalauao (Pearlridge/ʻAiea); extension toward the airport, Kalihi, and Ala Moana is planned.
- TheBus provides island-wide bus service; Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL) sits between downtown and Salt Lake.
- Rush-hour congestion on H-1/H-2 is severe: off-peak drive times roughly double in peak periods (e.g., Kapolei–downtown is ~30 min off-peak but 60–90 min in rush, per dwellhawaii.com, read September 24, 2026).
Honolulu County FAQs
- What is the housing market like in Honolulu County, HI?
The median list in Honolulu County is $674,000. Median listing price · Sep 2026 - How is the commute from Honolulu County, HI?
The island's freeway spine is H-1 (Kapolei–Honolulu–Kāhala), H-2 (Pearl City–Mililani–Wahiawā), and H-3 (Halawa–Kāneʻohe/Kailua through the Koʻolau).
Town links
Schools
Official town resources. School report cards via the National Center for Education Statistics.