What is the average property tax rate in Hawaii?

Statewide, Hawaii's effective property-tax rate is 0.267% — the state median real-estate taxes ($2,239) divided by the state median home value ($839,100), from the Census ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. The national figure is about 0.937%, which puts Hawaii at #51 of 51 (1 = highest). Individual counties vary widely; the table above shows every one.

Which Hawaii county has the highest property taxes?

By effective rate, Honolulu County is highest in Hawaii at 0.284% (median bill $2,553), and Maui County is lowest at 0.162% (median bill $1,466). Ranked by dollars paid rather than rate the order changes, because home values differ so much across the state — the table above shows both columns and sorts on either.

What property tax exemptions are available in Hawaii?

Honolulu's home exemption reduces the taxable value of an owner-occupied principal residence by $120,000, or $160,000 if the owner is 65 or older, and applies only to property owned and occupied as the owner's primary home. Only one exemption is allowed per taxpayer, and portions used for commercial purposes do not qualify. Effective July 1, 2027 the amounts change to $140,000 and $180,000. Eligibility and filing are handled by your county assessor, and the exemption you qualify for changes your bill far more than the county you are in — the rates above are county medians and do not account for any exemption.

How do I appeal a property tax assessment in Hawaii?

Honolulu annually sends a Notice of Assessment on or before December 15, and an appeal must be filed with the city's Board of Review by the January 15 deadline, online or on completed form BFS-RPA-M-8-12. ROH 8-12.3 specifies four grounds, including an assessment exceeding market value by more than 10 percent. The director's assessment is presumed correct, and taxes must be paid on time even while an appeal is pending. Missing the deadline usually means waiting a full year, so check the date on your own assessment notice rather than relying on a general figure.

When are property taxes due in Hawaii?

Honolulu's tax year begins July 1. First-half bills are mailed July 20 with payment due August 20; second-half bills are mailed January 20 with payment due February 20. Exemption claims and tax credit applications are due September 30, changes affecting exemptions must be reported by November 1, and assessment notices are mailed December 15. If your taxes are paid through a mortgage escrow account, your servicer pays on this schedule on your behalf.

How is property assessed in Hawaii?

Hawaii's counties assess. In the City and County of Honolulu the assessment is as of October 1, and Revised Ordinances of Honolulu section 8-6.1 subjects all real property to tax upon 100 percent of its fair market value, assessed in its entirety, which is interpreted as fee simple interest. ROH 8-7.1 requires annual assessment by the market data and cost approaches using systematic mass valuation methods. This is why an effective rate computed from market value — as every rate on this page is — will not match the millage rate printed on your bill: the two are applied to different bases.

Hawaii property taxes by county

Statewide effective rate 0.267% · national rank #51 of 51 (1 = highest) · 5 county-equivalents · U.S. Census ACS 2020–2024 5-year

Across Hawaii, the median owner-occupied home pays $2,239 a year in real-estate taxes on a median home value of $839,100 — an effective property-tax rate of 0.267%. That ranks Hawaii #51 of 51 states and the District of Columbia (1 = highest). This page carries all 5 Hawaii county-equivalents in the Census data — 4 with a published effective rate — sortable by rate, taxes paid, home value, income, or five-year change. 4 of them also carry a full detail card here — every median with its Census margin of error, both rankings, the six nearest counties, and the five-year change. It also sets out how property tax actually works in Hawaii: how property is assessed, which exemptions exist and who qualifies, the deadline and body for an appeal, and the payment schedule and penalties — each hand-sourced from official Hawaii sources. Figures are U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Statewide figures Hawaii · ACS 2020–2024 5-year

Effective tax rate: 0.267%
Median real-estate taxes: $2,239 ± $31
Median home value: $839,100
Median household income: $100,389
National rank: #51 of 51
County-equivalents: 5

How property tax varies across Hawaii

Across Hawaii's 4 county-equivalents with a published rate, the effective property-tax rate runs from 0.284% in Honolulu County down to 0.162% in Maui County — a 1.8× spread inside a single state, which is why a statewide average tells a buyer very little.

Honolulu County carries both the state's highest effective rate (0.284%) and its largest median bill ($2,553) — an unusual alignment; in most states the two rank differently because home values vary more than rates do.

Measured against the national median effective rate of 0.937%, 0 of Hawaii's 4 ranked counties sit above it and 4 below. Hawaii as a whole ranks #51 of 51 (1 = highest).

Median home value statewide is $839,100, but within Hawaii it ranges from $904,700 in Maui County to $519,300 in Hawaii County — the denominator of the effective rate, and the main reason two counties with similar bills can show very different rates.

Statewide, the median real-estate tax bill equals about 2.2% of median household income. That share is heaviest in Honolulu County (2.4%) and lightest in Maui County (1.5%).

Comparing the non-overlapping Census periods 2015–2019 and 2020–2024, median real-estate taxes rose by a statistically significant amount in 4 of Hawaii's 4 counties with a comparable trend, fell significantly in 0, and showed no statistically significant change in 0.

Estimate a Hawaii property tax bill

A median-based estimate, not a quote, an assessment, or a tax bill — it cannot know your assessed value, exemptions, or special districts. How this is computed.

Every Hawaii county

All 5 Hawaii county-equivalents in the Census data (4 with a published effective rate, 1 with a value the Census Bureau did not publish). Click a column heading to sort. Counties in bold have a full detail card further down this page — margins of error, nearby counties, and their five-year trend.

Filter counties

Hawaii county-equivalents by effective property-tax rate (highest first). Median taxes, home value and income are U.S. Census ACS 2020–2024 5-year estimates; the five-year change compares the non-overlapping 2015–2019 and 2020–2024 periods.

Honolulu County	0.284%	$2,553	$2,504	$2,643	$897,500	$106,195	2.4%	#1	#3094	+27%
Hawaii County	0.281%	$1,459	$1,610	$1,260	$519,300	$78,639	1.9%	#2	#3099	+45.8%
Kauai County	0.214%	$1,866	$1,860	$1,889	$873,200	$97,668	1.9%	#3	#3123	+28.9%
Maui County	0.162%	$1,466	$1,505	$1,410	$904,700	$97,161	1.5%	#4	#3130	+23.1%
Kalawao County	Not published by the Census Bureau for this county	—	—	—	—	$73,750	—	—	—	—

Data: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 2020-2024 5-year estimates — tables B25103 (real-estate taxes), B25077 (home value), B19013 (household income) — and the 2024 Census county gazetteer. Public domain (Title 17 U.S.C. §105).

County detail — 4 Hawaii counties in depth

Full figures for the Hawaii counties most searched for, each with the Census margin of error on every median, both rankings, the five-year change, and the six nearest county-equivalents by centroid distance — nearby, not necessarily bordering, and cross-state neighbours included. For any individual property's assessed value, exemptions and bill, use that county's own assessor or appraisal district; per-county assessor URLs are never guessed here (why).

Honolulu County 0.284% · median tax $2,553 · #3094 nationally

Median taxes — all owner-occupied: $2,553 ± $26
With a mortgage: $2,504 ± $35
Without a mortgage: $2,643 ± $42
Median home value: $897,500 ± $6,414
Median household income: $106,195 ± $1,953
Taxes as share of income: 2.4%
Effective rate: 0.284%
Rank in Hawaii: #1 of 4
National rank: #3094 of 3,135
Estimated tax on a $900,000 home: $2,556

Median real-estate taxes rose 27% over five years ($2,010 → $2,553) — a statistically significant increase at 90% confidence. The effective tax rate fell 0.012 percentage points (0.296% → 0.284%), a change that is itself statistically significant at 90% confidence. Median home value moved $678,200 → $897,500 (+32.3%), and the rate changed −0.012 percentage points.

Nearest counties to Honolulu County:

Kalawao County, HI — —, median tax —, 130 km away
Kauai County, HI — 0.214%, median tax $1,866, 167 km away
Maui County, HI — 0.162%, median tax $1,466, 179 km away
Hawaii County, HI — 0.281%, median tax $1,459, 349 km away
Aleutians East Borough, AK — 0.147%, median tax $199, 3,770 km away
San Francisco County, CA — 0.707%, median tax $9,862, 3,820 km away

Hawaii County 0.281% · median tax $1,459 · #3099 nationally

Median taxes — all owner-occupied: $1,459 ± $51
With a mortgage: $1,610 ± $96
Without a mortgage: $1,260 ± $97
Median home value: $519,300 ± $16,515
Median household income: $78,639 ± $2,560
Taxes as share of income: 1.9%
Effective rate: 0.281%
Rank in Hawaii: #2 of 4
National rank: #3099 of 3,135
Estimated tax on a $520,000 home: $1,461

Median real-estate taxes rose 45.8% over five years ($1,001 → $1,459) — a statistically significant increase at 90% confidence. The change in the effective tax rate (0.286% → 0.281%) is not statistically significant at 90% confidence. Median home value moved $350,000 → $519,300 (+48.4%), and the rate changed −0.005 percentage points.

Nearest counties to Hawaii County:

Maui County, HI — 0.162%, median tax $1,466, 181 km away
Kalawao County, HI — —, median tax —, 237 km away
Honolulu County, HI — 0.284%, median tax $2,553, 349 km away
Kauai County, HI — 0.214%, median tax $1,866, 513 km away
San Francisco County, CA — 0.707%, median tax $9,862, 3,725 km away
Marin County, CA — 0.664%, median tax $10,001, 3,763 km away

Kauai County 0.214% · median tax $1,866 · #3123 nationally

Median taxes — all owner-occupied: $1,866 ± $110
With a mortgage: $1,860 ± $103
Without a mortgage: $1,889 ± $284
Median home value: $873,200 ± $15,373
Median household income: $97,668 ± $5,401
Taxes as share of income: 1.9%
Effective rate: 0.214%
Rank in Hawaii: #3 of 4
National rank: #3123 of 3,135
Estimated tax on a $875,000 home: $1,873

Median real-estate taxes rose 28.9% over five years ($1,448 → $1,866) — a statistically significant increase at 90% confidence. The effective tax rate fell 0.04 percentage points (0.254% → 0.214%), a change that is itself statistically significant at 90% confidence. Median home value moved $570,700 → $873,200 (+53%), and the rate changed −0.04 percentage points.

Nearest counties to Kauai County:

Honolulu County, HI — 0.284%, median tax $2,553, 167 km away
Kalawao County, HI — —, median tax —, 296 km away
Maui County, HI — 0.162%, median tax $1,466, 346 km away
Hawaii County, HI — 0.281%, median tax $1,459, 513 km away
Aleutians East Borough, AK — 0.147%, median tax $199, 3,700 km away
Aleutians West Census Area, AK — 0.711%, median tax $3,090, 3,772 km away

Maui County 0.162% · median tax $1,466 · #3130 nationally

Median taxes — all owner-occupied: $1,466 ± $44
With a mortgage: $1,505 ± $88
Without a mortgage: $1,410 ± $59
Median home value: $904,700 ± $14,011
Median household income: $97,161 ± $2,901
Taxes as share of income: 1.5%
Effective rate: 0.162%
Rank in Hawaii: #4 of 4
National rank: #3130 of 3,135
Estimated tax on a $905,000 home: $1,466

Median real-estate taxes rose 23.1% over five years ($1,191 → $1,466) — a statistically significant increase at 90% confidence. The effective tax rate fell 0.026 percentage points (0.188% → 0.162%), a change that is itself statistically significant at 90% confidence. Median home value moved $633,500 → $904,700 (+42.8%), and the rate changed −0.026 percentage points.

Nearest counties to Maui County:

Kalawao County, HI — —, median tax —, 56 km away
Honolulu County, HI — 0.284%, median tax $2,553, 179 km away
Hawaii County, HI — 0.281%, median tax $1,459, 181 km away
Kauai County, HI — 0.214%, median tax $1,866, 346 km away
San Francisco County, CA — 0.707%, median tax $9,862, 3,727 km away
Marin County, CA — 0.664%, median tax $10,001, 3,764 km away

Comparing the non-overlapping Census periods 2015-2019 and 2020-2024 — consecutive 5-year estimates share survey sample and are never compared here.

How property tax works in Hawaii

Most of what follows is Hawaii law and applies to every county in the table above. Where a rule is set locally rather than statewide, the jurisdiction whose published rule this is appears beside it — treat those as a worked example, not a statewide figure. Each fact is taken from an official government source and linked to it.

How property is assessed as published by the City and County of Honolulu: Hawaii's counties assess. In the City and County of Honolulu the assessment is as of October 1, and Revised Ordinances of Honolulu section 8-6.1 subjects all real property to tax upon 100 percent of its fair market value, assessed in its entirety, which is interpreted as fee simple interest. ROH 8-7.1 requires annual assessment by the market data and cost approaches using systematic mass valuation methods. source →
Exemptions & credits as published by the City and County of Honolulu: Honolulu's home exemption reduces the taxable value of an owner-occupied principal residence by $120,000, or $160,000 if the owner is 65 or older, and applies only to property owned and occupied as the owner's primary home. Only one exemption is allowed per taxpayer, and portions used for commercial purposes do not qualify. Effective July 1, 2027 the amounts change to $140,000 and $180,000. source →
Appealing an assessment as published by the City and County of Honolulu: Honolulu annually sends a Notice of Assessment on or before December 15, and an appeal must be filed with the city's Board of Review by the January 15 deadline, online or on completed form BFS-RPA-M-8-12. ROH 8-12.3 specifies four grounds, including an assessment exceeding market value by more than 10 percent. The director's assessment is presumed correct, and taxes must be paid on time even while an appeal is pending. source →
Payment schedule & penalties as published by the City and County of Honolulu: Honolulu's tax year begins July 1. First-half bills are mailed July 20 with payment due August 20; second-half bills are mailed January 20 with payment due February 20. Exemption claims and tax credit applications are due September 30, changes affecting exemptions must be reported by November 1, and assessment notices are mailed December 15. source →
Why rates vary within the state as published by the City and County of Honolulu: Rates follow classification, which is fixed by ordinance. Honolulu's Residential A class covers parcels with no home exemption assessed at $1,000,000 or more in specified residential zones, plus qualifying vacant land and condominium units. Since Ordinance 17-12 it carries a two-tier rate: Tier 1 applies to the first $1,000,000 of net taxable value and Tier 2 to value above that. source →
What makes this state's system distinctive: Real property tax in Hawaii is county business. The State of Hawaii has four counties and each county administers real property taxes and motor vehicle taxes, so the state Department of Taxation's own guidance directs property owners to the applicable county website: City & County of Honolulu, County of Hawaii, County of Maui, or County of Kauai. source →

Hand-sourced from official government sources — not a substitute for your own assessor's notice, and not legal or tax advice. Where a fact isn't confirmed on an official source, it is left off rather than guessed, which is why some states show fewer rows than others.

Official Hawaii tax authority

Property tax in Hawaii is assessed and collected locally. For an individual property's assessed value, exemptions, and bill, use the county assessor or appraisal district. For statewide rules and forms:

Hawaii Department of Taxation →

This state link is hand-verified. Per-county assessor URLs are not published (no verified nationwide source exists) and are never guessed.

Frequently asked questions

What is the average property tax rate in Hawaii?: Statewide, Hawaii's effective property-tax rate is 0.267% — the state median real-estate taxes ($2,239) divided by the state median home value ($839,100), from the Census ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. The national figure is about 0.937%, which puts Hawaii at #51 of 51 (1 = highest). Individual counties vary widely; the table above shows every one.
Which Hawaii county has the highest property taxes?: By effective rate, Honolulu County is highest in Hawaii at 0.284% (median bill $2,553), and Maui County is lowest at 0.162% (median bill $1,466). Ranked by dollars paid rather than rate the order changes, because home values differ so much across the state — the table above shows both columns and sorts on either.
What property tax exemptions are available in Hawaii?: Honolulu's home exemption reduces the taxable value of an owner-occupied principal residence by $120,000, or $160,000 if the owner is 65 or older, and applies only to property owned and occupied as the owner's primary home. Only one exemption is allowed per taxpayer, and portions used for commercial purposes do not qualify. Effective July 1, 2027 the amounts change to $140,000 and $180,000. Eligibility and filing are handled by your county assessor, and the exemption you qualify for changes your bill far more than the county you are in — the rates above are county medians and do not account for any exemption.
How do I appeal a property tax assessment in Hawaii?: Honolulu annually sends a Notice of Assessment on or before December 15, and an appeal must be filed with the city's Board of Review by the January 15 deadline, online or on completed form BFS-RPA-M-8-12. ROH 8-12.3 specifies four grounds, including an assessment exceeding market value by more than 10 percent. The director's assessment is presumed correct, and taxes must be paid on time even while an appeal is pending. Missing the deadline usually means waiting a full year, so check the date on your own assessment notice rather than relying on a general figure.
When are property taxes due in Hawaii?: Honolulu's tax year begins July 1. First-half bills are mailed July 20 with payment due August 20; second-half bills are mailed January 20 with payment due February 20. Exemption claims and tax credit applications are due September 30, changes affecting exemptions must be reported by November 1, and assessment notices are mailed December 15. If your taxes are paid through a mortgage escrow account, your servicer pays on this schedule on your behalf.
How is property assessed in Hawaii?: Hawaii's counties assess. In the City and County of Honolulu the assessment is as of October 1, and Revised Ordinances of Honolulu section 8-6.1 subjects all real property to tax upon 100 percent of its fair market value, assessed in its entirety, which is interpreted as fee simple interest. ROH 8-7.1 requires annual assessment by the market data and cost approaches using systematic mass valuation methods. This is why an effective rate computed from market value — as every rate on this page is — will not match the millage rate printed on your bill: the two are applied to different bases.

Compare & explore

See the national highest and lowest property-tax rates, or read the methodology behind every figure. The national median effective rate is 0.937%; Hawaii's statewide figure is 0.267%.