Survey: Life satisfaction rises, but more Hawaii residents consider leaving

News admin October 13, 2026 0 Comments

Survey: Life satisfaction rises, but more Hawaii residents consider leaving

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A new survey finds more Hawaii residents are satisfied with their lives, but nearly half are also considering moving away.

More than 10,000 residents statewide participated in the 2026 Hawaii Quality of Life Survey, created by state leaders and University of Hawaii at Manoa researchers to gather feedback on life in the islands.

“The news is encouraging. People are healthier and they are more satisfied with their lives,” said Tia Roberts Hartsock, executive director of the Office of Wellness and Resilience. “But the data is also warning many residents considered leaving Hawaii in the past year with the cost of living as a major reason.”

Jack Barile, director of the Social Science Research Institute at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, said the results offer a look at how conditions have changed since 2024.

“Younger people across the country, but also locally, have experienced increased mental health concerns,” Barile said. He said concerns about future opportunities, employment and the environment may contribute to the strain.

Key findings

Life satisfaction and overall well-being are up. Eighty-eight percent of residents said they were very or somewhat satisfied with their lives, up from 82% in 2024. Residents reported an average of 5.10 physically unhealthy days and 6.36 mentally unhealthy days in the month before the survey, down from 5.26 and 6.69 days, respectively.

Barile said the broader measure of life satisfaction may reflect stronger social support: “There was an increase in support from friends, increase in support from family, increased support even from your workplace.”

Younger residents face added strain. Residents ages 18 to 24 and 25 to 34 reported 8.5 and 8.9 mentally unhealthy days per month, respectively, compared with about five or fewer days among residents 65 and older.

More residents are considering leaving. Forty-six percent said they had considered moving out of state in the past year, up from 40% in 2024. Thirty-seven percent cited the cost of living. The figure was 52% among households earning $25,000 to $49,000.

“Ultimately, when you look across everything, kind of the affordability and cost of living was the biggest concern,” Barile said.

Income gaps persist. Food insecurity fell from 11.6% to 8.5% overall but remained high at 27% among households earning less than $25,000.

Disaster preparedness and workplace safety improved. Twenty-three percent of residents said they felt well or very well prepared for a disaster, up from 12% in 2024. The share of workers reporting violence on the job fell to 24% from 34%.

Health care access varies by county. Twenty-one percent of residents statewide said having enough nearby doctors, specialists or facilities was a major problem. The figure ranged from 14% in Honolulu County to 39% in Hawaii County.

Potential policy changes

State leaders and organizers say the findings can help track whether efforts are making a difference.

“One of the things that we’ve implemented in the last two years, especially in terms of policy, is really looking at what are the major things that are impacting well-being and what are associated with those pieces,” Hartsock said.

She said the 2024 survey linked higher medical debt with fewer hopeful days, less sleep and more stress.

“We worked with the legislature and got a bill passed to help develop a program in our office to relieve medical debt and really look in what that program can provide in terms of an improvement of overall well-being,” she added.

Survey results public

An interactive dashboard allows residents to explore findings statewide and, in their communities, and compare results by demographics, year, occupation, geographic region and more.

Organizers say it is the largest dataset on health and well-being in Hawaii and the nation’s largest dataset using measures from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s Worker Well-Being Questionnaire.