Find a Financial Advisor in Honolulu County

Honolulu County at a glance

Honolulu County is unusual on the mainland map of counties because it is the island of Oahu and the city that sits on it, governed together. About 988,703 people live here by the 2025 estimate, which is roughly two thirds of everyone in Hawaii. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 to 2024 American Community Survey, the median household income is about $106,195, the median home value is about $897,500, the median age is 39.8, and about 19.6 percent of residents are 65 or older. About 38.5 percent of adults hold a bachelor degree or higher, and roughly 59.8 percent of homes are owner occupied.

The gap between those two money figures is the story of this county. A typical home costs more than eight times a typical household income. Most of the financial advice people look for here comes back to that gap: how to buy, how to keep a mortgage payable, how to save anything on top of it, and how to retire without leaving the island.

Financial advisors in Honolulu County

A financial advisor is a professional who helps you decide what to do with money: how much to save, where to invest, how to cover risks and when you can stop working. Some charge a flat or hourly fee, some charge a percentage of the assets they manage, and some earn commissions on products. Ask which applies before you talk about anything else.

The advisors who work with Oahu households do not need an office near you. Most meetings now happen by phone or video, which suits the island well, because a drive from Ewa Beach to downtown during rush hour can eat an hour. When you request a match here, you are connected with advisors who serve the Honolulu County area, by phone or video, and the first call is free.

If you want to read more before you call, our guide to choosing and working with financial advisors explains fee models and the questions worth asking.

Housing and the cost of living on Oahu

Everything about money on Oahu starts with where you live. The median owner with a mortgage pays about $3,111 a month, and the median renter pays about $2,083. Groceries, electricity and gasoline also cost more than on the mainland because so much is shipped in. A household earning the county median can be comfortable or stretched depending on whether it bought years ago or is buying today.

Several choices come up again and again:

• Renting longer and investing the difference, or stretching to buy a condo in Kakaako, Ala Moana or Waikiki.
• Buying a house in the Leeward side, such as Kapolei or Ewa Beach, for lower prices and a longer commute.
• Moving in with parents or sharing a home across generations, which many local families do.
• Using a relative’s land for an ohana unit, subject to county zoning rules.

An advisor can run the numbers on each path, including how a larger down payment changes your monthly cost and how much cash you should keep after closing. Our guide on budgeting and saving covers the basics before you get to specifics.

Leasehold, fee simple and what you actually own

A good share of Oahu condos and some houses sit on leasehold land. You own the building for a term but pay ground rent, and the lease eventually ends or resets. Fee simple means you own the land outright. The two behave very differently when you sell, borrow or leave the property to children.

If you own or plan to buy leasehold property, ask an advisor and an attorney to look at the remaining term, how rent adjusts, and how lenders treat the property. A short remaining lease can make a home hard to finance, which affects what you can sell it for and what you can leave your heirs. Plan around those facts before you commit.

Wealth management in Honolulu County

Wealth management brings investments, taxes, insurance and estate planning under one lead advisor. On Oahu, the households that benefit most often have a feature that complicates the picture: a family home that has multiplied in value, an inheritance of land, a small business such as a restaurant or contracting company, or a federal career with a generous pension on top of savings.

A wealth manager looks at how those pieces fit together. Do you sell the family home and downsize, or keep it for the next generation? Is it better to hold investment property on Oahu or elsewhere? How do you divide a house fairly among siblings when one wants to stay and another wants cash? Those are wealth questions as much as investment ones, and they are easier to handle before a crisis.

If your assets are modest, a planner or investment advisor may fit better and cost less. A good wealth manager will say so.

Military, federal and state employment

Oahu has one of the largest concentrations of military and federal employees in the country. Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Schofield Barracks, Marine Corps Base Hawaii at Kaneohe Bay, and Tripler Army Medical Center anchor that presence, along with federal civilian jobs and contractors. The State of Hawaii and the City and County of Honolulu are also major employers.

That shapes financial planning in specific ways. Service members may use the Thrift Savings Plan, a military pension track and housing allowances that vary by rank and station. Federal civilian employees have their own retirement system and Thrift Savings Plan choices. State and county employees belong to the Employees’ Retirement System of the State of Hawaii. Each has different rules about vesting, survivor benefits and when you can retire, so confirm the details for your system with your human resources office.

Military families also move often. A planner who understands a tour that lasts three years can help you decide whether to buy, rent out a home and keep contributing to retirement accounts while stationed away.

Financial planners in Honolulu County

A financial planner writes a plan: a document that shows where you stand today, what you want, and the steps that connect the two. A planner is the right choice when you want help with the big decisions without handing over a large portfolio, such as buying a first home, paying off student loans, or deciding between a Roth and a traditional contribution.

A useful plan for an Oahu household usually covers cash reserves sized for island prices, the mortgage and property tax, insurance for the home, saving for children’s education, and a timeline for retirement. Many planners offer a flat fee for a one-time plan or a retainer for a year of check-ins. Our guide on saving for college is a good companion if you have children at Punahou, a public school or a mainland university in view.

Retirement planning in Honolulu County

About one in five residents is 65 or older, and many people who grew up on Oahu face a hard question as they approach retirement: stay or go. Staying means paying island prices on a fixed income. Moving to the mainland often cuts living costs sharply but takes you away from family. Some couples split the year, and some move to a neighbor island or to a state with cheaper housing, such as Nevada or Washington.

On the tax side, Hawaii does not tax Social Security benefits, and it has generally exempted pension income from employer-funded plans, though the details are specific. Confirm current rules with the Hawaii Department of Taxation or a tax professional before relying on them. Withdrawals from traditional IRAs and 401(k) plans are treated differently, so the order in which you draw down accounts matters.

Other items on the retirement checklist include when to claim Social Security, how Medicare works if you live far from family, and how to pay for long-term care. The retirement planning guide walks through the main decisions, and a planner can fit them to your pension and savings.

Thinking about retirement on Oahu?

Describe your timeline and we will connect you with an advisor who can model staying, moving or splitting the year.

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Taxes that matter in Honolulu County

Hawaii does not have a sales tax. It charges a general excise tax on business activity, and many businesses pass it through to customers as a line on the receipt. The Honolulu rate includes an added county surcharge for the rail project, so check the current figure. The practical result is that spending on goods and services carries a tax even when you do not see a sales tax label, and retirees on fixed incomes feel it.

Property tax is set by each county, and Honolulu offers a home exemption for owner-occupiers with different rates for residential, investment and other uses. Property you rent out or keep as a second home is usually taxed at a higher rate than your primary residence, so classification matters. State income tax uses graduated brackets, and Hawaii has an estate tax at the state level that applies to larger estates. Confirm current rules, rates and exemptions with the state tax department or a tax professional.

Life insurance in Honolulu County

With a mortgage that can run well above half a million dollars, life insurance often matters more here than it does elsewhere. If one income disappears, the survivor still has the payment. A term policy that runs until the youngest child is grown and the mortgage is mostly paid is the common starting point. Permanent insurance has a place for estate planning or for covering a special needs dependent, but it costs far more.

Hawaii has a prepaid health care law that requires many employers to offer coverage, which means many residents have good group health plans but limited group life coverage. Check what your employer gives you. Do not assume it equals ten times your salary. Our overview of life insurance explains term versus permanent coverage in plain terms.

Also review homeowner and condo coverage. Hurricane, flood and tsunami are different perils, and a standard homeowner policy does not cover flood. A hurricane deductible is often a percentage of the home’s value, which can be a large dollar figure on Oahu. Ask what is and is not covered before there is a storm.

Investment advisors in Honolulu County

An investment advisor focuses on your portfolio: what you hold, how it is allocated, what it costs and when to rebalance. If you already have a plan and a retirement account and simply want help running the money, this is the service to look for. Fees are usually a percentage of assets, a flat fee or an hourly rate.

For many Oahu investors, the major decision is how much to put into the market versus real estate. When one house is worth most of your net worth, spreading risk matters. An advisor can help you build a diversified portfolio of low-cost funds alongside the home you already own. Our investing guide covers how funds, fees and risk work if you want a starting point.

How to choose a financial advisor in Honolulu County

Start with what you need. A one-time plan, ongoing money management and an insurance review are different jobs, and the right person for each may differ. Then ask these questions in your first call:

1. How are you paid, and can you put that in writing?
2. Are you a fiduciary for all the advice you give me?
3. Who is the typical client, and have you worked with military, federal or leasehold situations?
4. What happens when I want to leave?
5. Can you meet by phone or video at times that work with my schedule?

Check the advisor’s record on the SEC adviser search and FINRA BrokerCheck, and look at the Hawaii Division of Financial Institutions or Securities Compliance Branch if you want to confirm state registration. A clean record and a plain fee schedule are better signs than a polished pitch.

Natural hazards and the money side of living on Oahu

Oahu is in the Pacific hurricane zone, though direct hits are rare. Tsunami warnings are real, and parts of Waikiki, the Ala Wai area and low coastal strips lie in evacuation zones. Heavy rain can flood valleys and streets, and sea level rise is a long-term concern for shoreline properties. None of this means you should avoid the island. It does mean your plan should include an emergency fund, a review of insurance deductibles, and a list of documents stored safely off the island or in the cloud.

Areas we serve in Honolulu County

Advisors in our network serve households across the whole of Oahu, including Urban Honolulu, which takes in Waikiki, Kakaako, Manoa, Kaimuki and the surrounding neighborhoods. We also work with families in Pearl City, Aiea, Mililani, Waipahu, Ewa Beach, Kapolei, Kailua, Kaneohe, Hawaii Kai, the North Shore and the Waianae Coast. Everyone is served by phone or video, so where you live on the island does not limit who you can talk to.

Universities, hospitals and the visitor economy

The University of Hawaii at Manoa is the flagship campus, and Kapiolani, Honolulu and Leeward community colleges, Chaminade and Hawaii Pacific University add to a large education sector. The Queen’s Medical Center, Kapiolani Medical Center and other hospitals employ many residents. Tourism remains the visitor economy that touches almost every neighborhood, from hotels and restaurants to ground transport. Jobs tied to visitors can be seasonal or sensitive to travel trends, which is a reason to hold more cash than a typical household and to think about disability coverage.

Commute and daily life across the island

Oahu has one dense urban core, and most of the jobs sit in Honolulu, so people on the Leeward and Windward sides commute by the H-1, H-2 and H-3 freeways, by TheBus or by the new rail line. Travel time is part of the real cost of cheaper housing in Kapolei or Ewa Beach. When you weigh a move, count the extra hours and the second car as well as the price of the house.

Frequently asked questions