It's not surprising that the City & County of Honolulu is again ranked near the top in terms of the cost of living in the U.S. What is surprising is exactly how far we are from an affordable standard of living. A $10 minimum wage would be excellent, but it still falls $17/hr short of a living wage for a 1 bedroom apartment on O'ahu.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/04/22/what-youd-need-to-make-in-every-county-in-america-to-afford-a-decent-one-bedroom/