California vs Hawaii taxes

Close at $75,000, for different reasons

On $75,000 a single filer keeps $57,843 in California and $57,321 in Hawaii: $522 more in California. The two states get there in opposite ways.

Hawaii’s income tax is higher on an ordinary salary. It charges $3,896 on $75,000, against California’s $2,775. Hawaii’s deductions are the larger, a $8,000 standard deduction plus a $1,144 exemption, but its twelve brackets climb quickly: six of them are used up by $48,000 of taxable income, and the rate is already 7.6% above that. California’s standard deduction is only $5,706, but its rates stay low for longer, with the 9.3% band starting at $72,724.

California’s payroll deduction is larger. SDI is 1.3% of every dollar, with no cap: $975 on $75,000. Hawaii’s Temporary Disability Insurance can take at most 0.5% of wages, and never more than $390 a year: $375 on $75,000. Hawaii’s unemployment insurance is paid entirely by employers.

At this salary Hawaii’s higher income tax outweighs California’s higher payroll deduction, so California keeps a little more.

Where the lead changes hands

For a single filer, California keeps more up to about $94,500, and Hawaii keeps more above it. Two things tip the balance. California’s 9.3% band takes over, so its income tax catches up with Hawaii’s: on $150,000 they are $9,705 and $9,644. And SDI never stops growing, while Hawaii’s TDI has long since hit its cap. By $150,000 Hawaii keeps $1,621 more; by $250,000, $3,972. Even at $500,000, where Hawaii’s top rate of 11% makes its income tax the larger, California’s SDI of $6,500 keeps Hawaii ahead.

Married couples filing jointly see the same pattern at roughly twice the salary. Hawaii’s joint brackets are exactly double its single ones, and California’s nearly so, so California keeps more from about $44,000 to $176,000 of combined salary. Below that range Hawaii’s larger deductions put it narrowly ahead, and above it Hawaii leads again. On $150,000 jointly California is $683 ahead.

A caveat on the Hawaii column

Hawaii requires employers to provide disability insurance, but lets them decide how much of the premium to pass on. The Hawaii figures take the most that may be withheld. If your employer pays all of it, add the TDI line back: on $75,000 California’s lead then shrinks to $147. California’s SDI, by contrast, is withheld from every covered employee at the same rate.

What the take-home figure does not count

Housing and the cost of everyday goods differ widely between the two states and within each, and for anyone weighing a move they are likely to matter more than the gap above. This page compares only what is taken from wages.

Questions people ask

Do you take home more in California or Hawaii on $75,000?

California, by $522 a year, or $43 a month, for a single filer in 2026. That counts federal tax, Social Security, Medicare, state income tax and every state payroll deduction.

Is the difference the same at every salary?

No. The side that keeps more changes with the salary: $30,000: California by $196; $50,000: California by $585; $75,000: California by $522; $100,000: Hawaii by $169; $150,000: Hawaii by $1,621; $250,000: Hawaii by $3,972.

Does any city or county in either state levy an income tax?

No. No California city levies a local income tax, and no Hawaii county does either: Hawaii's constitution reserves the taxing power to the State unless the legislature delegates it. The figures hold in Los Angeles and San Francisco as they do in Honolulu and on every other island.

What if my Hawaii employer pays all of the TDI premium?

Then the Hawaii column understates your take-home by the TDI line. The Hawaii figures assume the most an employer may withhold, 0.5% of wages up to a weekly maximum. Your employer may share the premium with you or pay all of it; your payslip will say which.

Are Hawaii's brackets changing?

Yes, from 2027. Act 24 of 2026 lowers the second and third bands and adds a new top band, and the standard deduction is scheduled to rise again in 2028. None of it affects 2026, which uses the same brackets as 2025.

What this comparison covers

Income tax and payroll deductions on wages: federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, state income tax, every state payroll deduction. It does not compare sales tax, property tax, housing or the cost of living, which can outweigh the difference in take-home pay. Figures assume the standard deduction, no dependents and no pre-tax retirement contributions. See how we calculate.