When it comes to housing for educators, Hawaiʻi is one of the least affordable places for early career teachers, according to an analysis from the National Council on Teacher Quality released last month. 

Nationally, salaries for first-year teachers haven’t kept up with the rising costs of rent and home prices since 2019, according to a NCTQ study of 72 urban school districts. In Hawaiʻi, the salary for a first-year teacher has increased by roughly 10% since 2019, while home prices and rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Honolulu have grown by roughly 30% in the same time frame. 

“Hawaii needs to reckon with the question of how to attract and receive teachers when beginning teachers are not able to afford to pay rent or buy a house,” said NCTQ President Heather Peske. 

This year, salaries began at $53,390 for Hawaiʻi educators with a teaching license and bachelor’s degree.

Hawaiʻi ties with Broward County Public Schools in Florida as the second-least affordable school district for first-year teachers with a bachelor’s degree. In both districts, they must put an average of 46% of their paychecks toward renting a one-bedroom apartment. In comparison, teachers living in some of the most affordable districts in the nation spend 20% or less of their paychecks on rent. 

Peske said it’s harder for districts to retain teachers who choose to live farther away from their schools to cut down on housing costs. When teachers live in the same communities they work in, she said, they’re able to reduce their commute time, spend more time in their classrooms and develop closer relationships with students.  

“There’s just a lot of investment that comes from living and working in the same place,” she said. 

Hawaiʻi has struggled with a years-long teacher shortage, going so far as to bring in educators from the Philippines and other countries to fill classroom positions. Last August, the state Department of Education started the school year with 166 vacant positions.  

According to a Department of Education survey conducted last year, 41% of employees said they were likely to leave their jobs because of high housing costs. School workers spent a median of $1,500 on housing each month, and more than a third said they spent more than 30% of their paychecks on housing. 

More than half of the employees in the survey expressed interest in living in workforce rental housing.

Teachers who are not homeowners are more likely to leave their jobs because of challenges they face with high housing costs, according to the survey.

The state is in the process of building two teacher housing projects, one on Mililani High School’s campus and another near Lahainaluna High School on Maui. The DOE broke ground on its $20 million housing project in Lahaina last month and plans on completing the one- and two-bedroom units by the end of this year.

Two bills introduced in the 2025 legislative session targeted housing affordability for teachers by proposing to provide educators with housing vouchers and stipends to reduce their cost of living. Both measures received strong support from the teachers union but failed to pass in the Legislature. 

Civil Beat’s education reporting is supported by a grant from Chamberlin Family Philanthropy.

“Data Dive” is supported in part by the Will J. Reid Foundation.

“Hawaiʻi’s Changing Economy” is supported by a grant from the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation as part of its work to build equity for all through the CHANGE Framework.