The median monthly fee paid to a homeowners or condo association last year in Hawaiʻi was $470, the third-highest in the nation, according to the latest estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The data shows Hawaiʻi was far less than New York’s median of $740, but close behind the median for the District of Columbia of $505. 

Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and New Jersey all came in below Hawaii with monthly medians between $300 and $400, according to the 2024 American Community Survey 1-year estimates released Sept. 11.

At the other end of the scale, homeowners in 27 states — including Alaska, Wyoming, Arkansas and Oklahoma — pay less than the national monthly median of $135.

Census Counted HOA Data For First Time

About 25% of the nation’s 86.6 million owned homes pay either a condo or HOA fee, but that number is almost double in Hawai’i.

More than 207,000, or 42%, of the nearly half-million households in the state paid a fee to a condominium or homeowners association last year, the Census Bureau found. 

That was a higher number than previously reported because while the ACS has been tracking condo fees since 2005, this was the first survey to also count HOA payments in the monthly costs of homeownership, the bureau’s assistant division chief Evan Brassel wrote.

HOA fees will now be included with the other monthly expenses the bureau tracks such as mortgages, property taxes, insurance and utilities.

Homeowners associations are generally nonprofit and manage housing and shared amenities. Fees to condo associations pay for shared services, as well as maintenance of structural features like plumbing and roofing.

The changes to the ACS methodology will help fill in local gaps in data on condo and homeowner fees.

The most recent analysis of condo and HOA fees in Hawaiʻi from 2021 was based on property listings and generated by the industry, according to the University of Hawaiʻi Economic Research Organization.

That analysis showed the average payment by households was $762 per month, a higher figure than the median from the 2024 ACS estimate. Averages are often higher than medians because they are skewed by extreme outliers.

The range of condo and HOA fees Hawai’i households pay can vary from $350 to $1,000 per month, according to the Honolulu Board of Realtors.

The 2024 State of Hawaiʻi Data Book says there are 1,644 condominium associations representing 167,412 units registered with the state. But that number is an undercount because the Real Estate Branch of the Hawaiʻi Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs does not maintain a central registry of homeowners associations.

The 2023 Fact Book produced by the Community Associations Institute said Hawaiʻi has closer to 2,000 condo, HOA, coops and other community associations.

Other Findings

Four other states had a higher percentage of homeowners paying condo or HOA fees than Hawaiʻi —Arizona, Florida, Nevada and Colorado. Those states tend to attract a high proportion of retirees to planned communities with fees, according to Brassel.   

Rhode Island, Maine, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin had the smallest share of homeowners paying fees. 

But the bureau found a consistent pattern across every state and territory it surveyed; homeowners with a mortgage paid lower fees than those without. 

That was likely a reflection of the demographics, Brassel wrote. Homeowners without mortgages tend to be older and live in higher value properties with greater service fees. 

The condo and HOA fees data were part of a census bureau release that also found the median monthly costs of homeownership for Americans with a mortgage increased by 3.8% from $1,960 in 2023 to $2,035 in 2024, when adjusted for inflation.

The 2024 American Community Survey 1-Year estimates are based on samples of approximately 3.5 million home addresses and, 150,000 individuals living in group settings like dorms, nursing homes and prisons in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The estimates have a confidence level of 90%.

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