By Angela Cifone 

HONOLULU (Island News) — With the price of living in Hawaiʻi becoming more expensive each day, many come to the hard choice of having to leave.

But young professionals and policy makers are seeking solutions on how to make Hawaiʻi more affordable and allow people to stay.

Calling Hawaii home is special, but it comes at a cost. And that cost is getting harder to afford.

A recent Holomua Collective survey of more than 3,000 local workers found 75% are considering leaving Hawaii within the next five years.

That growing concern brought more than 150 young professionals, business leaders and policymakers together for the Young Professionals Cost of Living Summit.

Looking for ways to make Hawaiʻi more livable and affordable.

Jordan Odo, Chair of the Chamber of Commerce Hawaiʻi’s Young Professionals Program said “Our young people, the people that are working, the people that have jobs, the people that are powering the economy, are often left out of the conversation.”

As of 2023, nearly half of Hawaiʻi households lived paycheck to paycheck or in poverty, according to the Asset Limited, Income, Constrained, Employed (ALICE) report, a project by United Way that tracks the federal poverty level.

Last year, Governor Josh Green signed a law doubling the state’s standard tax deduction, but many here say it’s just a start.

“We need to build more housing. We need to create more opportunities, which means having economic projects, build businesses that needs to be done… And having young people at the table is a big part of it, because it’s going to be their future that they’re going to inherit,” said Seth Colby, Chief State Economist.

Organizers said this summit isn’t just about the cost of living — it’s about the cost of leaving.

Matt Prellberg, Policy and communications director of Holomua Collective says “No one’s coming to save us. We have to save ourselves. And if we work together, if we collaborate, we’re going to find a way to make it that affordable, that families can afford to live here.”

According to the economic research organization at the University of Hawaiʻi, a single family home cost the most out of any other state.

At the Young Professionals Cost of Living summit, they spent the entire day coming up with solutions, with hopes to help make it easier and affordable to live in Hawaiʻi.

See the full story here.