However, Michael Sklarz, a leading economist and veteran in Hawai'i's real estate market said the census data is "silly" and "meaningless" because it compares Hawai'i, where housing is concentrated in urban Honolulu, to states with large rural areas.

"It's like comparing a city to all other states. What does it mean?" said Sklarz, a member of the state's Council on Revenues, which closely monitors the state's economy.

When comparing Honolulu's housing cost with other cities, it no longer is the highest, although it still ranks in the top third, he said.

He pointed to communities in the San Jose area in California where housing costs now are double those in Honolulu.

For renters, the census report shows Hawai'i's median gross cost is $813 a month, compared to $612 nationally and $408 as the lowest in West Virginia.

The median monthly mortgage in Hawai'i was $1,863, compared to $1,307 nationally and just $686 in West Virginia, the nation's lowest.

The median household income in the last 12 months in Hawai'i was $51,046, the fifth highest in the nation but still well ahead of the national median of $41,343. New Jersey was highest at $54,226 while West Virginia trailed at $28,569.

The state's chief economist, Pearl Iboshi, said Hawai'i's high housing costs "reflect, in part, the demand of people who want to live here and reflect our relative small geographic size as well as restrictions on growth."

Hawai'i's housing costs, however, become more affordable because of higher household incomes from multiple generation families sharing a home, she said.

It used to be that Hawai'i was unique in the number of husbands and wives who both work, but much of the mainland has caught up because of changes in American culture and greater employment opportunities for women, Iboshi said.

So why do Hawai'i's people put up with their high cost of living?

"It's wonderful here. What can you say? Just look outside," she said.