TL;DRPerth is 33% cheaper on rent ($1,821/mo vs $2,703/mo). Perth is safer — homicide rate 0.8 vs 1.5 per 100k. Both are solid options for settling down — the spreadsheet won't save you from this one.

Perth scores 69 to Honolulu's 55 on livability — the gap is real. Honolulu has its charms, but the numbers favor Perth.

How the livability score breaks down

Honolulu

Perth

2.9/25

💰 Affordability

11.3/25

13.5/15

🔒 Violent Crime

14.2/15

5.3/10

🛡️ Perceived Safety

5.8/10

5.3/15

⚡ Internet

5.3/15

11.8/15

🗳️ Democracy

13.3/15

10/10

🗣️ English

10/10

7.7/10

☀️ Climate

8.2/10

7.1/10

📊 Stability

6.8/10

3.4/10

🚗 Road Safety

9.1/10

4.2/10

🕊️ Geopolitical Safety

5.9/10

Verdict delivered. Your move.

The winner's file

🇦🇺 Perth

Full profile. Verify before you pack.

Due diligence

🇺🇸 Honolulu

Every verdict deserves an appeal.

Plot twist

Sydney vs Perth

Someone else's dilemma, equally unsolvable.

Household

Honolulu

Metric

Perth

$1133/mo

🛒

Living costs (no rent)

lower is better

$611/mo✓

✓$9,066

🧳

Cost to land

lower is better

$11,432

64 / 100

🛡️

Settler safety

higher is better

86 / 100✓

1.5 / 100k

🔒

Homicides

lower is better

0.8 / 100k✓

14.2 / 100k

🚗

Road deaths

lower is better

4.5 / 100k✓

53 / 100

🚨

Safety Index

higher is better

58 / 100✓

86°F

☀️

Summer high

personal taste

84°F

68°F

❄️

Winter low

personal taste

48°F

6.1 μg/m³

🌬️

Air quality (PM2.5)

lower is better

5.3 μg/m³✓

81 / 100

🏥

Healthcare

higher is better

86 / 100✓

7.8 / 10

🗳️

Democracy

higher is better

8.8 / 10✓

8.0 / 9

🤝

Migrant acceptance

higher is better

8.3 / 9

67 / 100

🏳️‍🌈

Rainbow Index

higher is better

78 / 100✓

100/100

🗣️

Street English

higher is better

100/100

✓$86k

💼

GDP per capita (PPP)

higher is better

$72k

✓2.9% · Boringly steady

📈

Inflation

lower is better

3.2% · Boringly steady

80/100

🗽

Freedom House

higher is better

95/100✓

A median Software Engineer in Honolulu takes home $11,851/mo under Standard employee. In Perth: $6,333/mo under Standard employee.

$5,518/mo more in Honolulu

Each city pays its own median — Software Engineer gross via Levels.fyi / Eurostat. Moving changes your salary too; that's the point.

$191k

💰

Gross income

$107k

−$35k

🏛️

Income tax

Standard employee

−$27k

−$14k

🛡️

Social contributions

−$4k

✓$142k/yr

$12k/mo

💵

Take-home pay

$76k/yr

$6k/mo

−$68k

🏠

Cost of living

−$45k

✓$75k/yr

🐖

Annual savings

$31k/yr

Swap the local medians for your actual number

Sources: Numbeo · UNODC · Ookla · WHO · EIU · Gallup · World Bank · Freedom House · Updated April 2026

💰

Cost of Living

Perth

$882/mo cheaper on rent alone

🔒

Safety

Perth

0.8 homicides per 100k

🗳️

Democracy

Perth

8.8/10 EIU index

Sun

How much sky you actually get

71% clear

Win

Spr

Sum

Fall

Sky clear

avg daytime

78% clear

Win

Spr

Sum

Fall

10.8h

Shortest day

Dec

14.2h

13.4h

Longest day

Jun

10.1h

Source: WeatherSpark (clear-sky share of daytime hours)

Settler Essentials

stable →

Democracy trend

stable →

improving ↑

Inflation trend

improving ↑

Easy

🇺🇸 Your visa

—

Moderate

EU visa

—

Suspended

RU visa

—

Moderate

UA visa

—

Not recognized

Partner pathway

—

Visa stamps:Easy <90 daysModerate 3–6 moComplex 6+ mo

Sources: EIU · Freedom House · Startup Genome · official immigration portals

Reproductive Rights

Because your body shouldn't need a visa too

On request

Abortion access

On request

24 wk

Gestational limit

24 wk

Long-standing statutory right, viability standard.

Legal in all states/territories; gestational limits vary by state (16-24 weeks on request).

Source: Center for Reproductive Rights

LGBTQ+ Rights

Can you hold hands without doing a risk assessment first

Legal

Marriage

Legal

Joint adoption

Adoption

Joint adoption

Yes

Job protection

Yes

Hate crime law

Yes

Honolulu vs Perth — Common Questions

Is Honolulu cheaper than Perth?▾

Perth is cheaper. A 1-bedroom apartment in city centre costs around $1821/month there vs $2703/month in the other city (Numbeo data).

Which is safer, Honolulu or Perth?▾

Perth is statistically safer based on UNODC homicide data. Honolulu has a rate of 1.50 per 100,000 and Perth has 0.83 per 100,000.

Should I move to Honolulu or Perth?▾

Perth scores 69 to Honolulu's 55 on livability — the gap is real. Honolulu has its charms, but the numbers favor Perth. See the full comparison above for rent, safety, internet speed, climate, and democracy scores to decide which city fits your priorities.

What's the cost of rent in Honolulu vs Perth?▾

A 1-bedroom in the centre: $1821/month in Perth, $2703/month in Honolulu (Numbeo). That's 33% cheaper rent in Perth.

Is Honolulu or Perth better for democracy and rule of law?▾

Perth scores 8.8/10 on the EIU Democracy Index vs 7.8/10 for Honolulu. That puts it in 'full democracy' territory — free press, independent courts, the works.