Although Hawaii attracts many people each year for its tropical weather and laid-back lifestyle, paradise also has its downside. Residents in Hawaii are often complaining about the high cost of living in the islands’. Compared to other parts of the United States, everyday items, such as groceries, cost about 30 percent more in Hawaii than on the Mainland. You may be thinking that this is due to high shipping costs, however, shipment adds only about five percent more to the retail price, making the need to maintain larger inventories, higher costs for the use of land and buildings, and Hawaii’s four, almost five, percent excise tax, the major reasons why simple everyday items that we use to survive are emptying many consumer’s pockets.