Young professionals across Hawaii are being asked a blunt question this month: can you actually afford to build a future here? The Chamber of Commerce Hawaii's Young Professionals program is holding its fourth annual Cost of Living Summit, a day-long gathering built around workshops, panels and economic presentations aimed squarely at the forces pushing younger residents off the islands.
According to the Chamber of Commerce Hawaii's press release, this year's summit carries the theme “Rooted in What Matters” and is organized by the Chamber's Young Professionals program, presented by Tradewind Group. As KHON2 reports, the event is set to convene young professionals, business leaders, policymakers, economists and community leaders around three core areas: housing and pathways to homeownership, wages and economic opportunity, and childcare and family formation. The gathering is scheduled for Thursday, October 15, 2026, at Prince Waikiki.
Chamber of Commerce Hawaii President and CEO Sherry Menor framed the stakes in personal terms for the next generation of business leaders. “We have to give them tools and a platform to make it happen,” Menor said, per the Chamber's press release. Courtney Wagner, chair of the Chamber's Young Professionals program, put it even more directly to KHON2, saying many young professionals wonder whether they can realistically build their future in Hawaii.
A Day Built Around Money, Housing and Career Moves
The schedule opens with financial literacy workshops covering investing, homebuying and entrepreneurship, according to the Chamber's press release. Christopher Chow of WestPac Wealth Advisors will lead a session on building long-term wealth, while Claudia Chen and Jesse Nishita Wilson, representing Northwestern Mutual and Rite Wealth Management, will lead an Investing 101 session, per the summit program cited by KHON2. Stefan Kant of American Savings Bank is slated to lead a homebuying workshop, and Keanu Wilson of Hawaii FoundHer will lead a session on developing a business, the same program notes.
From there, the morning moves into three TED Talk-style presentations featuring Aaron Merchen of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, Cole Phillips of Small Kine Things Media LLC, and Lee Wang of Housing Hawaii's Future, according to the Chamber's press release. Those talks will be followed by a panel discussion moderated by Hawaii Public Radio, addressing how housing, work and family intersect with the cost of living. The panel will include Wang alongside state Rep. Greggor Ilagan, the Chamber notes. A legislator connect lunch is also built into the day, giving attendees a chance to engage directly with policymakers, per KHON2's reporting.
State of the Economy and Staying Rooted
The afternoon shifts toward the broader economy with a State of the Economy presentation from Dr. Carl Bonham, executive director and professor of economics at the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization. Rounding out the day are Staying Rooted workshops focused on civic engagement, nonprofit board leadership, and building relationships with mentors and sponsors, according to the Chamber's press release. The Chamber's Young Professionals program also plans to present a Kamaaina Housing Plan at the summit, the organization has said.
The urgency behind the programming is backed by hard numbers. UHERO's research on migration trends found that in 2023, about 72,000 people moved to Hawaii while roughly 58,000 moved out. The same UHERO analysis found that about 12,100 Hawaii-born individuals moved back to the state in 2023, compared with around 6,400 who left.
Housing and Childcare Costs Driving the Conversation
UHERO's 2026 Housing Factbook states plainly that Hawaii residents face the highest housing costs in the nation, and that the state must significantly expand its housing supply to reverse population decline and restore affordability. A University of Hawaii News report found that in 2024, Honolulu's median home price was about twice what a median-income household could afford, though affordability has improved modestly in recent years thanks to rising incomes, slower home-price growth and slightly lower mortgage rates.
Civil Beat's reporting on the same Housing Factbook noted that improvements have been small and slow, and that 57% of Hawaii renters are considered rent burdened, spending more than 30% of their income on housing. Permitting delays compound the problem: in Honolulu during the first half of 2025, median processing times stretched to 394 days for single-family homes and nearly two years for multifamily projects, according to Civil Beat.
Childcare costs add another layer to the equation. University of Hawaii News reported that center-based infant care in Hawaii averaged more than $24,000 annually in 2024, and that high childcare costs can discourage secondary earners, often mothers, from returning to work. West Hawaii Today's reporting put the figure even more specifically, noting that average annual infant care has reached $24,115 statewide, with Honolulu families facing monthly infant care costs around $3,045, compared with roughly $2,200 for a one-bedroom apartment.
West Hawaii Today found that Hawaii requires the highest income in the nation for a single working parent supporting a non-working partner and one child, at least $102,773 annually, while a two-parent household needs at least $115,814 annually once childcare is factored in, against a median household income of just over $98,000.
Organizers say the summit's goal is to give young professionals practical tools and direct access to people working on these issues, rather than simply cataloging the problems. Courtney Wagner, chair of the Chamber's Young Professionals program, said in the Chamber's press release, “We created this summit because we believe the people closest to these challenges can help shape the solutions.” For the young workers the event is built around, the decisions ahead — about housing, careers, family and whether to stay in Hawaii at all — remain as pressing as ever.
