Do Massachusetts Residents Get In-State Tuition in Hawaii? (Undergraduate, 2026)
No — Massachusetts residents pay full non-resident undergraduate tuition in Hawaii, about $35,000 a year at University of Hawai'i at Manoa against $12,600 for residents. There is no exchange program between Massachusetts and Hawaii; the only route to the in-state rate is establishing Hawaii residency, which takes 12 months.
- You would pay
- $35,000/yr
- Resident pays
- $12,600/yr
- Over 4 yrs
- No saving available
Tuition and mandatory fees only, compiled from published rates and rounded. Excludes housing, books and course differentials. Eligibility is decided by the institution, not by this page.
Open this pair in the checker to switch level, compare other states, or copy a link to the result.
Massachusetts residents get no exchange-program discount in Hawaii. At University of Hawai'i at Manoa that means $35,000 a year rather than $12,600 — $22,400 a year, every year you are enrolled.
The comparison that matters is with home: University of Massachusetts Amherst charges a Massachusetts resident $17,400 a year. 5 other states offer Massachusetts residents a reduced undergraduate rate, the lowest being Maine at about $22,050.
The discount most often missed here is institutional. Individual public universities run their own non-resident scholarships, and several effectively convert a strong out-of-state applicant to something near the in-state rate. Those sit outside every state agreement and are invisible on comparison sites.
Every route from Massachusetts to Hawaii
No exchange program or bilateral agreement connects these two states at undergraduate level, so the route table is empty.
Where Massachusetts residents pay less
Staying home, a Massachusetts resident pays $17,400 a year for in-state undergraduate tuition at University of Massachusetts Amherst. The cheapest Hawaii option for you is $35,000 at University of Hawai'i at Manoa, which is $17,600 a year more than staying home, or $70,400 over 4 years.
Massachusetts belongs to New England Regional Student Program (Tuition Break) (Tuition Break) at undergraduate level, so 5 of 50 states offer Massachusetts undergraduate students a reduced rate. Hawaii is not one of them.
| State | Route | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Massachusetts to Maine | New England Regional Student Program · University of Maine | $22,050 |
| Massachusetts to Rhode Island | New England Regional Student Program · University of Rhode Island | $29,400 |
| Massachusetts to New Hampshire | New England Regional Student Program · University of New Hampshire | $33,250 |
| Massachusetts to Connecticut | New England Regional Student Program · University of Connecticut | $35,700 |
| Massachusetts to Vermont | New England Regional Student Program · University of Vermont | $36,225 |
Massachusetts's neighboring states, compared
What a Massachusetts resident pays for undergraduate tuition in each state that borders Massachusetts, cheapest first:
- Rhode Island$29,400/yr · New England Regional Student Program
- New York$30,600/yr · non-resident
- New Hampshire$33,250/yr · New England Regional Student Program
- Connecticut$35,700/yr · New England Regional Student Program
- Vermont$36,225/yr · New England Regional Student Program
Compare all 50 states from Massachusetts in the checker. Each figure is one reference campus per state, not a state average.
Hawaii residency, in brief
Hawaii grants in-state tuition after 12 months of domicile before the term begins (Haw. Admin. R. § 20-4), and a financially dependent student takes the parents' domicile. Moving to Hawaii to enroll does not by itself start the clock.
Hawaii residency requirements in full · how long every state requires
Step by step
- Budget for the non-resident rate at University of Hawai'i at Manoa: $35,000 a year against $12,600 for residents.
- Check whether the specific campus you want offers its own non-resident scholarship or a border-county waiver — those are institutional, sit outside the state agreements, and are the most commonly missed discount.
- If you plan to stay, price the residency route: Hawaii requires 12 months of domicile, and a financially dependent student takes the parents' domicile, so the family would need to move.
- Read the University of Hawai'i System rules in full before you enroll — classification is decided once, and re-classification later in a degree is the hardest version of this problem.
Official links
Related
Asked and answered
›Do Massachusetts residents get in-state tuition in Hawaii?
No. Massachusetts residents pay the full non-resident rate of $35,000 at University of Hawai'i at Manoa. The only route to the $12,600 in-state rate is establishing Hawaii residency.
›How long does it take to get in-state tuition in Hawaii?
Hawaii requires 12 months of domicile before the term begins (Haw. Admin. R. § 20-4), and a financially dependent student takes the parents' domicile.
›How much would undergraduate study in Hawaii actually cost a Massachusetts resident?
About $35,000 a year in tuition and mandatory fees at University of Hawai'i at Manoa, against $12,600 for a Hawaii resident. Figures are compiled 2025–26 published rates and exclude housing, books and course-specific differentials.
›Where can Massachusetts residents get reduced undergraduate tuition?
In 5 states at undergraduate level. Outside Hawaii, the lowest are Maine ($22,050), Rhode Island ($29,400), New Hampshire ($33,250). Each figure is one reference campus, and awards are made campus by campus.
›Is studying in Hawaii cheaper than staying in Massachusetts?
No. Massachusetts's in-state undergraduate rate is $17,400 a year at University of Massachusetts Amherst, and the cheapest Hawaii option for a Massachusetts resident is $35,000, so Hawaii costs about $17,600 more a year, or $70,400 over 4 years, in tuition and fees alone.
Sources
Every eligibility rule on this page is checked against the operating compact commission or the state's own residency authority. Last verified 2026-08-07.
Tuition figures on this page are compiled 2025–26 published rates (basis: published compiled), rounded to the nearest $100 and refreshed each June. Eligibility rules are checked against the cited compact commission or residency authority.
- University of Hawai'i System — residency for tuition purposes ↗Accessed 2026-08-07
- University of Hawai'i at Manoa — tuition and fees ↗Accessed 2026-08-07
- University of Massachusetts Amherst — tuition and fees ↗Accessed 2026-08-07
How this page was made
Compiled and checked by Billy Reiner, editor of In-State Check. Last verified 2026-08-07.
- Compiled from published rate pages
- The in-state and non-resident figures are tuition and mandatory fees for one full-time year, read from University of Hawai'i at Manoa’s own 2025–26 rate page and rounded to the nearest $100. Housing, books, travel and course-specific differentials are not included in them.
- Checked against the administering body
- Compact membership at this level was checked against the commission that runs the program (WICHE, NEBHE). The residency test — the durational requirement, the domicile evidence and the dependent-student rule — was checked against University of Hawai'i System, Haw. Admin. R. § 20-4. Nothing here is taken from another comparison site.
Not advice. In-State Check is independent of every college, compact and state agency named here. Residency classification and award decisions are made by the institution you apply to. Found an error? Send the page URL and the source that contradicts it to [email protected], and the page is corrected and re-dated. Full methodology.