You know Hawaii is part of the USA, right?
Fuel for power comes in by ships.
But fuel and power are not needed for heating there. And days are long.
I would not want to be in Hawaii surrounded by undrinkable water and no food or anything else coming in.
I certainly wouldn't want to be on Oahu because of the population density in Honolulu. But the other islands would be fine, relatively speaking, lots of rain to be captured for drinking, wonderful growing conditions for many foods and excellent volcanic soil (in most non-rocky places). Drinking water can also be produced by distillation. Obviously a fraction of the population would die before self-sufficiency got underway but that would be the same in all states in this scenario. The isolation of which you speak negatively would also serve to keep out diseases and roving gangs from the mainland. This would be a factor even from island to island.
Of course I know Hawaii is a state but it is not connected to the mainland and that makes getting supplies there almost nonexistent if the mainland states are fighting and no ships going there.
You said, “But fuel and power are not needed for heating there. And days are long.”
You are very nearsighted when speaking of fuel and power not being needed for heating - as though fuel and power isn’t needed for anything else. Fuel cooks food, fuel runs cars, fuel makes light, fuel is used every minute of the day and it comes by SHIP. Electricity is very expensive and I said very few houses have cooling due to the expense.
I know from being there and finding out, fuel comes by ship - if no ships, no fuel except driftwood or whatever. None of those islands can do without fuel from ships unless the populace catches fish and eats it raw or makes a fire and I hope they would still have matches left over from a ship bringing them there or they have a fire maker bar that another ship brought. Maybe they have a cigarette lighter left over from a ship bringing that - they wouldn’t have to use it to light a cigarette since there wouldn’t be any cigarettes since they come by ship. Maybe they are good at rubbing two sticks together. They have little building material, not much wood, because that comes by ship to build buildings.
At least you say “a fraction of the population would die before self-sufficiency got underway...” Here in these connected states it will be much easier to find what is needed to repair and rebuild and have power.
You head out to Hawaii, build a grass hut and fish, (take matches or a flint bar) and I’ll stay in Texas.
Now after careful consideration I agree... Hawaii would WIN
They have Interstate Highways ... that kind of optimism cannot be overlooked.
TT