There is less competition in both and I know nothing about Hawaii except that it is probably diverse and growing in population.  

Every city official is going to say they're going to go up in population / rental demand / etc. 2nd: Why are you looking at cashflow per door on a commercial deal? 

Wyoming is a large sparsely populated state so set up some keyword alerts to let you know when anyone anywhere near you posts about the area.

I am making an uneducated assumption that because Bakersfield is a smaller population that somehow the process will be cheaper and faster... easier?

The market in Denver is changing (as it is everywhere, I'm guessing) and the particulars of the job market, housing availability, and population fluxes makes for unique and dynamic circumstances.

Things to consider are neighborhood classes (A, B, C, D) school district rating, crime, employment, population, and amenities such as nearby conveniences. 

The economy should be diverse and have a growing population.  

Seattle is building like crazy and the population growth numbers look great all over SnoCo.

@Brian Garlington Dallas has a booming economy with great job and population growth but because of some of the highest property taxes and insurance rates in the nation, the returns are very low in comparison to Midwest markets like Indianapolis and Kansas City. 13-14% return are not realistic however when you take in to account vacancies and maintenance which a lot of people neglect to include.

I think most people get wrapped around in analysis paralysis over the plethora of data such as crime stats, employment trends, population trends, etc.