Kahului-Wailuku, HI

Metro Area Profile

164,589 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Kahului-Wailuku, HI metropolitan area.

55out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 19% of 379 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
OpportunityTop 12% of 379 published metros79
Growth637th of 821 published metros32
Housing affordability818th of 822 published metros42
ClimateTop 1% of 822 published metros87
Physical resilience685th of 822 published metros28
Access755th of 822 published metros43
Economic stabilityTop 34% of 822 published metros64
The quick read

Kahului-Wailuku ranks in the top 12% of published metro profiles for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.2% and median household income of $97,109.

Residential permitting has slowed: 520 units authorized over the past twelve months, 54% below the prior year.

Physical-risk exposure is above the national median, driven mainly by inland flooding, earthquake and tsunami.

At a glance

Population
164,589
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$97,109
Top 5% nationally
Density
140/sq mi
1173.5 sq mi of land
Median age
43.2
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Metro area
Kahului-Wailuku, HI
Nearest major airport
HNL
91 mi · Daniel K Inouye Intl
Median home value
$904,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.2% is lower than 92% of the 379 measured US metros.

Employment grew 1.3% over the past year, to 80,517 employed residents.

Household income is higher than at least 95% of measured US metros.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$2,855$97,109Top 5%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,228$45,622Top 12%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate9.2%Bottom 11%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute25.1 minTop 39%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher31.0%Top 31%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment80,517Bottom 35%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)-1.5%Bottom 25%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)1.3%Top 11%June 2026
Labor force83,219Bottom 35%June 2026
Labor force participation63.8%Top 25%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$68,720Top 17%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$57,640Top 8%2025 OEWS
Metro employment73,750Bottom 36%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)0.1%Top 44%June 2026
Unemployment rate3.2%Bottom 8%June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032025/102026/069.12.4
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.2% in June 2026. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.
Largest occupations — Kahului-Wailuku, HI
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Waiters and Waitresses2,700$82,550
Fast Food and Counter Workers2,590$37,840
Retail Salespersons2,510$39,630
Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners2,260$53,030
Cooks, Restaurant1,770$49,560
General and Operations Managers1,650$108,010

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,914 takes 24% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 9.3 times median household income here, well above the historic benchmark, at a level conventionally described as seriously unaffordable.

Rent as a share of income
23.7%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
9.3×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,914
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$904,700
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income9.32Top 1%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate65.6%Bottom 25%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±13172,386Top 30%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$81$1,914Top 2%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$14,011$904,700Top 1%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income23.7%Top 6%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate22.8%Top 9%2024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
32/ 100
Ranks 637 of 821 published city profiles
Permitting is broadly steady, measured from 2024 to 2025.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has fallen 1% since 2020, reaching 163,769 in 2024.

At 3.2 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US metros.

Units permitted
520
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
3.2
Top 41% nationally
Year over year
−54%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
25.6%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
20202021202220232024165k164k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population.

Weather & climate

9 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 89°F and January a low of 64°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 16.2 inches.

50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station KAHULUI AP, 11.6 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND2.8"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation16.2"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low64°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high89°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months91991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing8°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.

Physical risk

28 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, earthquake and tsunami.

Volcanic activityModerate
EarthquakeHigh
WildfireModerate
Inland floodingHigh
LightningModerate
TsunamiHigh

Low or minimal exposure: hurricane, landslide, coastal flooding, drought, tornado, ice storm, hail, winter weather, strong wind.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

What this profile does not cover

Three things people look for are missing from every AreaProfile page, and each is missing for a reason rather than by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Reported crime
The FBI’s Crime Data Explorer is the only source for reported offences with national coverage and a published method, and it requires an API key AreaProfile does not hold. Arrest counts, news volume and commercial “safety scores” are not substituted in the meantime. What is published above under Safety is a different measurement — deaths rather than offences, from death certificates rather than police returns — and it covers no property crime at all.
Taxes
No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, transparent methodology and update cadence. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Full cost of living
No public source publishes one with national coverage and a documented method. Housing affordability above is computed from published rent, price and income, and excludes transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes — commuting cost in particular tends to offset suburban housing savings.

Access

2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 91 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Daniel K Inouye IntlHNL91 mi12,360 ft
Kalaeloa (John Rodgers Fld)JRF100 mi8,365 ft
Hilo IntlITO128 mi9,803 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)

Profile recalculated August 30, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology or browse every source.