AreaProfile

Urban Honolulu, HI

Metro Area Profile

1,001,146 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Urban Honolulu, HI metropolitan area.

61
Area Score
Bottom 29% of 99 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
OpportunityTop 5% of 99 published metros85
Growth81st of 99 published metros31
Housing affordability97th of 99 published metros45
ClimateTop 3% of 99 published metros89
Physical resilience86th of 99 published metros21
Access57th of 99 published metros92
Economic stabilityTop 34% of 99 published metros80
The quick read

Urban Honolulu ranks in the top 5% of published metro profiles for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.1% and median household income of $106,195.

Housing costs more relative to local incomes than in most published city profiles, with rent taking 24% of median household income.

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

At a glance

Population
1,001,146
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$106,195
Top 2% nationally
Density
1,666/sq mi
600.8 sq mi of land
Median age
39.8
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Metro area
Urban Honolulu, HI
Nearest major airport
JRF
14 mi · Kalaeloa (John Rodgers Fld)
Median home value
$897,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.1% is lower than 97% of the 99 measured US metros.

Employment fell 0.2% over the past year, to 462,562 employed residents.

38% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 86% of measured US metros.

Household income is higher than at least 98% of measured US metros.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$1,953$106,195Top 2%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$597$47,516Top 9%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate9.2%Bottom 11%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute29.1 minTop 10%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher38.5%Top 14%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment462,562Bottom 46%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)1.5%Top 35%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-0.2%Top 31%June 2026
Labor force477,380Bottom 45%June 2026
Labor force participation65.2%Top 18%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$71,940Top 18%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$57,220Top 16%2025 OEWS
Metro employment446,380Bottom 46%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)0.4%Top 35%June 2026
Unemployment rate3.1%Bottom 3%June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032026/012026/066.32.1
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.1% in June 2026.
Largest occupations — Urban Honolulu, HI
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Fast Food and Counter Workers17,240$35,080
Retail Salespersons12,810$37,400
Registered Nurses9,680$139,260
General and Operations Managers9,430$113,940
Office Clerks, General8,820$41,600
Waiters and Waitresses8,550$60,250

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 $2,083 takes 24% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 8.5 times median household income here, well above the historic benchmark, at a level conventionally described as seriously unaffordable.

Rent as a share of income
23.5%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
8.5×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$2,083
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$897,500
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income8.45Top 1%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate59.8%Bottom 7%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±211374,304Top 7%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$30$2,083Top 1%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$6,414$897,500Top 1%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income23.5%Top 6%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate9.5%Bottom 36%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
31/ 100
Ranks 81 of 99 published city profiles
Permitting is decreasing, 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 998,747 in 2024.

At 1.6 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US metros.

Units permitted
1,615
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
1.6
Bottom 5% nationally
Year over year
+7%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
58.1%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
202020212022202320241012k995k
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 88°F and January a low of 65°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 13.9 inches.

50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station EWA KALAELOA AP, 13.3 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND2.3"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation13.9"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low65°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high88°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

21 / 100
Physical resilience

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

Inland floodingHigh
WildfireElevated
EarthquakeModerate
TsunamiHigh

Low or minimal exposure: lightning, landslide, coastal flooding, hurricane, ice storm, tornado, drought, hail, 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.

Taxes

AreaProfile does not yet publish tax comparisons. No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, methodology transparency and update cadence, and the product rule is to omit a dimension rather than estimate it. The Area Score is calculated without a tax component and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Nothing on AreaProfile is individualized tax advice.

Access

2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 14 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Kalaeloa (John Rodgers Fld)JRF14 mi8,365 ft
Daniel K Inouye IntlHNL21 mi12,360 ft
Hilo IntlITO237 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.

Customize your score

What matters to you?

Choose what you weight most heavily. Nothing is saved to an account — your preferences stay in this browser, and the Area Score never changes.

Area Score
61
Your Score

Select one or more priorities to see how this location scores against them.

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 29, 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.