At 17.8%, unemployment in Ainaloa is among the highest of any U.S. town
Hardly any work in Ainaloa itself; outside it, Urban Honolulu draws the most (27%, 223 miles). Jobs and income earn Ainaloa D−; getting around on foot earns it C−. Household incomes here are lower than in 76% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Ainaloa in brief
Ainaloa’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Ainaloa is Urban Honolulu, 223 miles away as the crow flies. 27% of working residents (64) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
A big share show a job far from home
59% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
Ainaloa is a place people come home to
There are 64 jobs based in Ainaloa, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. Day and night ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 235 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Ainaloa’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Ainaloa is better than 3% of U.S. towns, #91 of 93 in Hawaii. Household income holds Ainaloa’s grade up ($58,918, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Ainaloa could be anywhere from D− to C+.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Ainaloa
About 59% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Ainaloa by day and by night
On a workday 235 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 64 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
0.27 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Out of Ainaloa to work: where people go
Where Ainaloa clocks in
Lines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Inside Ainaloa’s 64 jobs
64 jobs are based in Ainaloa.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Ainaloa, 2013 → 2023: 41 → 64. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Ainaloa’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The trip to work from Ainaloa: about 34 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Ainaloa workers work from home, vs 10% across Hawaii. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,111 commuters (the 12% who work from home are left out). Across Hawaii: 72% drive alone, 4% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Most of Ainaloa commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Ainaloa is more walkable than 16% of U.S. towns, #87 of 93 in Hawaii. Both inputs place Ainaloa near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,267 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 0.8% of Ainaloa households have no vehicle (Hawaii 8.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Ainaloa’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ainaloa and other U.S. towns of 2,900 to 5,500
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 154 | Heeia HI | 5,144 | $176K | 3.3% | 2.4% | 0% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 530 | Waikapu HI | 3,591 | $123K | 4.8% | 1.8% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,057 | Waimanalo Beach HI | 4,505 | $127K | 6.8% | 4.4% | 0% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,923 | Kingstree SC | 3,022 | $26K | 33.9% | 6.8% | 16% | D− |
| 3,924 | Mount Pleasant Township MO | 5,093 | $43K | 23.9% | 9.2% | 32% | D− |
| 3,925 | Ainaloa HI | 4,094 | $59K | 26.7% | 17.8% | 0% | D− |
| 3,926 | Leesville LA | 5,210 | $38K | 33.7% | 9.8% | 28% | D− |
| 3,927 | Heavener OK | 3,070 | $34K | 33.0% | 6.0% | 28% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,023 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Ainaloa, the top three, the last and three more from Hawaii.
The towns around Ainaloa
The biggest share goes to Hawaiian Paradise Park (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Ainaloa workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ainaloa | – | D− | C− | 34 min | $58,918 |
| Tiki Gardens | under 2% | — | — | — | — |
| Hawaiian Acres | under 2% | C+ | C | 36 min | $91,120 |
| Hawaiian Paradise Park | 2% | B− | D | 33 min | $88,348 |
| Orchidlands Estates | under 2% | C+ | D | 29 min | $73,936 |
Same-state neighbors only. Tiki Gardens: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Ainaloa’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Ainaloa: questions
What is the median household income in Ainaloa?
$58,918 (±$11,918) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $100,389 across Hawaii and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Ainaloa?
26.7%, against 10.0% across Hawaii and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Ainaloa?
34 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Hawaii and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Ainaloa work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Urban Honolulu (27%, 223 mi), Hilo (27%, 13 mi), Keaau (4%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Ainaloa walkable?
Ainaloa is more walkable than 16% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 5.0 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Ainaloa without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Ainaloa, from the people who make the trip.
More of Ainaloa
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.