Black Sands has 0.0 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
The average commute takes 46 minutes each way (Hawaii 26, U.S. 26). There are 2 jobs in Black Sands, against 138 working residents. Hardly any work in Black Sands itself; outside it, Hilo draws the most (33%, 21 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
A workday in Black Sands: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 138 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 2 people come in from elsewhere.
About 220 people are in Black Sands on a workday afternoon, 38% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
Out of Black Sands to work: where people go
Where Black Sands 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.
Services make up most of the work in Black Sands
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Black Sands, 2014 → 2024: 11 → 2. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Black Sands’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A commute of about 46 minutes in Black Sands
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 14.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Black Sands workers work from home, vs 10% across Hawaii. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 65 commuters (the 10% 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.
The distance from Black Sands to work
About 33% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2024, 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 Black Sands: questions
What is the median household income in Black Sands?
$14,167 (±$14,106) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $100,389 across Hawaii and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Black Sands?
62.4%, against 10.0% across Hawaii and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Black Sands?
46 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Hawaii and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Black Sands work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Hilo (33%, 21 mi), Pahoa (15%, 6 mi), Urban Honolulu (9%, 229 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Can you get around Black Sands without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Black Sands, from the people who make the trip.
More of Black Sands
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.