Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,419, settled in 1924.
Captain Cook’s best subject grade is a B+ for health; its weakest is a D− for hazard risk. Captain Cook’s midsummer high is 77°F, below both the Hawaii town median (85°F) and the median of U.S. towns (85°F). Only 4 of Hawaii’s 125 towns score lower on walkability. 27% of the land in Captain Cook is conserved, above both Hawaii’s towns (12%) and U.S. towns (4.3%). Captain Cook has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Daifukuji Soto Zen Mission and Uchida Coffee Farm. Captain Cook has no overall grade: it has no figures for safety and schools, and an overall grade needs at least three of the four big subjects (cost of living, safety, schools and health).
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Hawaii), ordered by how far Captain Cook is from typical.
Captain Cook has no overall grade: it has no figures for safety and schools, and an overall grade needs at least three of the four big subjects (cost of living, safety, schools and health).
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2006 and 4 maps from 1928 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Captain Cook is unincorporated, so Hawaii County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Captain Cook.
FEMA puts 57% of Captain Cook’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 27% to earthquakes. Expected damage from storms and floods is higher here than in 100% of U.S. communities. Households locally have drawn federal disaster aid in 5 declared disasters, most recently in 2026.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Hawaii Department of Education school district runs its public schools. One of its 2 schools is below, with the reason it’s listed. Enrollment at Captain Cook’s public school: 505 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Konawaena Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 505 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts
There are 8.4 miles of trail across 1 park or preserve. Parks and preserves in Captain Cook: one, of 3 acres. The concentration of trails for Captain Cook comes to 0.7 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Arthur L Greenwell Park | — | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Captain Cook: just over three quarters of adults had a checkup this year. Only 3 of the 93 Hawaii towns we compare have a lower share of adults who sleep under 7 hours than Captain Cook.
| Captain Cook | Hawaii towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 27% | 35% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 45% | 36% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 17% | 23% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 31% | 35% |
| What stands out | Captain Cook | HI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults sleeping under 7 hours | 36.8% | 45.7% |
| More adults with COPD | 6.8% | 5.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
For Captain Cook, the typical rent is $2,164 a month. In Captain Cook, 69% of households are owner-occupiers.
| Captain Cook | Hawaii towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,164 a month | $2,009 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 69% | 71% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
For residents in Captain Cook, the share who live below the poverty line is 4.4%. Most working residents leave Captain Cook for work: only 5% work in town. The town had 433 jobs in 2023, up 68 from 2013. The typical household income here is $109,000.
| Captain Cook | Hawaii towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 4.4% | 9.7% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $109,000 | $100,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 4.8% | 3.6% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Captain Cook. Close and well known come first.
Big draw36 mi MountainMauna Kea
Big draw19 mi MountainMauna Loa
Big draw40 mi MountainKīlauea
12 mi National ParkHawai'i Volcanoes National Park1.9M visitors a year
13 mi MountainHualālai
5 mi National Historical ParkPu'uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park372K visitors a yearMauna Kea: Unknown, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Mauna Loa: Gordon Joly, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Kīlauea: Hawaii Land Cover Analysis project, NOAA Coastal Services Center, Public domain · Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park: Jos-uit-boston at Dutch Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Hualālai: Photograph by J. Kauahikaua., Public domain · Pu'uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park: Carol M. Highsmith, Public domain
None within 15 miles of Captain Cook; the nearest are
About 5 of every 100 Captain Cook residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Hawaii.
2 places in Captain Cook on the National Register of Historic Places.
Census-designated place in United States
Captain Cook is a census-designated place (CDP) in Hawaiʻi County, Hawaiʻi, in the United States, located in the District of South Kona. The community, within the land division of Kealakekua, is so named because the post office for the area was located in the Captain Cook Coffee Co. during the early 1900s. As of the 2020 census, the CDP population was 3,253, down from 3,429 at the 2010 census. As of March 2022, a resolution was under consideration to rename the town to "Kaʻawaloa", meaning "long landing place".
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Captain Cook.
| Town | HI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Captain Cook | — | — | C− | — | — | B+ |
| Honaunau-Napoopoo | — | — | D | — | — | B |
| Kealakekua | — | — | B+ | — | — | B+ |
Kealakekua has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Captain Cook, Honaunau-Napoopoo and Kealakekua report no FBI crime data of their own. Captain Cook and Honaunau-Napoopoo aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Captain Cook with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Captain Cook has no overall grade: it has no figures for safety and schools, and an overall grade needs at least three of the four big subjects (cost of living, safety, schools and health).
Yes. That is 8.7 years of the area's median household income ($78,639 across the Hilo-Kailua, HI area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
