Photo: Ivtorov · CC BY-SA 4.0Captain Cook has higher unemployment (8.2%) than 89% of U.S. towns
Only 5% work in Captain Cook; the top destination outside it is Urban Honolulu (15%, 179 miles). Jobs and income earn Captain Cook B−; getting around on foot earns it D. Household incomes here are higher than in 83% 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: Captain Cook in brief
Captain Cook’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Captain Cook is Urban Honolulu, 179 miles away as the crow flies. 15% of working residents (46) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
A big share show a job far from home
44% 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 ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
51% of the jobs in Captain Cook are in trade, transport and utilities, against 22% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
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 315 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Captain Cook
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Captain Cook is better than 45% of U.S. towns, #60 of 93 in Hawaii. The poverty rate holds Captain Cook’s grade up (4.4%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 7% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Captain Cook could be anywhere from C to A−.
Short hops and long hauls from Captain Cook
About 44% 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.
What work there is in Captain Cook: 433 jobs
433 jobs are based in Captain Cook.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Captain Cook, 2013 → 2023: 365 → 433. 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 Captain Cook’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Captain Cook on a workday afternoon
On a workday 300 residents head out to work, 15 work right here, and 418 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.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.37 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
The towns that employ Captain Cook’s residents
Where Captain Cook 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.
The daily trip from Captain Cook: about 27 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Captain Cook workers work from home, vs 10% across Hawaii. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,192 commuters (the 9% 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 trips from Captain Cook start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Captain Cook is more walkable than 6% of U.S. towns, #91 of 93 in Hawaii. Both inputs place Captain Cook 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 1,310 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). 0.6% of Captain Cook households have no vehicle (Hawaii 8.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Captain Cook’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 2,400 to 4,600, Captain Cook ranks 2,442nd of 4,402 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 540 | Waikapu HI | 3,591 | $123K | 4.8% | 1.8% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,061 | Waimanalo Beach HI | 4,505 | $127K | 6.8% | 4.4% | 0% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,138 | Puhi HI | 4,362 | $137K | 8.5% | 2.8% | 5% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,440 | Yates NY | 2,520 | $87K | 18.8% | 1.3% | 12% | B− |
| 2,441 | Farmington Township OH | 2,928 | $63K | 16.6% | 2.0% | 5% | B− |
| 2,442 | Captain Cook HI | 3,419 | $109K | 4.4% | 8.2% | 5% | B− |
| 2,443 | St. Leo FL | 2,468 | $96K | 20.9% | 16.4% | 1% | C+ |
| 2,444 | Williston FL | 3,456 | $61K | 15.8% | 1.7% | 16% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,402 | 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 Captain Cook, the top three, the last and three more from Hawaii.
The towns next door employ 10% of Captain Cook
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Captain Cook workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Captain Cook | – | B− | D | 27 min | $108,675 |
| Honaunau-Napoopoo | under 2% | C+ | C | 32 min | $93,929 |
| Kealakekua | 10% | B− | C | 31 min | $102,772 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Kealakekua. Darker towns draw more of Captain Cook’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 Captain Cook: questions
What is the median household income in Captain Cook?
$108,675 (±$19,952) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $100,389 across Hawaii and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Captain Cook?
4.4%, against 10.0% across Hawaii and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Captain Cook?
27 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Hawaii and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Captain Cook work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Urban Honolulu (15%, 179 mi), Kailua (13%, 12 mi), Kahaluu-Keauhou (10%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Captain Cook walkable?
Captain Cook is more walkable than 6% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 4.7 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Captain Cook 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 Captain Cook, from the people who make the trip.
More of Captain Cook
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.