Waiakea Mission Station-Hilo Station · Photo: W Nowicki · CC BY 3.0Hilo’s public schools are part of Hawaii’s single statewide district
Hawaii runs all its public schools as one district, so its results are the state’s results and there are no other districts to compare Hilo with. Each school below is graded on its own results against Hawaii’s other public schools.
Tests spring 2022, when 96% of students in Hawaii’s tested grades sat them, and the class of 2023’s graduation rate (U.S. Department of Education). How TownRatings grades schools
Hilo’s schools, in brief
One district for the whole state
The Hawaii Department of Education runs every public school in Hawaii, so its results are the state’s results. There is no other district to compare Hilo with, and no Schools grade.
School by school
5 of Hilo’s 11 district schools with test results score above the middle of Hawaii’s 292 public schools. Ernest Bowen DeSilva Elementary School places highest (better than 93%); Chiefess Kapiolani Elementary School lowest (5%). See the path ↓
Which school depends on your street
Seven elementary schools serve Hilo, graded from D to A, so it’s worth checking the specific school. Then two middle schools and two high schools: Waiakea High School and Hilo High School. See the path ↓
Charter schools
4 public charter schools are located in Hilo; each is graded on its own results. Every school ↓
Written from the figures on this page. Tests are from 2021–22, graduation from the class of 2023; each school’s own letter uses 2020–21 results.
Where will my kid go?
Pick a grade. These are the public schools in Hilo, with each school’s own grade against Hawaii’s schools.
7th grade in Hilo · depends on your address
Waiakea Intermediate School
Grades 6–8 · 857 students · 15:1 students per teacher
Hilo Intermediate School
Grades 7–8 · 560 students · 14:1 students per teacher
8th grade in Hilo · depends on your address
Waiakea Intermediate School
Grades 6–8 · 857 students · 15:1 students per teacher
Hilo Intermediate School
Grades 7–8 · 560 students · 14:1 students per teacher
9th grade in Hilo · depends on your address
Waiakea High School
Grades 9–12 · 1,183 students · 15:1 students per teacher
Hilo High School
Grades 9–12 · 1,170 students · 16:1 students per teacher
10th grade in Hilo · depends on your address
Waiakea High School
Grades 9–12 · 1,183 students · 15:1 students per teacher
Hilo High School
Grades 9–12 · 1,170 students · 16:1 students per teacher
11th grade in Hilo · depends on your address
Waiakea High School
Grades 9–12 · 1,183 students · 15:1 students per teacher
Hilo High School
Grades 9–12 · 1,170 students · 16:1 students per teacher
12th grade in Hilo · depends on your address
Waiakea High School
Grades 9–12 · 1,183 students · 15:1 students per teacher
Hilo High School
Grades 9–12 · 1,170 students · 16:1 students per teacher
Which school depends on your address. To confirm it, ask the Hawaii Department of Education.
The district
Spending and class size are shown but don’t count toward the grade. Each district’s own page has every school.
How students score
Hawaii’s one district is also the state benchmark, so there’s no state comparison for spending.
Hilo vs. its neighbors
Every Hawaii town is served by the same district, so its neighbors share Hilo’s district figures; there is no neighbor comparison to make.
Every school in Hilo
17 schools. Each public school’s letter compares its own 2020–21 reading and math results with Hawaii’s other public schools (the newest school-level results we have).
Questions about Hilo’s schools
Are Hilo’s schools good?
There’s no Schools grade for Hilo: Hawaii has one statewide district, so there’s nothing in the state to compare it with. School by school, 5 of its 11 district schools with test results score above the middle of Hawaii’s public schools on their 2020–21 results.
What school district is Hilo in?
The Hawaii Department of Education, which runs every public school in the state: 167,071 students in 2024–25.
Where do Hilo kids go to high school?
One of two high schools, depending on your address: Waiakea High School and Hilo High School.
Are there private schools in Hilo?
Yes: St. Joseph School (grades PK–12, 187 students) and Mauna Loa School (grades K–8, 50 students). Hilo also has 4 public charter schools.
Parents talk
What Hilo families are saying about school.
Looking for colleges? Colleges near Hilo → They have their own page.
School data: state test results (2021–22, with participation) and four-year graduation rates (class of 2023) reported to the U.S. Department of Education (EDFacts via ED Data Express); each school’s own letter uses its 2020–21 results (EDFacts via the Urban Institute); schools and enrollment from NCES (2024–25; private schools 2023–24); spending from the Census Bureau’s school finance survey (FY2024). Stars are from neighbors.