Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The best of Hilo’s subject grades is an A− for the outdoors; the weakest is a D− for hazard risk. 22% of the land in Hilo is conserved, above both Hawaii’s towns (12%) and U.S. towns (4.3%). Hilo has 17 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Volcano Block Building and U.S. Post Office and Office Building. Hilo 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).
Where Hilo beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Census counts: 6,745 in 1910, 44,186 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1820 and 6 maps from 1917 on.
17 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Hawaii), ordered by how far Hilo is from typical.
Hilo 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 →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Hilo. Close and well known come first.
Big draw27 mi MountainMauna Kea
Big draw23 mi MountainKīlauea
Big draw37 mi MountainMauna Loa
20 mi National ParkHawai'i Volcanoes National Park1.9M visitors a year
in town WaterfallRainbow Falls
12 mi State parkAkaka Falls State ParkMauna Kea: Unknown, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Kīlauea: Hawaii Land Cover Analysis project, NOAA Coastal Services Center, Public domain · Mauna Loa: Gordon Joly, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park: Jos-uit-boston at Dutch Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Rainbow Falls: Kyle Hawton, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Akaka Falls State Park: Robert Linsdell from St. Andrews, Canada, CC BY 2.0
Hilo 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 Hilo.
141 flood insurance claims have been paid in Hilo since 1978. On expected storm and flood damage, Hilo sits above 100% of U.S. communities. Federal disaster aid has reached households in Hilo after 5 declared disasters, most recently in 2026. 46% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by earthquakes at 34%.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Hawaii Department of Education school district runs its public schools. Three of its 17 schools are shown below, with the reason for each. Public school enrollment in Hilo: 2,941 students across 6 schools.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waiakea Intermediate SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 857 | C+ |
| Waiakea High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,183 | A− |
| Ernest Bowen DeSilva Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 422 | A |
NCES · EDFacts
Among households in Hilo, 66% own their home, against 71% in Hawaii’s towns and 73% across U.S. towns. Typical home values rose 5.4% in the year to September 2026. The town’s median rent is $1,427 a month.
| Hilo | Hawaii towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,427 a month | $2,017 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 66% | 71% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Walkers can cover 38 miles of trail in 34 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Waiākea Forest Reserve, at 323 acres. The concentration of trails for Hilo comes to 0.6 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Pana‘ewa Recreational Complex | 1 mi | 160 |
| 2. Wailoa River State Recreation Area | 0.8 mi | 148 |
| 3. Liliʻuokalani Gardens | 0.6 mi | 16 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Among adults in Hilo, 20% say their health is fair or poor. Against the Hawaii average, Hilo comes out ahead on 1 CDC measures out of 32, and behind on 11. 39% of adults in Hilo sleep under 7 hours; 19% have been diagnosed with depression.
| Hilo | Hawaii towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 27% | 35% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 45% | 36% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 17% | 23% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 18% | 14% |
| What stands out | Hilo | HI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults sleeping under 7 hours | 38.8% | 45.7% |
| More adults without reliable transportation | 9.7% | 7.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The top destinations are Kailua (6%), Kaiminani (5%) and Keaau (4%). For Hilo, the typical journey to work is 20 minutes. Between 2013 and 2023, jobs here rose by 9,495, to 28,240. Also worth knowing: in Hilo, 15% of residents live below the poverty line.
| Hilo | Hawaii towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 15% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $82,000 | $100,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 8.9% | 8.1% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Hawaii has 36% of adults 25 and older with a bachelor’s degree or more; here it is 35%. No age group stands out against Hawaii: all are within 4 points. For residents in Hilo, the share who are 65 or older is 23%.
| Hilo | Hawaii towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 23% | 20% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 20% | 22% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 35% | 31% | 29% |
| Median age | 42.7 years | 41.2 years | 40.5 years |
52.3% women, 47.7% men
About 91 men for every 100 women. Across Hawaii, 49.8% of residents are women. Median age: women 44.2, men 40.9.
| Hilo | HI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9.9% | 11.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.1% | 9.4% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.8% | 8.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 12% | 13.3% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.9% | 13.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.5% | 11.8% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13.1% | 12.4% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 12.2% | 11.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 10.5% | 9% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.8% | 6.8% | 10.4% |
| High school | 28% | 26.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 17% | 19.6% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 14.6% | 10.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 21.7% | 22.8% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 12.9% | 13.3% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
2 within 15 miles of the center of Hilo
About 7 of every 100 Hilo residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Hawaii.
2 colleges in town.
17 places in Hilo on the National Register of Historic Places.
Census-designated place in United States
Hilo (, HEE-low; Hawaiian pronunciation: [ˈhilo]) is the largest settlement in and the county seat of Hawaiʻi County, Hawaii, United States, which encompasses the Island of Hawaiʻi, and is a census-designated place (CDP). The population was 44,186 according to the 2020 census. It is the fourth-largest settlement in the state of Hawaiʻi, the largest settlement in the state outside of Oahu, and the largest settlement in the state outside of the Greater Honolulu Area. Hilo is in the District of South Hilo. The city overlooks Hilo Bay and has views of two shield volcanoes – Mauna Loa, the largest active volcano on the planet, and Mauna Kea, the highest point in the Hawaiian Islands. The Hilo ba…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Hilo.
Hilo reports no FBI crime data of its own. Hilo and Wainaku aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Hilo with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Hilo 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).
That is 7.1 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.
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