KaaawaHI
A town of 1,328, settled in 1952.
Is Kaaawa a good place to live?
Kaaawa’s best subject grades are an A for walkability, an A− for health, and an A+ for the outdoors; its weakest is a D− for hazard risk. 20% of the land in Kaaawa is conserved, against 12% in Hawaii’s towns and 4.3% across U.S. towns. On the outdoors, just 3 of Hawaii’s 125 towns do better. Huilua Fishpond and Small Heiau is on the National Register of Historic Places. Kaaawa has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Kaaawa stand out
Where Kaaawa beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
1,328 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
How Kaaawa grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Hawaii), ordered by how far Kaaawa is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
USS Missouri and 46 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Kaaawa. Close and well known come first.
Big draw14 mi MuseumUSS Missouri
14 mi MuseumUSS Arizona Memorial
13 mi Stadium & arenaAloha Stadium
20 mi MountainDiamond Head
19 mi BeachWaikīkī
16 mi LandmarkNational Memorial Cemetery of the PacificPhoto credits
USS Missouri: Camera Operator: EM2 KENNETH D. MEHL (Released to Public), Public domain · USS Arizona Memorial: DoD photo by: PH3(AW/SW) JAYME PASTORIC, USN, Public domain · Aloha Stadium: This photo was taken and originally uploaded by Bobak to English Wikipedia. Uplo, CC BY 3.0 · Diamond Head: Unknown, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Waikīkī: Frank Schulenburg, CC BY-SA 4.0 · National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific: Cleared as filed at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
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Moving to Kaaawa: who provides what
Kaaawa is unincorporated, so Honolulu 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.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Kaaawa.
Kaaawa faces a very high natural-hazard risk, led by inland flooding
Kaaawa’s natural-hazard score from FEMA is 96 of 100, where Hawaii’s towns sit at 93 of 100 and U.S. towns at 44 of 100. Federal disaster aid has reached households in Kaaawa after 3 declared disasters, most recently in 2026. Of the losses FEMA expects here, 47% come from inland flooding and 41% from tsunamis.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The schools Kaaawa’s kids attend
Its one school is below. The Hawaii Department of Education school district runs its public schools. Enrollment at Kaaawa’s public school: 129 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kaaawa Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 129 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts
On CDC estimates, Kaaawa is healthier than four in five U.S. towns
Kaaawa: 19% of adults get no exercise outside work. CDC measures, 32 in all: Kaaawa beats Hawaii on 8 and trails on 5. In Kaaawa, 46% of adults sleep under 7 hours, and 9.5% smoke cigarettes. Only 6 of the 94 Hawaii towns we compare have a lower share of adults 18 to 64 who have no health insurance than Kaaawa.
| Kaaawa | Hawaii towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 19% | 16% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 46% | 45% | 36% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 9.5% | 12% | 14% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 32% | 33% |
| What stands out | Kaaawa | HI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 6.2% | 8.5% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 4.2% | 5.6% |
| More binge drinkers | 21% | 17.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Most of Kaaawa’s workers head elsewhere: there are 0.4 jobs for each of them
Half the trips to work are shorter than 23 miles. Jobs in Kaaawa grew by 27 from 2013 to 2023, reaching 52. Also worth knowing: the average commute for Kaaawa comes to 37 minutes. The top destinations are Urban Honolulu (18%), Wailuku (5%) and Kahaluu-Keauhou (4%).
| Kaaawa | Hawaii towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 37 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $132,000 | $100,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 11% | 9.7% | 9.6% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
In Kaaawa, 19.6% of the land is conserved
0.6 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. Parks and preserves in Kaaawa: one, of 16 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Ahupuaʻa ʻO Kahana State Park | 0.1 mi | 16 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The typical home in Kaaawa: about $1.05M
Kaaawa’s median rent stands at $2,043 a month. Typical home values rose 5.3% in the year to September 2026. Among households here, 69% own their home.
| Kaaawa | Hawaii towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,043 a month | $2,015 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 69% | 71% | 73% |
Typical home value
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
In Kaaawa, expect mild winters and pleasant summers
July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 66° and snow is almost unheard of.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Everything we know about Kaaawa
Colleges nearby
3 within 15 miles of the center of Kaaawa
About 3 of every 100 Kaaawa residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Hawaii.
100% of working residents leave Kaaawa for work
Where Kaaawa’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Questions about Kaaawa
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Kaaawa, HI expensive?
Yes. That is 9.9 years of the area's median household income ($106,195 across the Urban Honolulu, HI metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.