KaanapaliHI
A town of 1,170, settled in 1902. A regional job hub with 5,684 jobs.
Is Kaanapali a good place to live?
The best of Kaanapali’s subject grades is an A− for incomes; the weakest is a D− for cost of living. Kaanapali’s median rent is $3,501 a month, against $2,015 a month in Hawaii’s towns and $1,185 a month across U.S. towns. Only 7 of Hawaii’s 125 towns score lower on cost of living. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 89% of U.S. communities, with tsunamis at the top. Kaanapali’s trail density is 4.4 miles per square mile, above both Hawaii’s towns (0.6) and U.S. towns (0.4). Kaanapali has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Kaanapali stand out
Where Kaanapali beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
1,170 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
How Kaanapali grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Hawaii), ordered by how far Kaanapali is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Kaanapali: who provides what
Kaanapali is unincorporated, so Maui 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 Kaanapali.
Kaanapali has 7.6 jobs for every working resident, and 5,485 people commute in
About one in 4 of Kaanapali’s working residents works in town. The average trip to work in Kaanapali is 18 minutes. The top destinations are Urban Honolulu (15%), Lahaina (11%) and Kapalua (6%).
| Kaanapali | Hawaii towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 27% | 3.7% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $129,000 | $100,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 4.5% | 9.7% | 9.6% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The median age in Kaanapali is higher than in the typical Hawaii or U.S. town
Kaanapali’s median age is 61.4 years. Only 3 of the 94 Hawaii towns we compare have a lower share of children under 18 than Kaanapali. 46% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Kaanapali.
| Kaanapali | Hawaii towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 61.4 years | 41.2 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 13% | 22% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 46% | 31% | 29% |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
46% women, 54% men
About 116 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±1.4 points). Across Hawaii, 49.8% of residents are women.
| Kaanapali | HI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 5.7% | 11.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 7.5% | 9.4% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 0.6% | 8.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 12.9% | 13.3% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 7% | 13.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 5.6% | 11.8% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 17.9% | 12.4% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 27.8% | 11.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 14.9% | 9% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.4% | 6.8% | 10.4% |
| High school | 18.4% | 26.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 18.7% | 19.6% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 13% | 10.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 25.8% | 22.8% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 19.8% | 13.3% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,200, single groups can be off by several points
Kaanapali faces a very high natural-hazard risk, led by tsunamis
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Kaanapali ranks healthier than 67% of the country’s towns
Kaanapali beats the Hawaii average on 6 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 9. 29% of Kaanapali adults feel lonely. Only 3 of the 94 Hawaii towns we compare have a lower share of adults who sleep under 7 hours than Kaanapali.
| Kaanapali | Hawaii towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 32% | 33% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 45% | 36% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 16% | 17% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 31% | 35% |
| What stands out | Kaanapali | HI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 8.5% | 10.9% |
| Fewer adults lacking emotional support | 23.7% | 30.1% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 12.3% | 6.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Mild winters and pleasant summers in Kaanapali
Kaanapali has warm winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 64° and snow is almost unheard of.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Kaanapali stands out in Hawaii and nationally: a larger share of its households own their home
Among 94 Hawaii towns, just 2 have a higher share of households owning their home than Kaanapali. The median sale price was $2,850,000 in May 2026.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Haleakala National Park and 9 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Kaanapali. Close and well known come first.
31 mi National ParkHaleakala National Park854K visitors a year
19 mi National Historical ParkKalaupapa National Historical Park15K visitors a year
15 mi Zoo & aquariumMaui Ocean Center
16 mi MuseumAlexander & Baldwin Sugar Museum4 mi MuseumLahaina Heritage Museum
13 mi GardenMaui Nui Botanical GardensPhoto credits
Haleakala National Park: Michael Oswald, Public domain · Kalaupapa National Historical Park: Jack Boucher, Public domain · Maui Ocean Center: Richard N Horne, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Alexander & Baldwin Sugar Museum: Joel Bradshaw, Public domain · Maui Nui Botanical Gardens: Forest and Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0 us
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Everything we know about Kaanapali
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Kaanapali
About 1 of every 100 Kaanapali residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Hawaii.
Kaanapali has grown 11% from 2010 to 2020
1,045 counted in 2010 and 1,161 in 2020.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts
About Kaanapali
Census-designated place in Hawaii, United States
Kāʻanapali (Hawaiian for 'Kāʻana cliff') is a planned resort community in Maui County, Hawaii, United States, on the island of Maui located in the Old Hawaii ahupuaa of Hanakaʻōʻō, as in the same name of Hanakaʻōʻō Canoe Beach at the southern end of Kāʻanapali Beach. The population was 1,161 at the 2020 census. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined Kāʻanapali as a census-designated place (CDP).
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 6.3 sq mi
- Elevation
- 0 ft
- Area code
- 808
Questions about Kaanapali
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Kaanapali, HI expensive?
Yes. The typical home is worth about $1,952,000, 134% above the Hawaii typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D−.