Photo: Travis.Thurston · CC BY-SA 3.0Most of Kapaa commutes out: there are 0.3 jobs for every working resident
1,873 jobs are based in Kapaa for 6,617 working residents. Jobs and income earn Kapaa B; getting around on foot earns it C. About one in ten work in Kapaa itself; outside it, Urban Honolulu draws the most (21%, 110 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Kapaa apart
Kapaa’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Kapaa is Urban Honolulu, 110 miles away as the crow flies. 21% of working residents (1,359) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Kapaa has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Kapaa went from 1,173 in 2013 to 1,873 in 2023, +60%. The jobs ↓
A big share show a job far from home
40% 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 ↓
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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Kapaa
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Kapaa is better than 59% of U.S. towns, #40 of 93 in Hawaii. Unemployment holds Kapaa’s grade up (2.3%, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 11% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Kapaa could be anywhere from C+ to A−.
Short hops and long hauls from Kapaa
About 40% 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 Kapaa’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Kapaa, 2013 → 2023: 1,173 → 1,873. 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 Kapaa’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How a workday changes Kapaa
On a workday 5,912 residents head out to work, 705 work right here, and 1,168 people come in from elsewhere.
About 6,400 people are in Kapaa on a workday afternoon, 43% fewer than live here.
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 Kapaa’s residents
Where Kapaa clocks in
19% of workers
5% of workersLines 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.
About 27 minutes to work from Kapaa
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Kapaa workers work from home, vs 10% across Hawaii. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 5,421 commuters (the 6% 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.
Kapaa is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Kapaa is more walkable than 34% of U.S. towns, #76 of 93 in Hawaii. Both inputs place Kapaa 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 5,744 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). 4.6% of Kapaa households have no vehicle (Hawaii 8.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Kapaa’s commuters take a bus or train.
Kapaa places 1,304th of 2,507 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 8,000 to 15,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 390 | Aiea HI | 9,087 | $140K | 5.3% | 3.8% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 407 | Waipio HI | 10,870 | $110K | 5.7% | 2.9% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 427 | Ahuimanu HI | 8,452 | $135K | 6.4% | 2.6% | 0% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,302 | Washington Township IN | 8,854 | $61K | 7.1% | 2.8% | 24% | B |
| 1,303 | Southchase FL | 13,981 | $92K | 11.9% | 6.1% | 2% | B |
| 1,304 | Kapaa HI | 11,094 | $89K | 7.5% | 2.3% | 11% | B |
| 1,305 | Plano IL | 12,677 | $86K | 10.2% | 4.8% | 7% | B |
| 1,306 | Ayer MA | 9,267 | $102K | 10.7% | 7.0% | 10% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 2,507 | Roma TX | 11,543 | $25K | 37.1% | 12.4% | 22% | 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 Kapaa, the top three, the last and three more from Hawaii.
How Kapaa compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Wailua (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Kapaa workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kapaa | – | B | C | 27 min | $89,477 |
| Wailua Homesteads | 2% | B− | C | 23 min | $89,717 |
| Wailua | 5% | C− | C+ | 23 min | $69,167 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Kapaa’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 Kapaa: questions
What is the median household income in Kapaa?
$89,477 (±$13,477) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $100,389 across Hawaii and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Kapaa?
7.5%, against 10.0% across Hawaii and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Kapaa?
27 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Hawaii and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Kapaa work?
11% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Urban Honolulu (21%, 110 mi), Lihue (19%, 8 mi), Wailua (5%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Kapaa walkable?
Kapaa is more walkable than 34% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 6.1 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Kapaa without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Kapaa, from the people who make the trip.
More of Kapaa
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.