Bond District · Photo: Howard Olsen · CC BY-SA 3.0Households in Kapaau have higher incomes than those in 61% of U.S. towns
Jobs and income earn Kapaau C+; getting around on foot earns it C−. 8.7% of residents live below the poverty line; Hawaii has 10.0%. Only 6% work in Kapaau; the top destination outside it is Urban Honolulu (22%, 152 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Kapaau: the figures worth knowing
Kapaau’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Kapaau is Urban Honolulu, 152 miles away as the crow flies. 22% of working residents (64) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
A big share show a job far from home
57% 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 ↓
Kapaau workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 31 minutes each way, against 26 across Hawaii. Over a year that’s about 238 hours of commuting, 38 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 288 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Jobs & income in Kapaau: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Kapaau is better than 43% of U.S. towns. Unemployment holds Kapaau’s grade up (3.5%, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car pulls it down (near the bottom 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, Kapaau could be anywhere from D to A−.
Miles to work from Kapaau
About 57% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Commuting from Kapaau: about 31 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Kapaau workers work from home, vs 10% across Hawaii. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 939 commuters (the 3% 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.
Who commutes out of Kapaau, and who commutes in
On a workday 272 residents head out to work, 16 work right here, and 191 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
0.72 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
Commuting out of Kapaau: the destinations
Where Kapaau clocks in
Lines 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.
Inside Kapaau’s 207 jobs
207 jobs are based in Kapaau.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Kapaau, 2014 → 2024: 177 → 207. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Kapaau’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In Kapaau, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Kapaau is more walkable than 20% of U.S. towns.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 973 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). 0.0% of Kapaau households have no vehicle (Hawaii 8.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Kapaau’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 5,102 U.S. towns of 1,600 to 3,000, Kapaau comes 2,581st on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 63 | Maunawili HI | 2,024 | $177K | 1.6% | 1.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 397 | Wheeler AFB HI | 2,097 | $92K | 1.3% | 4.9% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 413 | Ko Olina HI | 1,670 | $133K | 6.8% | 0.8% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,579 | Green Township OH | 2,522 | $71K | 8.4% | 3.9% | 2% | C+ |
| 2,580 | West Wheatfield Township PA | 2,115 | $73K | 8.9% | 6.2% | 3% | C+ |
| 2,581 | Kapaau HI | 2,224 | $84K | 8.7% | 3.5% | 6% | C+ |
| 2,582 | Wakarusa IN | 2,005 | $74K | 8.5% | 10.1% | 14% | C+ |
| 2,583 | Cresson Township PA | 2,809 | $62K | 14.9% | 2.8% | 6% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5,102 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 61% | 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 Kapaau, the top three, the last and three more from Hawaii.
How Kapaau compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Hawi (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Kapaau’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 2024, 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 Kapaau: questions
What is the median household income in Kapaau?
$83,750 (±$29,850) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $100,389 across Hawaii and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Kapaau?
8.7%, against 10.0% across Hawaii and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Kapaau?
31 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Hawaii and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Kapaau work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Urban Honolulu (22%, 152 mi), Hilo (9%, 60 mi), Waikoloa Beach Resort (9%, 22 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Kapaau walkable?
Kapaau is more walkable than 20% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 6.2 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Kapaau without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Kapaau, from the people who make the trip.
More of Kapaau
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.