Photo: Michael Oswald · Public domainMost of Kihei commutes out: there are 0.5 jobs for every working resident
There are 6,179 jobs in Kihei, and 13,258 of its residents work somewhere. Jobs and income earn Kihei B−; getting around on foot earns it B+. About one in seven stay in Kihei for work; outside it, Urban Honolulu is the main destination (19%, 99 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Kihei
Kihei’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Kihei is Urban Honolulu, 99 miles away as the crow flies. 19% of working residents (2,465) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
A big share show a job far from home
38% 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 ↓
Kihei empties out on a workday
About 14,000 people are in Kihei on a workday afternoon, 33% fewer than the 22,000 who live here: 11,000 head out to work and 4,100 come in. Day and night ↓
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.
What’s behind Kihei’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Kihei is better than 46% of U.S. towns, #58 of 93 in Hawaii. Household income holds Kihei’s grade up ($87,772, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (6.2%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Kihei could be anywhere from C to B+.
Where in the region Kihei works
About 38% 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.
How a workday changes Kihei
On a workday 11,166 residents head out to work, 2,092 work right here, and 4,087 people come in from elsewhere.
About 14,000 people are in Kihei on a workday afternoon, 33% 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 Kihei’s residents
Where Kihei clocks in
11% 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.
The kinds of work in Kihei
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Kihei, 2013 → 2023: 4,818 → 6,179. 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 Kihei’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from Kihei: about 22 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Kihei workers work from home, vs 10% across Hawaii. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 9,754 commuters (the 14% 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.
Getting around Kihei: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Kihei is more walkable than 73% of U.S. towns, #46 of 93 in Hawaii. Both inputs place Kihei 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 11,280 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). 4.9% of Kihei households have no vehicle (Hawaii 8.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Kihei’s commuters take a bus or train.
Kihei places 1,234th of 1,787 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 15,000 to 29,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Wolf Trap VA | 15,858 | $250K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 90 | Ocean Pointe HI | 17,085 | $150K | 2.1% | 2.2% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 110 | Mililani Mauka HI | 21,278 | $139K | 3.3% | 2.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 253 | Ewa Gentry HI | 26,563 | $136K | 2.9% | 3.6% | <1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,232 | Marshfield WI | 18,980 | $58K | 11.6% | 2.8% | 51% | B− |
| 1,233 | Addison Township IN | 22,506 | $58K | 20.1% | 2.5% | 30% | B− |
| 1,234 | Kihei HI | 21,567 | $88K | 7.4% | 6.2% | 16% | B− |
| 1,235 | Four Corners OR | 16,275 | $70K | 13.9% | 4.7% | 2% | B− |
| 1,236 | Dayton NV | 15,781 | $103K | 5.2% | 6.8% | 11% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,787 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Kihei, the top three, the last and three more from Hawaii.
Next door is work for 13% of Kihei
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
The biggest share goes to Wailea. Darker towns draw more of Kihei’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 Kihei: questions
What is the median household income in Kihei?
$87,772 (±$5,322) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $100,389 across Hawaii and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Kihei?
7.4%, against 10.0% across Hawaii and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Kihei?
22 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Hawaii and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Kihei work?
16% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Urban Honolulu (19%, 99 mi), Wailea (13%, 6 mi), Kahului (11%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Kihei walkable?
Kihei is more walkable than 73% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.2 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Kihei 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 Kihei, from the people who make the trip.
More of Kihei
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.