Old Sugar Mill of Koloa · National Register of Historic Places
Koloa’s story
126 years in pictures
The archive holds 3 maps from 1963 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
- 1900Koloa is settled
KoloaHI
2,907 people live in this town, settled in 1900.
2 bordering townsMap →
Photo: No machine-readable author provided. Caracas1830 assumed (based on copyright claims). · CC BY-SA 2.5
Population
2,907
Census survey, 2020–24
Typical home
$1.27M
+2.8% in a year
Household income
$78K
median
Median age
33.7
years
Jobs based here
468
A commuter town
Is Koloa a good place to live?
The best of Koloa’s subject grades is an A for health; the weakest is a D for hazard risk. Koloa’s January low is 66°F, where Hawaii’s towns sit at 64°F and U.S. towns at 22°F. Only 9 of Hawaii’s 125 towns score higher on health. Koloa has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Old Sugar Mill of Koloa and Sueoka Market. Koloa has no overall grade: it has no figures for safety and schools, and an overall grade needs at least three of the four big subjects (cost of living, safety, schools and health).
What makes Koloa stand out
Where Koloa beats most towns.
A commuter town
97% of working residents leave Koloa for work
Where Koloa’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
468jobs based in Koloa
3%of working residents work in town
8 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2023
How Koloa grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Hawaii), ordered by how far Koloa is from typical.
Koloa has no overall grade: it has no figures for safety and schools, and an overall grade needs at least three of the four big subjects (cost of living, safety, schools and health).
HealthWilcox Memorial Hospital 6.4 miles awayAOpen →Hazard riskInland flooding tops the listDOpen →Cost of livingGraded on home prices against local incomesCOpen →Jobs & income$78K median household incomeCOpen →WalkabilityEPA walkability 6.5 of 20; 7.7% of households have no car; 4.4% of workers walk, bike or ride transitBOpen →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
OutdoorsConserved land, trails and parksB−Open →History2 places on the National Register; 5 notable people born hereCOpen →
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Getting set up
Moving to Koloa: who provides what
Koloa is unincorporated, so Kauai County and regional agencies provide most services.
PowerKauai Island Utility Cooperative38.4¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterKalaheo-Koloa water systemNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet3 providers100% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & county servicesKauai CountyKauai County provides services here
Register to voteOnlineIn Hawaii you can register online up to and including Election Day, in person up to and including Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 10 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereKauai County ClerkKauai County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Jul 2021
ZIP code9675696756 100%Census 2020
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 Koloa.
HealthA
Residents of Koloa are healthier than nine in ten U.S. towns
In Koloa, 74% of adults had a checkup this year. The town does better than the Hawaii average on 6 of 32 CDC measures and worse on 2. 17% of adults locally have been diagnosed with depression; 42% sleep under 7 hours.
91%healthier than U.S. townsAHealth Grade
| Koloa | Hawaii towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 27% | 35% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 17% | 23% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 45% | 36% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 32% | 33% |
32 measures vs. Hawaii
6 better24 too close to call2 worse
| What stands out | Koloa | HI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who get no exercise | 18.6% | 23% |
| Fewer adults with diabetes | 10.1% | 12.4% |
| Fewer women getting mammograms | 72.1% | 78.3% |
Wilcox Memorial Hospital
6.4 mi away · emergency room
3 of 3
care shortages: primary care, dental, mental health
93rd
percentile among HI towns
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Schools
The schools Koloa’s kids attend
Its one school is below. The Hawaii Department of Education school district runs its public schools. Also worth knowing: 355 students attend Koloa’s public school.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Koloa Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 355 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts
HousingCost of living grade C
Homes in Koloa are worth about $1.27M, by Zillow’s estimate
Typical home values rose 2.8% in the year to September 2026. For households in Koloa, the share who own their home is 47%. The town’s rent at the middle of the market comes in at $1,654 a month.
$1.27MZillow home value
| Koloa | Hawaii towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 47% | 71% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,654 a month | $2,017 a month | $1,185 a month |
Typical home value
Koloa$1.27M
Hawaii$833K
+2.8%
value change, 1 year
0
homes sold in September
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Work & commuteJobs & income grade C
Most of Koloa’s workers head elsewhere: there are 0.4 jobs for each of them
Half the trips to work are shorter than 8 miles. Between 2013 and 2023, jobs in Koloa rose by 130, to 468. Most people who work leave Koloa to do it: just 3% work in town. Its mean commuting time is 21 minutes.
3%work in town
| Koloa | Hawaii towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 6.1% | 8.2% | 11% |
| Median household income | $78,000 | $100,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 7.1% | 9.7% | 9.6% |
Where working residents work
In Koloa3%
Poipu22%
Urban Honolulu18%
Lihue15%
Puhi3%
8 mi
median commute distance
468
jobs based in Koloa
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
B
Walkability grade: more walkable than 62% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade D
Koloa has a high natural-hazard risk, chiefly from inland flooding
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 78% of U.S. communities. Of the losses FEMA expects in Koloa, 92% come from inland flooding. Federal disaster aid has reached households in Koloa after 2 declared disasters, most recently in 2018.
78risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland flooding
2
federal disasters paid out here
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Climate
Expect mild winters and pleasant summers in Koloa
July afternoons reach 85°, January nights drop to 66° and snow is almost unheard of.
85°summer high
Typical low → high °F
Winter67–79°
Spring69–80°
Summer74–84°
Fall73–83°
85°
typical summer high
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Nearby attractions
All 11 attractions →Russian Fort Elizabeth and 10 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Koloa. Close and well known come first.
13 mi LandmarkRussian Fort Elizabeth
23 mi State parkNā Pali Coast State Park
17 mi Canyon & gorgeWaimea Canyon State Park
2 mi GardenAllerton Garden
23 mi BeachHanakapiai Beach3 mi GardenNational Tropical Botanical GardenSources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · photos via Wikimedia Commons
Photo credits
Russian Fort Elizabeth: en:User:Mel29, Public domain · Nā Pali Coast State Park: Jmblanco74, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Waimea Canyon State Park: Aaronbernstein, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Allerton Garden: Daderot., CC BY-SA 3.0 · Hanakapiai Beach: Jeff Kubina, CC BY-SA 2.0
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Koloa
17pages on Koloa
The big questions
Out and about
The story
After high school
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Koloa
About 1 of every 100 Koloa residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Hawaii.
Famous people from Koloa
5 notable people were born in Koloa.
About Koloa
Census-designated place in Hawaii, United States
Kōloa is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Kauaʻi County, Hawaiʻi, United States. The population was 2,231 at the 2020 census, up from 1,942 at the 2000 census. The first successful sugarcane plantation in the Hawaiian Islands was started here in 1835. It became a part of Grove Farm in 1948. Kōloa means "a long cane with a crook." The "native duck" is the correct translation for the similar-looking koloa (without the macron). According to one account, the district of Kōloa was named for a steep rock called Pali-o-kō-loa which was found in Waikomo Stream.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 1.3 sq mi
- Elevation
- 213 ft
- ZIP code
- 96756
- Area code
- 808
Koloa’s neighbors
2 towns share a border with Koloa.
PoipuOmaoKoloa
How the neighbors grade
Poipu and Omao have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Koloa, Poipu and Omao report no FBI crime data of their own. Koloa isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Koloa with a neighbor →
Questions about Koloa
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Koloa, HI a good place to live?
Koloa has no overall grade: it has no figures for safety and schools, and an overall grade needs at least three of the four big subjects (cost of living, safety, schools and health).
Is Koloa, HI expensive?
That is 13.1 years of the area's median household income ($97,668 across the Kapaa, HI area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
What is Koloa, HI known for?
5 notable people were born here, including Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole and William Owen Smith.