Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
7,901 people live in this town, settled in 1900.
Lihue’s best subject grades are an A for walkability and an A− for health and incomes; its weakest is a C− for cost of living. 33% of working residents work locally in Lihue, above both the Hawaii town median (3.6%) and the median of U.S. towns (8%). On hazard risk, just 4 of Hawaii’s 125 towns do better. 22% of the land in Lihue is conserved, against 12% in Hawaii’s towns and 4.3% across U.S. towns. Lihue has 7 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Menehune Fishpond and Grove Farm. Lihue 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).
Where Lihue beats most towns.
6,455 counted in 2010 and 8,004 in 2020.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Hawaii), ordered by how far Lihue is from typical.
Lihue 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).
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 5,694 in 2000, 8,004 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers and 3 maps from 1963 on.
7 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Lihue is unincorporated, so Kauai 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.
Ordered by what stands out in Lihue.
The average trip to work in Lihue is 17 minutes. About one worker in three stays in Lihue for work. Employers in Lihue added 831 jobs between 2013 and 2023, to 9,033. For residents here, the share who live below the poverty line is 6.3%.
| Lihue | Hawaii towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 17 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 6.3% | 9.7% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $93,000 | $100,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Two of the 3 schools are below, and why each made the list. The Hawaii Department of Education school district runs its public schools. The largest public high school is Kauai High School, with 1,016 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elsie H Wilcox Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 743 | B |
| Kauai High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,016 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts
Among adults in Lihue, 13% report frequent mental distress and 29% feel lonely. Of 32 CDC measures, Lihue beats the Hawaii average on 4 and trails it on 3. In Lihue, 15% of adults have been diagnosed with depression. Only 4 of the 93 Hawaii towns we compare have a lower share of adults who binge drink than Lihue.
| Lihue | Hawaii towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 17% | 23% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 16% | 17% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 32% | 33% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 19% | 16% |
| What stands out | Lihue | HI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 8.9% | 10.9% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 14.5% | 17.3% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 8% | 6.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Walkers can cover 11 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves. Lihue’s concentration of trails comes in at 1.4 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Isenberg Park | 0.1 mi | 9 |
| 2. Pua Loke Park | — | 1 |
| 3. Kalena Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Among residents in Lihue, 30% are 65 or older. A bachelor’s degree or higher: 41% of adults 25 and older, vs 36% across Hawaii. In Lihue, the age of the median resident is 42.3 years.
| Lihue | Hawaii towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 30% | 20% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 41% | 31% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 23% | 22% | 22% |
| Median age | 42.3 years | 41.2 years | 40.5 years |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.8 points. Across Hawaii, 49.8% of residents are women.
| Lihue | HI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 13.5% | 11.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.8% | 9.4% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 3.6% | 8.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 8.7% | 13.3% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 16.7% | 13.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 5.9% | 11.8% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11.8% | 12.4% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 16% | 11.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 14% | 9% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.8% | 6.8% | 10.4% |
| High school | 22.7% | 26.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 18.2% | 19.6% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 13.3% | 10.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 26.2% | 22.8% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 14.8% | 13.3% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
July afternoons reach 85°, January nights drop to 66° and snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected losses in Lihue break down as 81% from inland flooding and 12% from tsunamis. FEMA expects more storm and flood damage here than in two thirds of U.S. communities. Also worth knowing: the national flood insurance program has paid 11 claims locally since 1992.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
In the year to September 2026, typical home values climbed 3.3%. Lihue’s rent at the middle of the market stands at $1,956 a month. The share of households in Lihue who live in a home they own: 64%.
| Lihue | Hawaii towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,956 a month | $2,017 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 64% | 71% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Lihue. Close and well known come first.
23 mi State parkNā Pali Coast State Park
20 mi LandmarkRussian Fort Elizabeth
21 mi Canyon & gorgeWaimea Canyon State Park
23 mi BeachHanakapiai Beach
11 mi GardenAllerton Garden11 mi GardenNational Tropical Botanical GardenNā Pali Coast State Park: Jmblanco74, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Russian Fort Elizabeth: en:User:Mel29, Public domain · Waimea Canyon State Park: Aaronbernstein, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Hanakapiai Beach: Jeff Kubina, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Allerton Garden: Daderot., CC BY-SA 3.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Lihue
About 3 of every 100 Lihue residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Hawaii.
Where Lihue’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
7 places in Lihue on the National Register of Historic Places.
14 notable people were born in Lihue.
Census-designated place in Hawaii, United States
Līhuʻe (Hawaiian pronunciation: [liːˈhuʔe]), sometimes written as Lihue, is an unincorporated community, census-designated place (CDP) and the county seat of Kauaʻi County, Hawaii, United States. Līhuʻe is the second-largest town on the Hawaiian island of Kauaʻi, following Kapaʻa. As of the 2010 census, the CDP had a population of 6,455, up from 5,694 at the 2000 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Lihue.
Lihue, Hanamaulu and Puhi report no FBI crime data of their own. Lihue, Hanamaulu and Puhi aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Lihue with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Lihue 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).
Yes. That is 8.9 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−.
14 notable people were born here, including Bethany Hamilton and Glenn Medeiros.
