Photo: Travis.Thurston · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Makakilo top those of 87% of U.S. towns
Below the poverty line: 9.2% of residents, next to 10.0% across Hawaii. The two grades for Makakilo are B+ for jobs and income and A− for walkability. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 3.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 16.6 in Urban Honolulu.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Makakilo at work: what stands out
Makakilo and Urban Honolulu trade workers both ways
Urban Honolulu is the top workplace for Makakilo residents (35%) and also where the most people who work in Makakilo come from (42% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Makakilo workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 33 minutes each way, against 26 across Hawaii. Over a year that’s about 253 hours of commuting, 54 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 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 500 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Inside Makakilo’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Makakilo is better than 74% of U.S. towns, #23 of 93 in Hawaii. Household income holds Makakilo’s grade up ($118,550, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (4.3%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Makakilo could be anywhere from B to A.
35% of working residents work in Urban Honolulu
Where Makakilo clocks in
5% of workers
4% 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.
Each way, about 33 minutes from Makakilo
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Makakilo workers work from home, vs 10% across Hawaii. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 9,012 commuters (the 11% 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.
In and out of Makakilo on a workday
On a workday 491 residents head out to work, 9 work right here, and 616 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.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.25 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
What work there is in Makakilo: 625 jobs
625 jobs are based in Makakilo.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Makakilo, 2013 → 2023: 544 → 625. 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 Makakilo’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Makakilo’s workers travel
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.
In Makakilo, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Makakilo is more walkable than 78% of U.S. towns, #45 of 93 in Hawaii.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 10,094 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 73% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 64% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 3.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 79% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 0.9% of Makakilo households have no vehicle (Hawaii 8.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Makakilo’s commuters take a bus or train.
721st of 1,705: where Makakilo ranks among U.S. towns of 15,000 to 28,000
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 88 | Ocean Pointe HI | 17,085 | $150K | 2.1% | 2.2% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 107 | Mililani Mauka HI | 21,278 | $139K | 3.3% | 2.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 243 | Ewa Gentry HI | 26,563 | $136K | 2.9% | 3.6% | <1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 719 | Hernando MS | 18,824 | $77K | 8.8% | 2.5% | 19% | B+ |
| 720 | Cliffside Park NJ | 26,539 | $93K | 10.8% | 4.4% | 5% | B+ |
| 721 | Makakilo HI | 20,735 | $119K | 9.2% | 4.3% | 2% | B+ |
| 722 | Onalaska WI | 20,297 | $86K | 6.0% | 3.4% | 18% | B+ |
| 723 | Ferndale MD | 17,529 | $95K | 8.2% | 5.1% | 3% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,705 | 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 Makakilo, the top three, the last and three more from Hawaii.
Makakilo and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Kapolei (5%).
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Makakilo’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 Makakilo: questions
What is the median household income in Makakilo?
$118,550 (±$8,215) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $100,389 across Hawaii and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Makakilo?
9.2%, against 10.0% across Hawaii and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Makakilo?
33 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Hawaii and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Makakilo work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Urban Honolulu (35%, 15 mi), Kapolei (5%, 2 mi), Waianae (4%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Makakilo walkable?
Makakilo is more walkable than 78% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 10.2 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Makakilo without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 64% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Makakilo, from the people who make the trip.
More of Makakilo
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.