Photo: Farragutful · CC BY-SA 4.0Unemployment in Nanakuli (11.2%) is higher than in 96% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income Nanakuli is better than 27% of U.S. towns (C); for walkability it is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns (A). Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 6.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 16.6 in Urban Honolulu. Only 2% work in Nanakuli; the top destination outside it is Urban Honolulu (47%, 21 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The short version on getting to work from Nanakuli
Nearly half of Nanakuli works in Urban Honolulu
2,266 working residents, 47%, have their main job in Urban Honolulu, 21 miles away. That’s 24 times as many as work in Nanakuli itself. The commute map ↓
Nanakuli is a place people come home to
There are 478 jobs based in Nanakuli, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Nanakuli has about 8,000 people in it, 35% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Nanakuli workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 35 minutes each way, against 26 across Hawaii. Over a year that’s about 268 hours of commuting, 69 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Nanakuli than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Nanakuli fell from 644 in 2014 to 478 in 2024, −26%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
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.
Where Nanakuli’s Jobs & income grade comes from
Household income holds Nanakuli’s grade up ($86,597, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Nanakuli could be anywhere from C− to C+.
The towns that employ Nanakuli’s residents
Where Nanakuli clocks in
6% 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.
Who commutes out of Nanakuli, and who commutes in
On a workday 4,788 residents head out to work, 78 work right here, and 400 people come in from elsewhere.
About 8,000 people are in Nanakuli on a workday afternoon, 35% fewer than live here.
0.10 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 from Nanakuli: about 35 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Nanakuli workers work from home, vs 10% across Hawaii. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,138 commuters (the 7% 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.
What the 478 jobs in Nanakuli are
478 jobs are based in Nanakuli.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Nanakuli, 2014 → 2024: 644 → 478. 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 Nanakuli’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Nanakuli goes to work
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.
Nanakuli is easy on foot, hard by bus
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 4,430 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 79% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 53% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 6.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 89% 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). 10.2% of Nanakuli households have no vehicle (Hawaii 8.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Nanakuli’s commuters take a bus or train.
Nanakuli next to U.S. towns of 9,000 to 17,000: 1,907th of 2,354 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 373 | Aiea HI | 9,087 | $140K | 5.3% | 3.8% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 389 | Waipio HI | 10,870 | $110K | 5.7% | 2.9% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 533 | Halawa HI | 14,385 | $110K | 9.3% | 2.6% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,905 | Garden Acres CA | 10,667 | $66K | 18.9% | 10.3% | 3% | C |
| 1,906 | Spencer IA | 11,218 | $60K | 14.0% | 4.5% | 52% | C |
| 1,907 | Nanakuli HI | 12,383 | $87K | 18.2% | 11.2% | 2% | C |
| 1,908 | Livingston CA | 14,690 | $74K | 17.1% | 11.6% | 17% | C |
| 1,909 | Arkansas City KS | 11,800 | $50K | 17.2% | 2.8% | 32% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 2,354 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 28% | 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 Nanakuli, the top three, the last and three more from Hawaii.
Around Nanakuli: the bordering towns
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Nanakuli’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 Nanakuli: questions
What is the median household income in Nanakuli?
$86,597 (±$8,739) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $100,389 across Hawaii and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Nanakuli?
18.2%, against 10.0% across Hawaii and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Nanakuli?
35 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Hawaii and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Nanakuli work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Urban Honolulu (47%, 21 mi), Kapolei (6%, 8 mi), Ko Olina (3%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Nanakuli walkable?
Nanakuli is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 9.6 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Nanakuli without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. 53% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Nanakuli, from the people who make the trip.
More of Nanakuli
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.