Photo: 293.xx.xxx.xx · CC BY-SA 3.0More people are out of work in Pukalani (9.7%) than in 94% of U.S. towns
About one in ten work in Pukalani itself; outside it, Urban Honolulu draws the most (19%, 103 miles). Pukalani grades C+ for jobs and income and B for walkability. Household incomes here are higher than in 79% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Pukalani: the gist
Pukalani’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Pukalani is Urban Honolulu, 103 miles away as the crow flies. 19% of working residents (733) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Pukalani has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Pukalani went from 1,062 in 2014 to 1,908 in 2024, +80%. The jobs ↓
A big share show a job far from home
30% 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 ↓
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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
The four measures behind Pukalani’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Pukalani is better than 36% of U.S. towns, #71 of 93 in Hawaii. Household income holds Pukalani’s grade up ($102,976, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Pukalani could be anywhere from C to B.
Where in the region Pukalani works
About 30% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
What work there is in Pukalani: 1,908 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Pukalani, 2014 → 2024: 1,062 → 1,908. 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 Pukalani’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily commute in and out of Pukalani
On a workday 3,563 residents head out to work, 358 work right here, and 1,550 people come in from elsewhere.
About 6,700 people are in Pukalani on a workday afternoon, 23% fewer than live here.
0.49 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.
The towns that employ Pukalani’s residents
Where Pukalani clocks in
18% 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.
Getting to work from Pukalani takes about 30 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Pukalani workers work from home, vs 10% across Hawaii. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,550 commuters (the 8% 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.
The commute in Pukalani is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Pukalani is more walkable than 60% of U.S. towns, #60 of 93 in Hawaii. Both inputs place Pukalani 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 3,842 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). 5.5% of Pukalani households have no vehicle (Hawaii 8.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Pukalani’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Pukalani is 2,068th among 2,893 U.S. towns of 6,100 to 11,700
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 3 | Pimmit Hills VA | 6,589 | $173K | 1.6% | 1.3% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 90 | Waikele HI | 7,528 | $121K | 3.7% | 1.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 329 | East Kapolei HI | 7,551 | $119K | 5.3% | 2.5% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 416 | Aiea HI | 9,087 | $140K | 5.3% | 3.8% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,066 | Wapakoneta OH | 9,711 | $66K | 11.8% | 5.3% | 21% | C+ |
| 2,067 | Richfield UT | 8,478 | $75K | 12.5% | 3.7% | 39% | C+ |
| 2,068 | Pukalani HI | 8,679 | $103K | 10.6% | 9.7% | 9% | C+ |
| 2,069 | Madison Heights VA | 10,266 | $60K | 10.5% | 5.2% | 7% | C+ |
| 2,070 | Bedford Heights OH | 10,691 | $50K | 12.7% | 6.5% | 5% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,893 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 6% | 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 Pukalani, the top three, the last and three more from Hawaii.
Around Pukalani: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to Makawao (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Pukalani workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pukalani | – | C+ | B | 30 min | $102,976 |
| Kula | 2% | B− | B | 30 min | $100,433 |
| Haliimaile | under 2% | B− | C | 25 min | $88,259 |
| Makawao | 3% | B | B | 28 min | $96,444 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Pukalani’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 Pukalani: questions
What is the median household income in Pukalani?
$102,976 (±$8,767) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $100,389 across Hawaii and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Pukalani?
10.6%, against 10.0% across Hawaii and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Pukalani?
30 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Hawaii and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Pukalani work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Urban Honolulu (19%, 103 mi), Kahului (18%, 8 mi), Wailuku (15%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Pukalani walkable?
Pukalani is more walkable than 60% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.2 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Pukalani without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Pukalani, from the people who make the trip.
More of Pukalani
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.