More historic than 17% of U.S. towns · #44 of 93 in Hawaii. What drives it
Most of Waialua was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1965. Below: 2 old photos and papers and maps from 1927 on.
Founding year: the first Waialua post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Waialua’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Waialua is more historic than 17% of U.S. towns, #44 of 93 in Hawaii. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Waialua’s overall grade.
Few Hawaii towns list much on the Register (a typical Hawaii town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Waialua’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (28% of Hawaii towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.4 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Waialua’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Many of the families in Waialua are there because of the agricultural industry, which began in the early 20th century. There was an increased demand for workers as the industry grew, resulting in workers being brought in from China, Portugal, Japan, Korea, Puerto Rico, Philippines, Spain, and other areas. Upon arriving in Hawaii, many of these workers were assigned to work in Waialua's sugarcane plantations. In the late 1980s and the 1990s, the sugar production decreased as increasing labor and production costs led producers to move overseas. Many of the families brought to Waialua during the sugar rush remained and many of their descendants still reside there.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
The Waialua post office opened in 1900, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Waialua rank for history?
Waialua is more historic than 17% of U.S. towns, #44 of 93 in Hawaii. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
How old are the homes in Waialua?
9% of Waialua’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.4 points), against a typical 1.7% for a Hawaii town; the median home was built in 1965.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From the Library of Congress (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
Date?
