Photo: InSapphoWeTrust from Los Angeles, California, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0Unemployment in Waianae (8.8%) is higher than in 91% of U.S. towns
Only 7% stay in Waianae for work; outside it, Urban Honolulu is the main destination (47%, 23 miles). For jobs and income Waianae is better than 21% of U.S. towns (C−); for walkability it is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns (A+). Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 9.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 16.6 in Urban Honolulu.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Waianae and work: the main findings
Waianae workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 42 minutes each way, against 26 across Hawaii. Over a year that’s about 322 hours of commuting, 123 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Nearly half of Waianae works in Urban Honolulu
2,398 working residents, 47%, have their main job in Urban Honolulu, 23 miles away. That’s 7 times as many as work in Waianae itself. The commute map ↓
Few Waianae workers work from home
Only 4% of workers work from home, against 10% across Hawaii. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
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.
Why Waianae gets the Jobs & income grade it does
Household income holds Waianae’s grade up ($81,733, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Waianae could be anywhere from D to C+.
The daily trip from Waianae: about 42 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 13.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Waianae workers work from home, vs 10% across Hawaii. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 5,029 commuters (the 4% 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 towns that employ Waianae’s residents
Where Waianae clocks in
5% 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.
The daily commute in and out of Waianae
On a workday 4,752 residents head out to work, 375 work right here, and 1,316 people come in from elsewhere.
About 9,500 people are in Waianae on a workday afternoon, 27% fewer than live here.
0.33 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.
What work there is in Waianae: 1,691 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Waianae, 2014 → 2024: 1,562 → 1,691. 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 Waianae’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Waianae’s workers travel
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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Waianae
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 5,252 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 89% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 57% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 9.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 92% 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). 15.0% of Waianae households have no vehicle (Hawaii 8.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 11% of Waianae’s commuters take a bus or train.
Waianae is 2,033rd of 2,354 U.S. towns of 9,000 to 17,000 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 |
| … | |||||||
| 2,031 | Grand Rapids MN | 11,181 | $61K | 15.5% | 5.3% | 51% | C− |
| 2,032 | Jamestown ND | 15,688 | $57K | 14.7% | 4.9% | 57% | C− |
| 2,033 | Waianae HI | 12,918 | $82K | 16.2% | 8.8% | 7% | C− |
| 2,034 | Berea SC | 16,862 | $50K | 22.9% | 6.7% | 2% | C− |
| 2,035 | Woodfield SC | 9,465 | $46K | 19.8% | 8.0% | 5% | 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 Waianae, the top three, the last and three more from Hawaii.
Next door to Waianae
The biggest share goes to Makaha (1%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Waianae workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waianae | – | C− | A+ | 42 min | $81,733 |
| Makaha | 1% | D | A | 47 min | $64,970 |
| Makaha Valley | under 2% | — | — | 48 min | — |
| Maili | under 2% | C+ | A | 43 min | $111,542 |
Same-state neighbors only. Makaha Valley: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Waianae’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 Waianae: questions
What is the median household income in Waianae?
$81,733 (±$7,724) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $100,389 across Hawaii and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Waianae?
16.2%, against 10.0% across Hawaii and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Waianae?
42 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Hawaii and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Waianae work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Urban Honolulu (47%, 23 mi), Kapolei (5%, 11 mi), Ko Olina (3%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Waianae walkable?
Waianae is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 11.9 out of 20, and 15% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Waianae without a car?
11% of commuters take transit and 15% of households have no car. 57% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Waianae, from the people who make the trip.
More of Waianae
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.