Photo: LittleT889 · CC BY-SA 4.0Household incomes in Waikapu are higher than in 89% of U.S. towns
Only 2% work in Waikapu; the top destination outside it is Wailuku (21%, 4 miles). Below the poverty line: 4.8% of residents (Hawaii 10.0%). Jobs and income earn Waikapu A; getting around on foot earns it D−.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Waikapu at work: what stands out
A lot of Waikapu works one town over
41% of working residents work in a town that borders Waikapu: Wailuku (21%) and Kahului (20%). Next door ↓
Waikapu is a place people come home to
There are 424 jobs based in Waikapu, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Waikapu has about 2,200 people in it, 39% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
A big share show a job far from home
31% 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.
The four measures behind Waikapu’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Waikapu is better than 86% of U.S. towns, #13 of 93 in Hawaii. Household income holds Waikapu’s grade up ($122,917, U.S. $80,734); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 44% of U.S. towns). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Waikapu could be anywhere from B+ to A.
Who commutes out of Waikapu, and who commutes in
On a workday 1,782 residents head out to work, 41 work right here, and 383 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,200 people are in Waikapu on a workday afternoon, 39% fewer than live here.
0.23 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.
How far Waikapu’s workers travel
About 31% 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.
The towns that employ Waikapu’s residents
Where Waikapu clocks in
20% 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.
Factories, building and farms: 33% of the jobs in Waikapu
424 jobs are based in Waikapu.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Waikapu, 2014 → 2024: 157 → 424. 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 Waikapu’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting to work from Waikapu takes about 22 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Waikapu workers work from home, vs 10% across Hawaii. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,627 commuters (the 6% 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.
Most of Waikapu commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Waikapu is more walkable than 5% of U.S. towns, #93 of 93 in Hawaii. Both inputs place Waikapu 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 1,737 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). 2.6% of Waikapu households have no vehicle (Hawaii 8.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Waikapu’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Waikapu is 545th of 4,355 U.S. towns of 2,500 to 4,800
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 543 | Moss Beach CA | 2,683 | $100K | 9.1% | 0.2% | 4% | A |
| 544 | West Bradenton FL | 3,991 | $116K | 10.2% | 0.3% | 3% | A |
| 545 | Waikapu HI | 3,591 | $123K | 4.8% | 1.8% | 2% | A |
| 546 | Kingston Springs TN | 2,758 | $103K | 5.6% | 3.0% | 3% | A |
| 547 | Star Prairie WI | 3,771 | $102K | 6.7% | 0.6% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,072 | Waimanalo Beach HI | 4,505 | $127K | 6.8% | 4.4% | 3% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,143 | Puhi HI | 4,362 | $137K | 8.5% | 2.8% | 6% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,196 | Whitmore Village HI | 4,105 | $105K | 11.2% | 2.9% | 2% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,355 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 19% | 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 Waikapu, the top three, the last and three more from Hawaii.
Next door is work for 41% of Waikapu
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Waikapu workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waikapu | – | A | D− | 22 min | $122,917 |
| Wailuku | 21% | A− | B+ | 19 min | $102,942 |
| Kahului | 20% | B+ | B+ | 23 min | $98,077 |
| Maalaea | under 2% | — | — | 36 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Maalaea: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Wailuku. Darker towns draw more of Waikapu’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 Waikapu: questions
What is the median household income in Waikapu?
$122,917 (±$18,608) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $100,389 across Hawaii and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Waikapu?
4.8%, against 10.0% across Hawaii and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Waikapu?
22 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Hawaii and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Waikapu work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Wailuku (21%, 4 mi), Kahului (20%, 4 mi), Urban Honolulu (19%, 91 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Waikapu walkable?
Waikapu is more walkable than 5% of U.S. towns (Walkability D−): an EPA walkability index of 4.5 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Waikapu without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Waikapu, from the people who make the trip.
More of Waikapu
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.