There are 2.2 jobs in Wailea for every working resident, and 5,445 people commute in
Working from home is the commute for 29% of workers, against 10% across Hawaii. 5,995 jobs are based in Wailea, and 2,698 of its residents work somewhere. Jobs and income earn Wailea C; getting around on foot earns it C−.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Wailea, in a few figures
Wailea’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Wailea is Urban Honolulu, 101 miles away as the crow flies. 19% of working residents (512) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Home offices are common in Wailea
29% of Wailea workers work from home, against 10% across Hawaii. Time on the road ↓
Wailea is where the jobs are
Wailea has 5,995 jobs, 2.2 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 9,600 people are in town, 52% more than the 6,400 who live here. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Wailea are quick
The average trip to work takes 18 minutes, against 26 across Hawaii. That’s about 61 hours a year less on the road than the typical Hawaii worker. Time on the road ↓
Nearly all the work in Wailea is services
91% of the jobs based here are in services, such as health care, schools and offices. Only 3% are in factories, building or farms. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, 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 Wailea’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Wailea is better than 33% of U.S. towns, #78 of 93 in Hawaii. Household income holds Wailea’s grade up ($90,000, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (6.0%, U.S. 5.2%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Wailea could be anywhere from C− to B+.
The distance from Wailea to work
About 40% 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 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
A commute of about 18 minutes in Wailea
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Wailea workers work from home, vs 10% across Hawaii. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,755 commuters (the 29% 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 daily flow of workers through Wailea
On a workday 2,148 residents head out to work and 550 work right here.
About 9,600 people are in Wailea on a workday afternoon, 52% more than live here.
2.2 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Wailea is a services town
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Wailea, 2013 → 2023: 5,655 → 5,995. 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 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Wailea’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The towns that send workers to Wailea
Where Wailea clocks in
11% of workers
9% 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 around Wailea: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Wailea is more walkable than 20% of U.S. towns, #85 of 93 in Hawaii. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 10.0% across Hawaii.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,473 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). 2.1% of Wailea households have no vehicle (Hawaii 8.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Wailea’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 3,396 U.S. towns of 4,400 to 8,600, Wailea comes 2,439th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Norwood NJ | 5,817 | $178K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 94 | Waikele HI | 7,528 | $121K | 3.7% | 1.3% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 158 | Heeia HI | 5,144 | $176K | 3.3% | 2.4% | 0% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 328 | East Kapolei HI | 7,551 | $119K | 5.3% | 2.5% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,437 | Fort Myers Shores FL | 5,946 | $73K | 15.7% | 5.9% | 3% | C |
| 2,438 | McCook NE | 7,157 | $57K | 17.3% | 1.4% | 58% | C |
| 2,439 | Wailea HI | 6,352 | $90K | 14.0% | 6.0% | 20% | C |
| 2,440 | Galliano LA | 5,906 | $50K | 18.3% | 1.0% | 19% | C |
| 2,441 | Pigeon Forge TN | 6,598 | $53K | 21.0% | 3.5% | 37% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 3,396 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Wailea, the top three, the last and three more from Hawaii.
Bordering towns draw 12% of Wailea’s workers
The biggest share goes to Kihei (11%).
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Wailea’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 2023, 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 Wailea: questions
What is the median household income in Wailea?
$90,000 (±$13,146) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $100,389 across Hawaii and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Wailea?
14.0%, against 10.0% across Hawaii and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Wailea?
18 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Hawaii and 26 nationally. 29% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Wailea work?
20% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Urban Honolulu (19%, 101 mi), Kihei (11%, 6 mi), Kahului (9%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Wailea walkable?
Wailea is more walkable than 20% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 6.1 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Wailea without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Wailea, from the people who make the trip.
More of Wailea
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, 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.