Photo: Hotboxers · CC BY-SA 3.0Wailua has higher unemployment (10.4%) than 95% of U.S. towns
Only 7% stay in Wailua for work; outside it, Lihue is the main destination (24%, 6 miles). Jobs and income earn Wailua C−; getting around on foot earns it C+. Working residents average 23 minutes each way, next to 26 for Hawaii and 26 for the U.S.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Wailua, in a few figures
Wailua’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Wailua is better than 16% of U.S. towns, #87 of 93 in Hawaii. Household income holds Wailua’s grade up ($69,167, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Wailua could be anywhere from D to B−.
Near or far: the trip to work from Wailua
About 42% 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.
Who leaves Wailua for work, and who comes in
On a workday 1,292 residents head out to work, 102 work right here, and 974 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,400 people are in Wailua on a workday afternoon, 12% fewer than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.77 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
The towns that employ Wailua’s residents
Where Wailua clocks in
24% of workers
6% 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.
In Wailua, services account for most jobs
1,076 jobs are based in Wailua.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Wailua, 2013 → 2023: 1,134 → 1,076. 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 Wailua’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 23 minutes each way for Wailua’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Wailua workers work from home, vs 10% across Hawaii. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,170 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.
Few in Wailua walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Wailua is more walkable than 37% of U.S. towns, #73 of 93 in Hawaii. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 2.5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 10.0% across Hawaii, on an EPA index of 5.5.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,278 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). 2.3% of Wailua households have no vehicle (Hawaii 8.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Wailua’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Wailua is 3,898th among 4,797 U.S. towns of 1,900 to 3,600
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 69 | Maunawili HI | 2,024 | $177K | 1.6% | 1.6% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 423 | Wheeler AFB HI | 2,097 | $92K | 1.3% | 4.9% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 486 | Waikapu HI | 3,591 | $123K | 4.8% | 1.8% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,896 | Indian Creek Township IL | 2,055 | $59K | 10.4% | 6.8% | 11% | C− |
| 3,897 | Richmondville NY | 2,460 | $51K | 12.2% | 4.9% | 5% | C− |
| 3,898 | Wailua HI | 2,697 | $69K | 12.8% | 10.4% | 7% | C− |
| 3,899 | Sandusky MI | 2,664 | $57K | 16.1% | 5.0% | 33% | C− |
| 3,900 | St. Charles MI | 1,941 | $50K | 15.3% | 5.7% | 9% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,797 | Cibecue AZ | 2,228 | $26K | 57.2% | 13.3% | 12% | 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 Wailua, the top three, the last and three more from Hawaii.
The towns around Wailua
The biggest share goes to Kapaa (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Wailua workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wailua | – | C− | C+ | 23 min | $69,167 |
| Wailua Homesteads | 2% | B− | C | 23 min | $89,717 |
| Kapaa | 6% | B | C | 27 min | $89,477 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Wailua’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 Wailua: questions
What is the median household income in Wailua?
$69,167 (±$15,885) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $100,389 across Hawaii and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Wailua?
12.8%, against 10.0% across Hawaii and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Wailua?
23 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Hawaii and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Wailua work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Lihue (24%, 6 mi), Urban Honolulu (22%, 108 mi), Kapaa (6%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Wailua walkable?
Wailua is more walkable than 37% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 5.5 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Wailua without a car?
1% 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 Wailua, from the people who make the trip.
More of Wailua
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.