Wakamiya Inari Shrine · Photo: Joel Bradshaw · Public domainWaipahu has 8.6 jobs for every working resident: 7,802 people commute in to work
Jobs & income B+: better than 70% of U.S. towns on income, poverty, unemployment and job access · #31 of 93 in Hawaii.
Walkability A+: more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns · #3 of 93 in Hawaii.
Household incomes here are higher than in 80% of U.S. towns. Working residents average 33 minutes each way (Hawaii 26, U.S. 26). Only 3% work in Waipahu; the top destination outside it is Urban Honolulu (41%, 11 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work and commuting in Waipahu, in brief
Waipahu has far more jobs than workers
Waipahu has 7,833 jobs, 8.6 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Waipahu and Urban Honolulu trade workers both ways
Urban Honolulu is the top workplace for Waipahu residents (41%) and also where the most people who work in Waipahu come from (45% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Waipahu workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 33 minutes each way, against 26 across Hawaii. Over a year that’s about 253 hours of commuting, 54 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
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; with 916 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
What’s behind Waipahu’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Waipahu is better than 70% of U.S. towns, #31 of 93 in Hawaii. Job access by car holds Waipahu’s grade up (ahead of 83% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (12.0%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Waipahu could be anywhere from B to A−.
Waipahu fills up on a workday
On a workday 885 residents head out to work, 31 work right here, and 7,802 people come in from elsewhere.
About 47,000 people are in Waipahu on a workday afternoon, 17% more than live here.
8.6 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.
Where Waipahu’s workers come from
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Waipahu clocks in
4% of workers
4% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
About 33 minutes each way, longer than most of Hawaii
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Waipahu workers work from home, vs 10% across Hawaii. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 18,525 commuters (the 5% who work from home are left out). Across Hawaii: 72% drive alone, 4% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
What the 7,833 jobs in Waipahu are
7,833 jobs are based in Waipahu. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Waipahu’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Waipahu, 2013 → 2023: 6,827 → 7,833. 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.
Half of Waipahu commutes less than 11 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Waipahu is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Waipahu is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns, #3 of 93 in Hawaii. Both inputs place Waipahu 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 19,514 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 78% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 15.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 97% 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). 14.3% of Waipahu households have no vehicle (Hawaii 8.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 15% of Waipahu’s commuters take a bus or train.
Waipahu is 530th of 1,101 U.S. towns of 28,000 to 55,000 on jobs and income
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Waipahu, the top three, the last and three more from Hawaii.
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 156 | Pearl City HI | 44,547 | $118K | 5.8% | 2.8% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 216 | Kailua HI | 39,640 | $149K | 4.0% | 3.8% | 13% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 286 | East Honolulu HI | 51,360 | $160K | 5.3% | 4.5% | 6% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 528 | Union Township OH | 51,713 | $80K | 9.0% | 3.2% | 10% | B+ |
| 529 | Westfield MA | 40,546 | $88K | 10.7% | 3.0% | 23% | B+ |
| 530 | Waipahu HI | 40,482 | $104K | 12.0% | 4.1% | 3% | B+ |
| 531 | Prattville AL | 40,582 | $81K | 10.7% | 1.8% | 19% | B+ |
| 532 | Sun City Center FL | 33,548 | $74K | 8.3% | 2.2% | 4% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,101 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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.
Waipahu and the towns next door
Darker towns draw more of Waipahu’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Waipahu workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waipahu | – | B+ | A+ | 33 min | $103,895 |
| West Loch Estate | under 2% | A− | A− | 32 min | $122,422 |
| Waikele | under 2% | A+ | A | 26 min | $120,525 |
| Royal Kunia | under 2% | A− | A | 31 min | $135,361 |
| East Kapolei | under 2% | A | B | 33 min | $118,904 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
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 Waipahu: questions
What is the median household income in Waipahu?
$103,895 (±$9,364) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $100,389 across Hawaii and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Waipahu?
12.0%, against 10.0% across Hawaii and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Waipahu?
33 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Hawaii and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Waipahu work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Urban Honolulu (41%, 11 mi), Pearl City (4%, 4 mi), Kapolei (4%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Waipahu walkable?
Waipahu is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 13.7 out of 20, and 18% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Waipahu without a car?
15% of commuters take transit and 14% of households have no car. 78% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Waipahu, from the people who make the trip.
More of Waipahu
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.