Best Places96725, HI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 96725, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
96725 ranks 16,113th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on clean air by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 96725
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
96725's strengths and weaknesses
Where 96725 ranks high
- Air qualityBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 222 pleasant days a year, better than 98% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 84% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 81% of zip codes
Where 96725 ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 9% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 96725
A household needs to earn about $211,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 96725 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $93,659, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses 96725's effective rate of 0.35%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 96725
96725 runs older than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 96725.
Who works in 96725, and how
Work in 96725 centers on education and hospitality & food. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 73%
- Work from home 23%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 96725
The coast is about 6 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 96725, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 96725, month by month
96725 sees roughly 222 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 83, with lows near 69. The comfortable stretch runs February.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 83° | 76° | 69° |
| April | 84° | 78° | 71° |
| July | 87° | 81° | 75° |
| October | 87° | 81° | 74° |
Flying in and out of 96725
The nearest airport, Ellison Onizuka Kona International at Keahole, is about 11 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Kahului, about 94 miles away.
The best schools in and around 96725
Schools across 96725 average a C, better than 30% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Kaumana Elementary SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Konawaena Elementary SchoolC · 31% proficient
- Holualoa Elementary SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Top middle schools
- Hilo Intermediate SchoolC · 35% proficient
- Konawaena Middle SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Kealakehe Intermediate SchoolD− · 17% proficient
Top high schools
- Konawaena High SchoolC+ · 40% proficient
- Hilo High SchoolC+ · 40% proficient
- Kealakehe High SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 96725 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
96725 measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare 96725 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 96725
Is 96725 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 96725 ranks 16,113th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on clean air, the weather, and low property taxes, and lowest on an overheated housing market and state finances. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 96725 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $861,057. The overall cost of living runs about 48% above the national average. Set against a $93,659 median income, cost of living beats 16% of zip codes.
Is 96725 safe?
Yes, 96725 is safer than 62% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $320 per resident a year.
Compare 96725 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 96725. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 96725 represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
96725 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 96725: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 96725: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 96725: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 96725: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
96725 detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.