Best Places96761, HI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 96761, 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.
96761 ranks 9,771st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on clean air by a wide margin, and state finances rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 96761
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.
96761's strengths and weaknesses
Where 96761 ranks high
- Air qualityBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 98% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 149 pleasant days a year, better than 89% of zip codes
- Short commute19.0 minutes each way, better than 88% of zip codes
Where 96761 ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 18% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 96761
A household needs to earn about $242,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 96761 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $106,545, 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 96761's effective rate of 0.22%, 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 96761
96761 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 96761.
Who works in 96761, and how
Work in 96761 centers on hospitality & food and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 79%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 12%
Life in 96761
96761 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 93% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 66% of zip codes. The coast is about 1 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 96761 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 96761, month by month
96761 sees roughly 149 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 83, with lows near 63. The comfortable stretch runs December through April.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 83° | 73° | 63° |
| April | 85° | 75° | 66° |
| July | 90° | 80° | 71° |
| October | 90° | 79° | 69° |
Flying in and out of 96761
Kahului sits about 16 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 3.4 million passengers in 2025, with 32 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 96761
Schools across 96761 average a C, better than 31% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Kamalii Elementary SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- King Kamehameha Iii Elementary SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Princess Nahienaena Elementary SchoolD · 19% proficient
Top middle schools
- Lahaina Intermediate SchoolC− · 29% proficient
Top high schools
- Lahainaluna High SchoolC · 33% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 96761 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
96761 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 96761 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 96761 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 9% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 96761
Is 96761 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 96761 ranks 9,771st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on clean air, low property taxes, and walkability, and lowest on state finances and state infrastructure. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 96761 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,007,830. The overall cost of living runs about 66% above the national average. Set against a $106,545 median income, cost of living beats 19% of zip codes.
Is 96761 safe?
96761 is safer than 45% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $415 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 96761?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 83 with lows near 63. That works out to about 149 pleasant days a year, more than 89% of zip codes.
Is 96761 good for families?
Schools beat 31% of zip codes, crime safety beats 45%, and childcare runs $1,076 a month.
Compare 96761 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 96761. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 96761 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.
96761 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 96761: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 96761: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 96761: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 96761: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
96761 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.