Best Places96777, HI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 96777, 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.
96777 ranks 31,031st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on heat safety by a wide margin, and disaster risk is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 96777
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.
96777's strengths and weaknesses
Where 96777 ranks high
- Heat safetyBetter than 99% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 97% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 79% of zip codes
Where 96777 ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Short commute42.8 minutes each way, better than only 2% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- School gradeD−, better than only 3% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 96777
A household needs to earn about $57,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 96777 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $64,368, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
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 96777's effective rate of 0.26%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 96777
96777 runs younger than the country, though it still carries a larger-than-average share of residents over 65, 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 96777.
Who works in 96777, and how
Work in 96777 centers on agriculture & forestry and health care & social. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 96777
The coast is about 7 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 96777, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 96777, month by month
96777 sees roughly 116 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 59 degrees. January highs sit near 53, with lows near 36. No month averages between 55 and 75 degrees.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 53° | 43° | 36° |
| April | 54° | 44° | 37° |
| July | 59° | 49° | 42° |
| October | 56° | 47° | 40° |
Flying in and out of 96777
The nearest airport, Hilo International, is about 45 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Kahului, about 132 miles away.
The best schools in and around 96777
Schools across 96777 average a D−, better than 3% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Naalehu Elementary SchoolD− · 12% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 96777 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
96777 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 96777 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 96777
Is 96777 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 96777 ranks 31,031st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on heat safety, quiet, and low property taxes, and lowest on disaster risk and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 96777 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $236,113. The overall cost of living runs about 39% above the national average. Set against a $64,368 median income, cost of living beats 3% of zip codes.
Is 96777 safe?
96777 is safer than 19% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $526 per resident a year.
Compare 96777 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 96777. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 96777 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.
96777 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 96777: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 96777: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 96777: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 96777: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
96777 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.