Best Places96815, HI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 96815, 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.
96815 ranks 5,544th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on transit by a wide margin, and the cost of living against local pay is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 96815
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.
96815's strengths and weaknesses
Where 96815 ranks high
- TransitBetter than 99% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 99% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 95% of zip codes
Where 96815 ranks low
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 8% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 96815
A household needs to earn about $176,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 96815 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $89,429, 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 96815's effective rate of 0.33%, 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 96815
96815 runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 96815.
Who works in 96815, and how
Work in 96815 centers on hospitality & food and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 54%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 31%
Life in 96815
96815 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 95% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 86% of zip codes. The coast is about 0 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 96815 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 96815, month by month
96815 sees roughly 146 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 82, with lows near 67. The comfortable stretch runs December through March.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 82° | 75° | 67° |
| April | 84° | 77° | 70° |
| July | 89° | 81° | 75° |
| October | 88° | 80° | 73° |
Flying in and out of 96815
Daniel K Inouye International sits about 7 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 10.5 million passengers in 2025, with 65 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 96815
Schools across 96815 average a C+, better than 46% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Waikiki Elementary SchoolA · 69% proficient
- King Liholiho Elementary SchoolA− · 58% proficient
- President Thomas Jefferson Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Kaimuki Middle SchoolA · 66% proficient
- President George Washington Middle SchoolC · 33% proficient
Top high schools
- Kalani High SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- President William Mckinley High SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Kaimuki High SchoolD · 22% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 96815 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
96815 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 96815 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 96815 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 14% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 88% of zip codes and health care access beats 73%.
Common questions about living in 96815
Is 96815 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 96815 ranks 5,544th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on transit, biking, and walkability, and lowest on the cost of living against local pay and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 96815 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $721,054. The overall cost of living runs about 90% above the national average. Set against a $89,429 median income, cost of living beats 3% of zip codes.
Is 96815 safe?
96815 is safer than 43% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $473 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 96815?
July highs average about 89 degrees, and January highs near 82 with lows near 67. That works out to about 146 pleasant days a year, more than 88% of zip codes.
Is 96815 good for families?
Schools beat 46% of zip codes, crime safety beats 43%, and childcare runs $1,434 a month.
Compare 96815 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 96815. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 96815 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.
96815 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 96815: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 96815: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 96815: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 96815: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
96815 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.