Best Places96817, HI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 96817, 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.
96817 ranks 7,125th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on transit by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 96817
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.
96817's strengths and weaknesses
Where 96817 ranks high
- TransitBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 98% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 96% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 92% of zip codes
Where 96817 ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 8% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 96817
A household needs to earn about $223,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 96817 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $91,320, 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 96817's effective rate of 0.32%, 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 96817
96817 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 96817.
Who works in 96817, and how
Work in 96817 centers on hospitality & food and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 69%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 23%
Life in 96817
96817 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 83% of zip codes. The coast is about 2 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 96817 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 96817, month by month
96817 sees roughly 154 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 96817
Daniel K Inouye International sits about 4 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 96817
Schools across 96817 average a C+, better than 41% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Nuuanu Elementary SchoolA · 72% proficient
- Maemae Elementary SchoolA · 67% proficient
- Pauoa Elementary SchoolA− · 60% proficient
Top middle schools
- Prince David Kawananakoa Middle SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- School For Examining Essential Questions Of SustainabilityB− · 40% proficient
- King David Kalakaua Middle SchoolC · 32% proficient
Top high schools
- President Theodore Roosevelt High SchoolB+ · 51% proficient
- President William Mckinley High SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Governor Wallace Rider Farrington High SchoolC · 34% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 96817 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
96817 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 96817 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 96817 suits
Families
Schools land around the 41st percentile and crime safety beats 56%.
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 8% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 96817
Is 96817 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 96817 ranks 7,125th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on transit, clean air, and walkability, and lowest on noise and civic engagement. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 96817 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $914,856. The overall cost of living runs about 64% above the national average. Set against a $91,320 median income, cost of living beats 8% of zip codes.
Is 96817 safe?
Yes, 96817 is safer than 56% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $334 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 96817?
July highs average about 89 degrees, and January highs near 82 with lows near 67. That works out to about 154 pleasant days a year, more than 90% of zip codes.
Is 96817 good for families?
Schools beat 41% of zip codes, crime safety beats 56%, and childcare runs $1,434 a month.
Compare 96817 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 96817. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 96817 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.
96817 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 96817: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 96817: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 96817: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 96817: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
96817 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.