Best Places96818, HI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 96818, 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.
96818 ranks 2,534th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on clean air by a wide margin, and civic engagement ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 96818
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.
96818's strengths and weaknesses
Where 96818 ranks high
- Air qualityBetter than 98% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 94% of zip codes
Where 96818 ranks low
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,434 a month, better than only 9% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 17% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 96818
A household needs to earn about $190,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 96818 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $109,760, 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 96818's effective rate of 0.30%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 96818
96818 runs younger 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 96818.
Who works in 96818, and how
Work in 96818 centers on health care & social and public administration. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 12%
Life in 96818
The coast is about 5 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 96818, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 96818, month by month
96818 sees roughly 148 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 96818
Daniel K Inouye International sits about 2 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 96818
Schools across 96818 average a B+, better than 72% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Lt Col Horrace Meek Hickam Elementary SchoolA+ · 77% proficient
- Admiral Chester W Nimitz Elementary SchoolA · 63% proficient
- Moanalua Elementary SchoolA− · 60% proficient
Top middle schools
- Moanalua Middle SchoolA− · 58% proficient
- Aliamanu Middle SchoolB+ · 49% proficient
- Aiea Intermediate SchoolB+ · 48% proficient
Top high schools
- Admiral Arthur W Radford High SchoolB · 49% proficient
- Moanalua High SchoolB · 47% proficient
- Aiea High SchoolC · 33% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 96818 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
96818 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 96818 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 96818 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 5% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 96818
Is 96818 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 96818 ranks 2,534th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on clean air, transit, and population health, and lowest on civic engagement and state finances. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 96818 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $777,850. The overall cost of living runs about 64% above the national average. Set against a $109,760 median income, cost of living beats 17% of zip codes.
Is 96818 safe?
Yes, 96818 is safer than 84% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $237 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 96818?
July highs average about 89 degrees, and January highs near 82 with lows near 67. That works out to about 148 pleasant days a year, more than 89% of zip codes.
Is 96818 good for families?
Schools beat 72% of zip codes, crime safety beats 84%, and childcare runs $1,434 a month.
Compare 96818 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 96818. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 96818 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.
96818 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 96818: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 96818: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 96818: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 96818: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
96818 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.