Best PlacesFern Forest, HI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Fern Forest, 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.
Fern Forest ranks 38,562nd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and long commutes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Fern Forest
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.
Fern Forest's strengths and weaknesses
Where Fern Forest ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 243 pleasant days a year, better than 99% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than 99% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than 99% of towns
- Local economyBetter than 97% of towns
- QuietBetter than 97% of towns
Where Fern Forest ranks low
- Short commute49.5 minutes each way, better than only 1% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 2% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 3% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than only 3% of towns
- Household income$41,626 median, better than only 3% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Fern Forest
A household needs to earn about $51,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Fern Forest home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $41,626, 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 Fern Forest's effective rate of 0.28%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Fern Forest
Fern Forest 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 Fern Forest.
Who works in Fern Forest, and how
Work in Fern Forest centers on health care & social and construction. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 71%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 12%
Life in Fern Forest
The coast is about 30 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Fern Forest, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Fern Forest, month by month
Fern Forest sees roughly 243 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 81 degrees. January highs sit near 77, with lows near 61. Every month averages in that range.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 77° | 68° | 61° |
| April | 78° | 70° | 64° |
| July | 81° | 73° | 67° |
| October | 81° | 72° | 66° |
Flying in and out of Fern Forest
The nearest airport, Hilo International, is about 18 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Kahului, about 130 miles away.
The best schools in and around Fern Forest
Schools across Fern Forest average a D, better than 9% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Mountain View Elementary SchoolD− · 15% proficient
Top middle schools
- Keaau Middle SchoolD · 19% proficient
Top high schools
- Keaau High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Fern Forest school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Fern Forest 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 Fern Forest against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Fern Forest
Is Fern Forest a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Fern Forest ranks 38,562nd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on the weather, clean air, and heat safety, and lowest on long commutes and disaster risk. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Fern Forest expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $209,519. The overall cost of living runs about 22% above the national average. Set against a $41,626 median income, cost of living beats 3% of towns.
Is Fern Forest safe?
Yes, Fern Forest is safer than 56% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $298 per resident a year.
Compare Fern Forest with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Fern Forest. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Fern Forest 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.
Fern Forest detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Fern Forest: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Fern Forest: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Fern Forest: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Fern Forest: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Fern Forest 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.