Best PlacesHawaii County, HI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Hawaii County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Distance to the water drives a lot of the difference between one part and the next. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Hawaii County ranks 1,529th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. The coast is about 11 minutes away. Its strengths are clean air and the weather. The cost shows up in disaster risk, state finances, and an overheated housing market.
The best neighborhoods in Hawaii County
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.
The best areas in Hawaii County
The parts of Hawaii County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Mountain View
Prices have run up less, fewer homes sit empty, and local pay stretches further.
Waikoloa, Kapaau & Hawi
Incomes run higher, though homes cost more.
Hilo, Hawaiian Paradise Park & Keaau
Biking is better.
Kailua-Kona, Holualoa & Kalaoa
Commutes are shorter, though heat risk is higher.
Waimea & Honokaa
It is quieter and disaster risk is lower.
Hawaiian Ocean View, Captain Cook & Honaunau-Napoopoo
Fewer households have young kids and fewer adults hold degrees.
Pahoa
Health outcomes score lower and schools score lower.
Volcano & Naalehu
Scores close to Pahoa, except that health care is easier to reach here.
Hawaii County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 3% of the country and others in the top 9%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Hawaii County's strengths and weaknesses
Hawaii County lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. Clean air is the standout, in the top 1% of counties. The weather and low property taxes follow.
The one real hole is disaster risk, near the bottom of the country. State finances and an overheated housing market also cost it ground. That varies block to block rather than evenly, and the map below shows where.
Where Hawaii County ranks high
- Air qualityBetter than 99% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 191 pleasant days a year, better than 99% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than 94% of counties
- TransitBetter than 86% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than 84% of counties
Where Hawaii County ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 3% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 4% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 6% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 8% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than only 8% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Hawaii County
A household needs to earn about $141,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Hawaii County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $85,464, 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 Hawaii County's effective rate of 0.34%, 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 Hawaii County
Hawaii County 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 Hawaii County.
Who works in Hawaii County, and how
Work in Hawaii County centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Hawaii County
Hawaii County has more parkland per resident than 72% of counties and less late-night activity than most counties. The coast is about 11 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Hawaii County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Hawaii County growing, and who is moving in?
Hawaii County has grown about 8% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Honolulu, HI.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Hawaii County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Hawaii County, month by month
Hawaii County sees roughly 191 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 Hawaii County
The nearest airport, Hilo International, is about 25 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Kahului, about 107 miles away.
The best schools in and around Hawaii County
Schools across Hawaii County average a C−, better than 21% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Ernest Bowen Desilva Elementary SchoolA− · 56% proficient
- Innovations - PcsB+ · 52% proficient
- Kaumana Elementary SchoolB− · 43% proficient
Top middle schools
- Hilo Intermediate SchoolC · 35% proficient
- Waiakea Intermediate SchoolC · 31% proficient
- Konawaena Middle SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Top high schools
- Waiakea High SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- West Hawaii Explorations AcademyB− · 42% proficient
- Konawaena High SchoolC+ · 40% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Hawaii County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Hawaii County 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 Hawaii County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Hawaii County suits
Families
Schools land around the 21st percentile and crime safety beats 58%.
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 13% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Hawaii County
Is Hawaii County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Hawaii County ranks 1,529th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on clean air, the weather, and low property taxes, and lowest on disaster risk and state finances. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Hawaii County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $574,053. The overall cost of living runs about 36% above the national average. Set against a $85,464 median income, cost of living beats 9% of counties.
Is Hawaii County safe?
Yes, Hawaii County is safer than 58% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $378 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Hawaii County?
July highs average about 81 degrees, and January highs near 77 with lows near 61. That works out to about 191 pleasant days a year, more than 99% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Hawaii County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Mountain View, Waikoloa, Kapaau & Hawi, and Hilo, Hawaiian Paradise Park & Keaau. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Hawaii County good for families?
Schools beat 21% of counties, crime safety beats 58%, and childcare runs $918 a month.
Is Hawaii County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 9% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 74% of counties. About 13% of workers already work from home.
Compare Hawaii County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Hawaii County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Hawaii County 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.
Hawaii County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Hawaii County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Hawaii County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Hawaii County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Hawaii County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Hawaii County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.