Best PlacesKailua Kona, Kailua-Kona, HI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Kailua Kona, Kailua-Kona, 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.
Kailua Kona, Kailua-Kona ranks 3,637th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on clean air by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Kailua Kona, Kailua-Kona
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.
Kailua Kona, Kailua-Kona's strengths and weaknesses
Where Kailua Kona, Kailua-Kona ranks high
- Air qualityBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 86% of neighborhoods
- Short commute20.4 minutes each way, better than 77% of neighborhoods
Where Kailua Kona, Kailua-Kona ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- State infrastructureBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Kailua Kona, Kailua-Kona
A household needs to earn about $185,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Kailua Kona, Kailua-Kona home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $94,412, 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 Kailua Kona, Kailua-Kona's effective rate of 0.38%, 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 Kailua Kona, Kailua-Kona
Kailua Kona, Kailua-Kona's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Kailua Kona, Kailua-Kona.
Who works in Kailua Kona, Kailua-Kona, and how
Work in Kailua Kona, Kailua-Kona centers on hospitality & food and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Kailua Kona, Kailua-Kona
Kailua Kona, Kailua-Kona has more restaurants and bars per resident than 86% of neighborhoods and more parkland per resident than 95% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 2 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Kailua Kona, Kailua-Kona and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Kailua Kona, Kailua-Kona, month by month
Kailua Kona, Kailua-Kona sees roughly 153 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 83, with lows near 69. The comfortable stretch runs February.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 83° | 76° | 69° |
| April | 84° | 78° | 71° |
| July | 87° | 81° | 75° |
| October | 87° | 81° | 74° |
Flying in and out of Kailua Kona, Kailua-Kona
The nearest airport, Ellison Onizuka Kona International at Keahole, is about 8 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Kahului, about 92 miles away.
The best schools in and around Kailua Kona, Kailua-Kona
Schools across Kailua Kona, Kailua-Kona average a C−, better than 28% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Innovations - PcsB+ · 52% proficient
- Holualoa Elementary SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Kahakai Elementary SchoolC− · 26% proficient
Top middle schools
- Konawaena Middle SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Kealakehe Intermediate SchoolD− · 17% proficient
Top high schools
- West Hawaii Explorations AcademyB− · 42% proficient
- Konawaena High SchoolC+ · 40% proficient
- Kealakehe High SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Kailua Kona, Kailua-Kona school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Kailua Kona, Kailua-Kona 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 Kailua Kona, Kailua-Kona against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Kailua Kona, Kailua-Kona
Is Kailua Kona, Kailua-Kona a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Kailua Kona, Kailua-Kona ranks 3,637th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on clean air, low property taxes, and quiet, and lowest on distance from a big city and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Kailua Kona, Kailua-Kona expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $751,193. The overall cost of living runs about 46% above the national average. Set against a $94,412 median income, cost of living beats 28% of neighborhoods.
Is Kailua Kona, Kailua-Kona safe?
Yes, Kailua Kona, Kailua-Kona is safer than 77% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $391 per resident a year.
Compare Kailua Kona, Kailua-Kona with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Kailua Kona, Kailua-Kona. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Kailua Kona, Kailua-Kona 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.
Kailua Kona, Kailua-Kona detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Kailua Kona, Kailua-Kona: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Kailua Kona, Kailua-Kona: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Kailua Kona, Kailua-Kona: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Kailua Kona, Kailua-Kona: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Kailua Kona, Kailua-Kona 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.