Best PlacesKauai County, HI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Kauai 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.
Kauai County ranks 481st of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on clean air by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Kauai 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 Kauai County
The parts of Kauai 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.
Koloa
It is quieter, incomes run higher, and more households have young kids.
Lihue
Commutes are shorter and disaster risk is lower.
Kalaheo, Hanapepe & Eleele
Fewer homes sit empty and local pay stretches further.
Kilauea & Princeville
More adults hold degrees, though homes cost more.
Kapaa
Scores close to Kilauea & Princeville, except that streets are more car-dependent here.
Kekaha
Schools score lower and crime runs higher.
Scores across Kauai County run from about the 27th to the 95th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Kauai County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Kauai County ranks high
- Air qualityBetter than 99% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than 98% of counties
- Local economyBetter than 98% of counties
- Household income$103,097 median, better than 94% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than 93% of counties
Where Kauai County ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 1% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 4% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than only 8% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 9% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 20% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Kauai County
A household needs to earn about $214,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Kauai County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $103,097, 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 Kauai County's effective rate of 0.24%, 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 Kauai County
Kauai 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 Kauai County.
Who works in Kauai County, and how
Work in Kauai County centers on hospitality & food and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Kauai County
Kauai County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 83% of counties. The coast is about 3 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Kauai County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Kauai County growing, and who is moving in?
Kauai County has grown about 5% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Las Vegas, NV.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Kauai County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Kauai County, month by month
Kauai County sees roughly 128 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 80, with lows near 66. The comfortable stretch runs December through April.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 80° | 73° | 66° |
| April | 81° | 75° | 69° |
| July | 86° | 80° | 75° |
| October | 85° | 78° | 72° |
Flying in and out of Kauai County
The nearest airport, Lihue, is about 7 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Daniel K Inouye International, about 109 miles away.
The best schools in and around Kauai County
Schools across Kauai County average a C, better than 41% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Hanalei Elementary SchoolA− · 58% proficient
- Alaka'i O Kaua'i Charter SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- King Kaumualii Elementary SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
Top middle schools
- Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Kapaa Middle SchoolD+ · 24% proficient
- Waimea Canyon Middle SchoolD− · 19% proficient
Top high schools
- Kauai High SchoolB− · 41% proficient
- Kapaa High SchoolC · 32% proficient
- Waimea High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Kauai County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Kauai 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 Kauai County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Kauai County suits
Families
Schools land around the 41st percentile and crime safety beats 76%.
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 9% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Kauai County
Is Kauai County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Kauai County ranks 481st of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on clean air, low property taxes, and a strong job market, and lowest on an overheated housing market and state finances. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Kauai County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $885,446. The overall cost of living runs about 46% above the national average. Set against a $103,097 median income, cost of living beats 20% of counties.
Is Kauai County safe?
Yes, Kauai County is safer than 76% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $318 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Kauai County?
July highs average about 86 degrees, and January highs near 80 with lows near 66. That works out to about 128 pleasant days a year, more than 81% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Kauai County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Koloa, Lihue, and Kalaheo, Hanapepe & Eleele. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Kauai County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Kauai County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Kauai 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.
Kauai County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Kauai County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Kauai County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Kauai County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Kauai County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Kauai 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.