Best PlacesNorth Shore Waialua, Waialua, HI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around North Shore Waialua, Waialua, 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.
North Shore Waialua, Waialua ranks 3,123rd of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on clean air by a wide margin, and state infrastructure ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in North Shore Waialua, Waialua
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.
North Shore Waialua, Waialua's strengths and weaknesses
Where North Shore Waialua, Waialua ranks high
- Air qualityBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- Heat safetyBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 87% of neighborhoods
Where North Shore Waialua, Waialua ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 8% of neighborhoods
- Short commute33.3 minutes each way, better than only 9% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than only 11% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in North Shore Waialua, Waialua
A household needs to earn about $249,000 a year to comfortably buy the median North Shore Waialua, Waialua home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $94,966, 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 North Shore Waialua, Waialua's effective rate of 0.46%, 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 North Shore Waialua, Waialua
North Shore Waialua, Waialua runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for North Shore Waialua, Waialua.
Who works in North Shore Waialua, Waialua, and how
Work in North Shore Waialua, Waialua centers on hospitality & food and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in North Shore Waialua, Waialua
The coast is about 1 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across North Shore Waialua, Waialua, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in North Shore Waialua, Waialua, month by month
North Shore Waialua, Waialua sees roughly 130 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 78, with lows near 62. The comfortable stretch runs October through June.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 78° | 69° | 62° |
| April | 80° | 72° | 64° |
| July | 84° | 76° | 69° |
| October | 83° | 75° | 67° |
Flying in and out of North Shore Waialua, Waialua
Daniel K Inouye International sits about 22 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 North Shore Waialua, Waialua
Schools across North Shore Waialua, Waialua average a B, better than 69% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Waialua Elementary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Haleiwa Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
Top high schools
- Waialua High & Intermediate SchoolB− · 40% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every North Shore Waialua, Waialua school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
North Shore Waialua, Waialua 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 North Shore Waialua, Waialua against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in North Shore Waialua, Waialua
Is North Shore Waialua, Waialua a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, North Shore Waialua, Waialua ranks 3,123rd of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on clean air, quiet, and heat safety, and lowest on state infrastructure and the cost of living against local pay. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is North Shore Waialua, Waialua expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,000,006. The overall cost of living runs about 99% above the national average. Set against a $94,966 median income, cost of living beats 6% of neighborhoods.
Is North Shore Waialua, Waialua safe?
Yes, North Shore Waialua, Waialua is safer than 70% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $397 per resident a year.
Compare North Shore Waialua, Waialua with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to North Shore Waialua, Waialua. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in North Shore Waialua, Waialua 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.
North Shore Waialua, Waialua detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for North Shore Waialua, Waialua: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in North Shore Waialua, Waialua: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of North Shore Waialua, Waialua: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in North Shore Waialua, Waialua: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
North Shore Waialua, Waialua 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.