Best PlacesWaialae-Kahala, Honolulu, HI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Waialae-Kahala, Honolulu, 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.
Waialae-Kahala, Honolulu ranks 228th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on clean air by a wide margin, and cell coverage ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Waialae-Kahala, Honolulu
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.
Waialae-Kahala, Honolulu's strengths and weaknesses
Where Waialae-Kahala, Honolulu ranks high
- Air qualityBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- Local economyBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- Healthcare accessBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- Household income$165,282 median, better than 94% of neighborhoods
Where Waialae-Kahala, Honolulu ranks low
- Cell coverageBetter than only 2% of neighborhoods
- State infrastructureBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 8% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than only 13% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$1,434 a month, better than only 25% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Waialae-Kahala, Honolulu
A household needs to earn about $383,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Waialae-Kahala, Honolulu home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $165,282, 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 Waialae-Kahala, Honolulu's effective rate of 0.32%, 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 Waialae-Kahala, Honolulu
Waialae-Kahala, Honolulu runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Waialae-Kahala, Honolulu.
Who works in Waialae-Kahala, Honolulu, and how
Work in Waialae-Kahala, Honolulu centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in Waialae-Kahala, Honolulu
Waialae-Kahala, Honolulu has more restaurants and bars per resident than 69% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 2 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Waialae-Kahala, Honolulu and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Waialae-Kahala, Honolulu, month by month
Waialae-Kahala, Honolulu sees roughly 157 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 82, with lows near 67. The comfortable stretch runs December through March.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 82° | 75° | 67° |
| April | 84° | 77° | 70° |
| July | 89° | 81° | 75° |
| October | 88° | 80° | 73° |
Flying in and out of Waialae-Kahala, Honolulu
Daniel K Inouye International sits about 9 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 Waialae-Kahala, Honolulu
Schools across Waialae-Kahala, Honolulu average an A−, better than 88% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Waikiki Elementary SchoolA · 69% proficient
- Mayor John H Wilson Elementary SchoolA · 67% proficient
- Kahala Elementary SchoolA− · 58% proficient
Top middle schools
- Kaimuki Middle SchoolA · 66% proficient
- Niu Valley Middle SchoolA− · 53% proficient
- President George Washington Middle SchoolC · 33% proficient
Top high schools
- Kalani High SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Kaimuki High SchoolD · 22% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Waialae-Kahala, Honolulu school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Waialae-Kahala, Honolulu 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 Waialae-Kahala, Honolulu against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Waialae-Kahala, Honolulu
Is Waialae-Kahala, Honolulu a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Waialae-Kahala, Honolulu ranks 228th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on clean air, low property taxes, and a strong job market, and lowest on cell coverage and state infrastructure. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Waialae-Kahala, Honolulu expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,567,821. The overall cost of living runs about 82% above the national average. Set against a $165,282 median income, cost of living beats 64% of neighborhoods.
Is Waialae-Kahala, Honolulu safe?
Yes, Waialae-Kahala, Honolulu is safer than 91% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $251 per resident a year.
Compare Waialae-Kahala, Honolulu with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Waialae-Kahala, Honolulu. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Waialae-Kahala, Honolulu 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.
Waialae-Kahala, Honolulu detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Waialae-Kahala, Honolulu: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Waialae-Kahala, Honolulu: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Waialae-Kahala, Honolulu: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Waialae-Kahala, Honolulu: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Waialae-Kahala, Honolulu 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.