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Hawaii brings to mind images of Urban Honolulu, beautiful landscapes, and some of the best people you'll find in the good ole US of A.
However, like all states, Hawaii has certain places that are going on hard times. These places have an above average percent of people that are living in poverty, out of work, or not making as much as they should be.
With all the talk about income inequality going on around the country, we thought it prudent to take a look at the places in each state that are struggling to make it even as the economy continues to improve. So we set our sites on bringing attention to the places in Hawaii that could use a helping hand.
To do so, we analyzed the newest Census data from the American Community Survey for the 59 places in Hawaii with more than 5,000 people.
Here are the ten poorest places in Hawaii for 2021:
Again, this isn't a commentary on the people that live there or the vibrant culture and traditions of these places. Instead, it's just a look at the facts.
What's the poorst city in Hawaii? According to the facts, Hawaiian Ocean View is the poorest place in Hawaii for 2021.
Rich people more your cup of tea? Feel free to check out the best places in Hawaii or the most dangerous.
For more on how we calculated the top ten, and for more information about these places, read on.
If you're looking for something more national, check out the poorest states in America or the poorest cities in America.
For more Hawaii reading, check out:
The 10 Poorest Cities In Hawaii For 2021
1. Hawaiian Ocean View
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Hawaiian Ocean View, unfortunately, ranks as the poorest place in Hawaii thanks to combination of low pay and and a lack of jobs.
The city of 5,011 people averages the lowest median household income in Hawaii and the highest poverty rate. At the very least, the cost of living ranks in the bottom 15% of place in the state, so things like housing are relatively affordable.
2. Hawaiian Beaches
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The second poorest city in Hawaii is Hawaiian Beaches.
The city ranks as having the 4th highest incidence of poverty and 2nd lowest median household income. However, the unemployment rate 'only' ranks as the 2nd highest in the Aloha State.
3. Makaha
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Placing as the third poorest city, Makaha's median income ranks as the 3rd lowest.
And that's a sign that there's a relatively substantial jump in the quality of the economy from second to third place on our list. The poverty rate is 31.003735389806003% and ranks near the bottom of places in the state.
But what makes up for the relatively low incomes of the city is its low cost of living. The income you do make here goes further than in most parts of the Aloha State.
4. Waianae
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Waianae ranks as the fourth poorest place in Hawaii.
The town ranks as having the 8th lowest median household income and the 3rd highest incidence of poverty in the state.
That being said, there's still a ton of cultural diversity in the city as it hosts many events throughout the year.
5. Nanakuli
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The fifth poorest city in Hawaii is Nanakuli.
The city ranks as having the 16th lowest median income in the state. However, an extremely low cost of living prevents a good number of folks from living in poverty as the poverty rate only ranks as the 8th highest in Hawaii.
Still not the best news for Nanakuli.
6. Hilo
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Hilo ranks as the sixth poorest place in the Aloha State.
It ranks as having the 6th highest incidence of poverty and the 15th highest unemployment rate.
7. Wahiawa
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Wahiawa places as the seventh poorest city in Hawaii.
The city of over 17,122 ranks as having the 7th highest incidence of poverty in the state. However, it has a very low cost of living which helps to pay the bills each month.
8. Wailuku
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Wailuku ranks as the eighth poorest city in Hawaii.
The big issue for the town is the unemployment rate which ranks as the 14th highest in the state.
9. Maili
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Maili couldn't stay out of the top ten poorest places in Hawaii; it ranks number 9.
While the median income is the 34th lowest, there are a substantial number of people that live below the poverty line. Overall, Maili ranks as having the 5th most people living in poverty of all the places we analyzed in Hawaii.
10. Schofield Barracks
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And rounding out the top ten poorest cities in Hawaii is Schofield Barracks.
The city of 19,499 people ranks in the bottom 20% for both median income and poverty rate in the Aloha State.
How We Determined The Poorest Places In Hawaii for 2021
The first thing that comes to most people's minds when they think about determining the poorest places is to simply the poverty rate. That is, the number of people living below a federally established level of income for a household of a certain size.
However, we don't think that one statistic wholly encompasses what it means to be one of the "poorest places". So we looked at this set of criteria from the newly released 2015-2019 American Community Survey:
- Poverty Level
- Median Household Income adjusted for the cost of living
- Unemployment Rate
The "median household income adjusted for the cost of living" attempts to gauge how expensive it is to live in a place and how that impacts the quality of life. For example, a town might have fewer people living below the official poverty line, but the cost of living is so high they'd still feel poor.
The unemployment rate tries to capture the prospects for improvement in the city or town. If more people are employed, the brighter the future looks and vice versa.
After we collected the data for all 59 places with more than 5,000 people in Hawaii, we ranked each place from 1 to 59 for each of the criteria, with 1 being the poorest.
We then averaged all the rankings for a place into a "Poor Score" with the place having the lowest overall Poor Score, Hawaiian Ocean View, crowned the "Poorest Place In Hawaii For 2021". You can download the data here.
There You Have It - The Poorest Places In Hawaii For 2021
Like we said earlier, when we set out to identify the poorest places in Hawaii, we weren't sure what we'd encounter, but it ended up being some of the best places to live in Hawaii.
When you look at the data, the cities and places mentioned above meet the criteria for being at the very bottom of the income ladder for everyone that lives there.
If you're curious enough, here are the richest cities in Hawaii, according to data:
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Richest: Mililani Mauka
2nd Richest: East Honolulu
3rd Richest: Waikele
For more Hawaii reading, check out:
Detailed List Of The Poorest Places To Live In Hawaii
| Rank | City | Population |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hawaiian Ocean View | 5,011 |
| 2 | Hawaiian Beaches | 5,320 |
| 3 | Makaha | 8,404 |
| 4 | Waianae | 13,609 |
| 5 | Nanakuli | 11,461 |
| 6 | Hilo | 45,056 |
| 7 | Wahiawa | 17,122 |
| 8 | Wailuku | 17,708 |
| 9 | Maili | 11,437 |
| 10 | Schofield Barracks | 19,499 |
| 11 | Kaneohe Station | 11,289 |
| 12 | Urban Honolulu | 348,985 |
| 13 | Kahaluu-Keauhou | 5,291 |
| 14 | Waipahu | 39,469 |
| 15 | Lahaina | 12,776 |
| 16 | Hawaiian Paradise Park | 11,202 |
| 17 | Wailea | 6,218 |
| 18 | Pukalani | 7,695 |
| 19 | Kalaheo | 5,487 |
| 20 | Waikoloa Village | 6,549 |
| 21 | Kailua Cdp (Hawaii County) | 15,231 |
| 22 | Waipio Acres | 5,451 |
| 23 | Laie | 5,704 |
| 24 | Kihei | 22,402 |
| 25 | Waimea Cdp (Hawaii County) | 11,908 |
| 26 | Hanamaulu | 5,150 |
| 27 | Kahului | 31,336 |
| 28 | Kapaa | 10,580 |
| 29 | Kula | 7,621 |
| 30 | Hickam Housing | 9,387 |
| 31 | Haiku-Pauwela | 8,987 |
| 32 | Holualoa | 9,688 |
| 33 | Kalaoa | 11,729 |
| 34 | Wailua Homesteads | 6,117 |
| 35 | Napili-Honokowai | 6,739 |
| 36 | Waimanalo | 5,538 |
| 37 | Makawao | 7,341 |
| 38 | Waimalu | 14,043 |
| 39 | Ewa Beach | 14,479 |
| 40 | Ewa Villages | 6,585 |
| 41 | Kapolei | 21,674 |
| 42 | Halawa | 14,453 |
| 43 | Waihee-Waiehu | 9,319 |
| 44 | Makakilo | 19,775 |
| 45 | Lihue | 7,267 |
| 46 | Waipio | 11,469 |
| 47 | Kailua Cdp (Honolulu County) | 37,586 |
| 48 | Kaneohe | 33,841 |
| 49 | Aiea | 9,638 |
| 50 | Mililani Town | 27,562 |
| 51 | Ocean Pointe | 14,989 |
| 52 | Pearl City | 45,605 |
| 53 | Royal Kunia | 14,565 |
| 54 | Ewa Gentry | 25,641 |
| 55 | Ahuimanu | 8,023 |
| 56 | West Loch Estate | 6,139 |
| 57 | Waikele | 7,442 |
| 58 | East Honolulu | 47,540 |
| 59 | Mililani Mauka | 20,090 |
