The 10 Poorest Cities In Hawaii For 2024

The 10 Poorest Cities In Hawaii For 2024

1. Makaha

Makaha, unfortunately, ranks as the poorest place in Hawaii thanks to combination of low pay and and a lack of jobs.

The city of 10,042 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. Waianae

The second poorest city in Hawaii is Waianae.

The city ranks as having the 3rd highest incidence of poverty and 5th lowest median household income. However, the unemployment rate ‘only’ ranks as the 6th highest in the Aloha State.

3. Wahiawa

Placing as the third poorest city, Wahiawa’s median income ranks as the 8th 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 18.64% 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. Nanakuli

Nanakuli ranks as the fourth poorest place in Hawaii.

The town ranks as having the 6th lowest median household income and the 4th 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. Hilo

The fifth poorest city in Hawaii is Hilo.

The city ranks as having the 4th 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 Hilo.

6. Ewa Villages

Ewa Villages ranks as the sixth poorest place in the Aloha State.

It ranks as having the 5th highest incidence of poverty and the 53rd highest unemployment rate.

7. Urban Honolulu

Urban Honolulu places as the seventh poorest city in Hawaii.

The city of over 348,547 ranks as having the 15th 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. Lahaina

Lahaina ranks as the eighth poorest city in Hawaii.

The big issue for the town is the unemployment rate which ranks as one of the highest in the state.

9. Wailea

Wailea couldn’t stay out of the top ten poorest places in Hawaii; it ranks number 9.

While the median income is the 17th lowest, there are a substantial number of people that live below the poverty line. Overall, Wailea ranks as having the 10th most people living in poverty of all the places we analyzed in Hawaii.

10. Waipahu

And rounding out the top ten poorest cities in Hawaii is Waipahu.

The city of 39,873 people ranks in the bottom 20% for both median income and poverty rate in the Aloha State.