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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 56 places in Hawaii with more than 5,000 people.
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, Makaha is the poorest place in Hawaii for 2020.
Rich people more your cup of tea? Feel free to check out the richest 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:
- 10 Best Places To Live In Hawaii
- 10 Cheapest Places To Live In Hawaii
- These Are The 10 Richest Cities In Hawaii
The 10 Poorest Cities In Hawaii For 2020
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Makaha, unfortunately, ranks as the poorest place in Hawaii thanks to combination of low pay and and a lack of jobs.
The city of 8,740 people averages the 1st lowest median household income in Hawaii and the 1st 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.
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The second poorest city in Hawaii is Waianae.
The city ranks as having the 2nd highest incidence of poverty and 3rd lowest median household income. However, the unemployment rate 'only' ranks as the 3rd highest in the Aloha State.
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Placing as the third poorest city, Nanakuli's median income ranks as the 9th 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 17.632994620442318% 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.
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Hilo ranks as the fourth poorest place in Hawaii.
The town ranks as having the 5th 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.
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The fifth poorest city in Hawaii is Wailuku.
The city ranks as having the 12th 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 10th highest in Hawaii.
Still not the best news for Wailuku.
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Wahiawa ranks as the sixth poorest place in the Aloha State.
It ranks as having the 8th highest incidence of poverty and the 16th highest unemployment rate.
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Population: 11,479
Rank Last Year: 4 (Down 3)
Median Income: $56,738 (2nd lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 3.9% (27th highest)
Poverty Rate: 18.1% (4th highest)
More on Hawaiian Paradise Park: Data
Hawaiian Paradise Park places as the seventh poorest city in Hawaii.
The city of over 11,479 ranks as having the 4th highest incidence of poverty in the state. However, it has a very low cost of living which helps to pay the bills each month.
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Wailea ranks as the eighth poorest city in Hawaii.
The big issue for the town is the unemployment rate which ranks as the 17th highest in the state.
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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 30th lowest, there are a substantial number of people that live below the poverty line. Overall, Maili ranks as having the 6th most people living in poverty of all the places we analyzed in Hawaii.
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Population: 5,443
Rank Last Year: 7 (Down 3)
Median Income: $72,008 (13th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 7.2% (9th highest)
Poverty Rate: 8.0% (28th highest)
More on Waipio Acres: Data
And rounding out the top ten poorest cities in Hawaii is Waipio Acres.
The city of 5,443 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 2020
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 2014-2018 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 56 places with more than 5,000 people in Hawaii, we ranked each place from 1 to 56 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, Makaha, crowned the "Poorest Place In Hawaii For 2020". You can download the data here.
There You Have It - The Poorest Places In Hawaii For 2020
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 | Makaha | 8,740 |
| 2 | Waianae | 14,054 |
| 3 | Nanakuli | 11,742 |
| 4 | Hilo | 46,284 |
| 5 | Wailuku | 17,354 |
| 6 | Wahiawa | 17,422 |
| 7 | Hawaiian Paradise Park | 11,479 |
| 8 | Wailea | 5,656 |
| 9 | Maili | 10,792 |
| 10 | Waipio Acres | 5,443 |
| 11 | Kaneohe Station | 11,075 |
| 12 | Schofield Barracks | 19,796 |
| 13 | Urban Honolulu | 350,003 |
| 14 | Waipahu | 40,427 |
| 15 | Lahaina | 13,103 |
| 16 | Kapaa | 10,544 |
| 17 | Kihei | 21,879 |
| 18 | Kula | 7,541 |
| 19 | Waimea Cdp (Hawaii County) | 11,687 |
| 20 | Kahului | 32,312 |
| 21 | Laie | 6,111 |
| 22 | Hanamaulu | 5,422 |
| 23 | Kalaoa | 11,604 |
| 24 | Hickam Housing | 9,258 |
| 25 | Kailua Cdp (Hawaii County) | 15,268 |
| 26 | Wailua Homesteads | 5,900 |
| 27 | Pukalani | 7,769 |
| 28 | Makawao | 7,570 |
| 29 | Kalaheo | 5,224 |
| 30 | Ewa Beach | 14,717 |
| 31 | Waimanalo | 6,135 |
| 32 | Waikoloa Village | 6,412 |
| 33 | Holualoa | 9,136 |
| 34 | Waihee-Waiehu | 8,802 |
| 35 | Lihue | 7,381 |
| 36 | Kapolei | 21,474 |
| 37 | Napili-Honokowai | 7,258 |
| 38 | Makakilo | 20,920 |
| 39 | Waimalu | 13,384 |
| 40 | Halawa | 14,640 |
| 41 | Mililani Town | 27,926 |
| 42 | Haiku-Pauwela | 8,061 |
| 43 | Kailua Cdp (Honolulu County) | 36,662 |
| 44 | Waipio | 11,508 |
| 45 | Pearl City | 46,129 |
| 46 | Kaneohe | 33,739 |
| 47 | Royal Kunia | 14,449 |
| 48 | Aiea | 9,439 |
| 49 | Ewa Villages | 7,118 |
| 50 | Ahuimanu | 8,239 |
| 51 | Ocean Pointe | 14,037 |
| 52 | Ewa Gentry | 25,752 |
| 53 | West Loch Estate | 5,177 |
| 54 | Waikele | 7,062 |
| 55 | East Honolulu | 47,770 |
| 56 | Mililani Mauka | 19,955 |
