Kaaawa is a very small coastal town (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of Hawaii. With a population of 1,421 people and just one neighborhood, Kaaawa is the 53rd largest community in Hawaii.
Housing costs in Kaaawa are among some of the highest in the nation, although real estate prices here don't compare to real estate prices in the most expensive communities in Hawaii.
Kaaawa is a military town: the armed forces employs 18.50% of the workforce, making the military a major focus of life in the city. In the civilian sector, Healthcare and Construction are important in the local economy and are the town’s largest civilian employers, employing 19.97% and 18.17% of the civilian workforce respectively.
And if you like science, one thing you'll find is that Kaaawa has lots of scientists living in town - whether they be life scientists, physical scientists (like astronomers), or social scientists (like geographers!). So, if you're scientific-minded, you might like it here too.
One of the nice things about Kaaawa is that it is nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Because of this, visitors and locals will often go to these areas to take in the scenery or to enjoy waterfront activities.
One downside of living in Kaaawa is that it can take a long time to commute to work. In Kaaawa, the average commute to work is 40.19 minutes, which is quite a bit higher than the national average.
Do you have a 4-year college degree or graduate degree? If so, you may feel right at home in Kaaawa. 51.08% of adults here have a 4-year degree or graduate degree, whereas the national average for all cities and towns is just 21.84%.
The per capita income in Kaaawa in 2022 was $53,483, which is wealthy relative to Hawaii and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $213,932 for a family of four.
Kaaawa is an extremely ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Kaaawa home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Kaaawa residents report their race to be White, followed by Native Hawaiian. Kaaawa also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 16.04% of the town’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Kaaawa include Irish, English, Polish, German, and Portuguese.
The most common language spoken in Kaaawa is English. Other important languages spoken here include Pacific Island languages and Spanish.
When you see a neighborhood for the first time, the most important thing is often the way it looks, like its homes and its setting. Some places look the same, but they only reveal their true character after living in them for a while because they contain a unique mix of occupational or cultural groups. This neighborhood is very unique in some important ways, according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive exploration and analysis.
Do you like a coastal setting? If so, this neighborhood may be to your liking. The neighborhood is on the ocean, a bay, or inlet. Often such coastal places have amenities and recreational activities on the waterfront that are attractive to residents and visitors alike. In addition to being coastal, is a very nautical neighborhood, meaning that it is somewhat historic, walkable, densely populated and on the water. This gives the neighborhood a very nautical feel, with some seaside and shipping feel, which some may really enjoy the sights and sounds of.
With 16.6% of employed workers living in the neighborhood active in the military, this neighborhood has the distinction of having a higher proportion of people in the military than 99.7% of American neighborhoods. This is a major shaper of the neighborhood's culture and character.
Astoundingly, NeighborhoodScout's research reveals that this single neighborhood has a higher concentration of married couples living here than 98.3% of all U.S. neighborhoods. Whether they have school-aged children or not, married couples are the rule in the neighborhood. If you are a married couple, you may find many people here with a similar lifestyle, and perhaps common interests. But if you are single, you might not find many other singles here.
Did you know that the neighborhood has more Portuguese and Cuban ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 4.0% of this neighborhood's residents have Portuguese ancestry and 5.4% have Cuban ancestry.
is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 0.9% of its residents five years old and above primarily speak Japanese at home. While this may seem like a small percentage, it is higher than 96.9% of the neighborhoods in America.
How wealthy a neighborhood is, from very wealthy, to middle income, to low income is very formative with regard to the personality and character of a neighborhood. Equally important is the rate of people, particularly children, who live below the federal poverty line. In some wealthy gated communities, the areas immediately surrounding can have high rates of childhood poverty, which indicates other social issues. NeighborhoodScout's analysis reveals both aspects of income and poverty for this neighborhood.
The neighbors in the neighborhood in Kaaawa are wealthy, making it among the 15% highest income neighborhoods in America. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that this neighborhood has a higher income than 88.7% of the neighborhoods in America. With 12.3% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 54.7% of U.S. neighborhoods.
The old saying "you are what you eat" is true. But it is also true that you are what you do for a living. The types of occupations your neighbors have shape their character, and together as a group, their collective occupations shape the culture of a place.
In the neighborhood, 45.0% of the working population is employed in executive, management, and professional occupations. The second most important occupational group in this neighborhood is sales and service jobs, from major sales accounts, to working in fast food restaurants, with 20.6% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations (18.7%), and 16.6% in the military.
The most common language spoken in the neighborhood is English, spoken by 86.5% of households. Some people also speak Spanish (2.7%).
Boston's Beacon Hill blue-blood streets, Brooklyn's Orthodox Jewish enclaves, Los Angeles' Persian neighborhoods. Each has its own culture derived primarily from the ancestries and culture of the residents who call these neighborhoods home. Likewise, each neighborhood in America has its own culture – some more unique than others – based on lifestyle, occupations, the types of households – and importantly – on the ethnicities and ancestries of the people who live in the neighborhood. Understanding where people came from, who their grandparents or great-grandparents were, can help you understand how a neighborhood is today.
In the neighborhood in Kaaawa, HI, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Irish (15.7%). There are also a number of people of English ancestry (13.2%), and residents who report German roots (9.9%), and some of the residents are also of Polish ancestry (9.3%), along with some Asian ancestry residents (6.9%), among others.
How you get to work – car, bus, train or other means – and how much of your day it takes to do so is a large quality of life and financial issue. Especially with gasoline prices rising and expected to continue doing so, the length and means of one's commute can be a financial burden. Some neighborhoods are physically located so that many residents have to drive in their own car, others are set up so many walk to work, or can take a train, bus, or bike. The greatest number of commuters in neighborhood spend between 30 and 45 minutes commuting one-way to work (40.7% of working residents), which is at or a bit above the average length of a commute across all U.S. neighborhoods.
Here most residents (74.6%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In addition, quite a number also carpool with coworkers, friends, or neighbors to get to work (11.2%) and 9.6% of residents also ride the bus for their daily commute. In a neighborhood like this, as in most of the nation, many residents find owning a car useful for getting to work.