Moving to
Kaiminani.

All Kaiminani data Compare Kaiminani

11,465people live here $110,560median household income▲ 37% above US $1,202median rent per month▼ 15% below US $772,800median home value▲ 132% above US

Kaiminani is an unincorporated community in Hawaii County, HI. It has no city government: the county runs it, and the Census counts it as its own place.

What it's like to live in Kaiminani

Kaiminani is an unincorporated community in Hawaii with rent below the national average, county unemployment below the national average, household incomes running above the national average, and commutes that run shorter than most cities. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.

The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Kaiminani deals with home prices well above the national average, fewer dining and entertainment options than a bigger city, and a car-dependent commute, with few people using transit.

The good

Rent below the national average
Low unemployment in the county
Higher-than-average incomes
Short commutes
Clean air
Low student-teacher ratio

The not so good

High home prices
Smaller place — fewer dining and entertainment options
Car-dependent — few commuters use transit

How Kaiminani compares

Median household income

Kaiminani$110,560

Hawaii avg$100,389

US$80,734

Median rent (per month)

Kaiminani$1,202

Hawaii avg$1,971

US$1,413

Median home value

Kaiminani$772,800

Hawaii avg$839,100

US$332,700

What it takes to move to Kaiminani

Based on Kaiminani's median rent, home value and household income

To rent

$2,404

up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit

Income to keep rent under 30%: $48,080 a year
49% of Kaiminani renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent

To buy

$154,560

a 20% down payment on the median home

With 10% down: $77,280
Homes cost 7.0× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)

Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.

The details

Cost of living▼ 15% below US

$1,202/mo median rent

Cost of living works in this city's favor. Median rent sits around $1,202 a month, nothing that raises eyebrows. Solid value overall. Home prices are steep, with a median around $772,800. Renting first to get a feel for the city before buying is often the more practical route.

Median home value $772,800 · 49% of renters cost-burdened

Job market

2.7% county unemployment

Unemployment in Hawaii County is 2.7%, well below the national average of 4.3%. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.

Hawaii County (county-wide)

Safety

287 violent crimes per 100k, whole jurisdiction

Kaiminani doesn't have its own police department, so there's no crime rate for it alone. The figures shown are for the Hawaii Police Department jurisdiction as a whole, which runs close to the national average for violent crime and covers many communities. Individual neighborhoods can differ a lot from that overall rate.

Property crime 1924/100k · Policed by Hawaii Police Department (county-wide rate) · 2025 data

Getting around▼ 22% below US

20 min average commute

Commutes are reasonable, averaging 20.4 minutes. Nothing heroic, and there's still time left over for a life after work. 8 in 10 workers drive to work; 14% work from home.

How workers get to work

Drive alone

75%

Work from home

14%

Carpool

7.7%

Other

1.6%

Walk

1.4%

Public transit

1.1%

Climate

Summers are warm, with highs around 86°F, and winters are mild, with lows rarely dropping below 69°F. It's a dry climate with limited rainfall.

Average month

High °FLow °FPrecip (in)

30-year averages, 1991–2020

Education & workforceNear US average

33% bachelor's degree or higher

Education levels run about average, with 33% college-educated. It's a mix of white-collar and blue-collar work, which can be an asset or a limitation depending on the field.

Schools

1 public school inside the boundary

There is 1 public school inside the boundary and 2 private schools. The student-to-teacher ratio is 13:1, well below the national average of 16:1. Smaller class sizes are generally a positive sign for a district.

Parks & recreation

The nearest national park or historic site is Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park (6 miles away). There are 6 national parks and sites within a day's drive.

Bottom line

Kaiminani's strongest points are rent below the national average and county unemployment below the national average; the main tradeoffs are home prices well above the national average and fewer dining and entertainment options than a bigger city. A year of median rent ($1,202/mo) equals 13% of the median household income here, less than the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit people watching their budget, job seekers (county-wide unemployment is low), and people who want short commutes. It may be a harder fit for anyone who doesn't drive.

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