Moving to
Kaneohe Base.

All Kaneohe Base data Compare Kaneohe Base

10,919people live here $69,418median household income▼ 14% below US $3,410median rent per month▲ 141% above US $352,000median home valueNear US average

Kaneohe Base is Marine Corps Base Hawaii. These figures cover the people who live on base, mostly young service members and their families, so it isn’t ranked against other cities. Most people stationed here live off base, in Kaneohe.

What it's like to live in Kaneohe Base

Kaneohe Base is an unincorporated community in Hawaii with county unemployment below the national average, commutes that run shorter than most cities, air quality that stays clean most of the year, and a highly educated workforce. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.

The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Kaneohe Base deals with rent well above the national average and a rent burden that leaves many renters stretched thin.

The good

Low unemployment in the county
Short commutes
Clean air
Highly educated workforce
Average class sizes

The not so good

Rent well above the national average
High rent burden for renters

How Kaneohe Base compares

Median household income

Kaneohe Base$69,418

Hawaii avg$100,389

US$80,734

Median rent (per month)

Kaneohe Base$3,410

Hawaii avg$1,971

US$1,413

Median home value

Kaneohe Base$352,000

Hawaii avg$839,100

US$332,700

What it takes to move to Kaneohe Base

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

To rent

$6,820

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

Income to keep rent under 30%: $136,400 a year
76% of Kaneohe Base renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent

To buy

$70,400

a 20% down payment on the median home

With 10% down: $35,200
Homes cost 5.1× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)

Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.

The details

Cost of living▲ 141% above US

$3,410/mo median rent

Rent is expensive here, at $3,410 a month median and well above the national average. This is the kind of city where housing costs deserve serious budgeting before committing to a move. Home prices run above average, with a median around $352,000. Buyers should expect to stretch their budget here.

Median home value $352,000 · 76% of renters cost-burdened

Job market

2.3% county unemployment

Unemployment in Honolulu County is 2.3%, 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.

Honolulu County (county-wide)

Safety

181 violent crimes per 100k, whole jurisdiction

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

Property crime 1459/100k · Policed by Honolulu Police Department (county-wide rate) · 2025 data

Getting around▼ 57% below US

11 min average commute

Commutes run short here, averaging 11.3 minutes. That's an underrated perk of living in a smaller or well-planned city, where time isn't lost sitting in traffic. 7 in 10 workers drive to work; 5% work from home.

How workers get to work

Drive alone

55%

Walk

21%

Carpool

12%

Other

6.4%

Work from home

5.1%

Public transit

0.2%

Climate

Summers are warm, with highs around 83°F, and winters are mild, with lows rarely dropping below 69°F.

Average month

High °FLow °FPrecip (in)

30-year averages, 1991–2020

Education & workforceNear US average

39% bachelor's degree or higher

Education levels run about average, with 39% 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. The student-to-teacher ratio is 18:1, slightly above the national average of 16:1.

Parks & recreation

The nearest national park or historic site is Pearl Harbor National Memorial (13 miles away). There are 3 national parks and sites within a day's drive.

Bottom line

Kaneohe Base's strongest points are county unemployment below the national average and commutes that run shorter than most cities; the main tradeoffs are rent well above the national average and a rent burden that leaves many renters stretched thin. A year of median rent ($3,410/mo) equals 59% of the median household income here, more than the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit job seekers (county-wide unemployment is low) and people who want short commutes. It may be a harder fit for renters on a tight budget.

See all the data for Kaneohe Base →·All Hawaii cities →