Moving to
Waimalu.

All Waimalu data Compare Waimalu

13,061people live here $89,232median household income▲ 11% above US $1,931median rent per month▲ 37% above US $597,800median home value▲ 80% above US

Waimalu is an unincorporated community in Honolulu 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 Waimalu

Waimalu is an unincorporated community in Hawaii with county unemployment below the national average, household incomes running above the national average, air quality that stays clean most of the year, and schools with smaller class sizes than the national average. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.

The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Waimalu deals with rent well above the national average and home prices well above the national average.

The good

Low unemployment in the county
Higher-than-average incomes
Clean air
Low student-teacher ratio

The not so good

Rent well above the national average
High home prices

How Waimalu compares

Median household income

Waimalu$89,232

Hawaii avg$100,389

US$80,734

Median rent (per month)

Waimalu$1,931

Hawaii avg$1,971

US$1,413

Median home value

Waimalu$597,800

Hawaii avg$839,100

US$332,700

What it takes to move to Waimalu

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

To rent

$3,862

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

Income to keep rent under 30%: $77,240 a year
39% of Waimalu renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent

To buy

$119,560

a 20% down payment on the median home

With 10% down: $59,780
Homes cost 6.7× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)

Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.

The details

Cost of living▲ 37% above US

$1,931/mo median rent

Rent is expensive here, at $1,931 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 are steep, with a median around $597,800. Renting first to get a feel for the city before buying is often the more practical route.

Median home value $597,800 · 39% 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

Waimalu 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 aroundNear US average

26 min average commute

Commutes run about average, at 26.3 minutes. Fine day to day, but it adds up over a year, and where someone lives relative to where they work starts to matter. 8 in 10 workers drive to work; 12% work from home.

How workers get to work

Drive alone

67%

Carpool

15%

Work from home

12%

Public transit

4.0%

Walk

1.5%

Other

1.2%

Climate

Summers are warm, with highs around 88°F, and winters are mild, with lows rarely dropping below 68°F. It's a dry climate with limited rainfall.

Average month

High °FLow °FPrecip (in)

30-year averages, 1991–2020

Healthcare

1 hospital

There's one Medicare-certified hospital inside city limits, rated 4.0 out of 5 by Medicare. Hospitals in neighboring towns aren't counted here.

Medicare-certified hospitals

Education & workforceNear US average

36% bachelor's degree or higher

Education levels run about average, with 36% 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 1 private school. The student-to-teacher ratio is 14:1, 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 Pearl Harbor National Memorial (2 miles away). There are 3 national parks and sites within a day's drive.

Bottom line

Waimalu's strongest points are county unemployment below the national average and household incomes running above the national average; the main tradeoffs are rent well above the national average and home prices well above the national average. A year of median rent ($1,931/mo) equals 26% of the median household income here, more than the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit job seekers (county-wide unemployment is low). It may be a harder fit for renters on a tight budget.

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