Side-by-side metrics and state or size-class ranks use the same Census and FBI fields shown on this profile. Results stay in the URL so you can bookmark or share them.
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Black Sands on ACS population and median household income
. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 237.
Black Sands has 237 residents in Hawaii. Source: Census ACS.
12th
percentile, home value
99th
percentile, median rent
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Black Sands, HI
Black Sands is a small town in Hawaii, home to 237 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Black Sands's housing stock carries a median value of $107,500, and the median resident age is 52.4 years. About 15.2% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 30.9% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Hawaii carries a cost-of-living premium: the state registers 110.0 on a 100-equals-national-average index (Well Above Average) per BEA Regional Price Parities 2024. HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $2,433 per month. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Hawaii run around $280, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. Natural-hazard exposure scores 75.0 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (High).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Black Sands's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from work and mobility to comparison shortlist; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Black Sands, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares.
No matched row is reported here for matched public-school count, annual population history, local building permits, within-city Census tract profiles, FBI reported-crime rates; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
What does the journey to work look like in Black Sands?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 48.4%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
Which cities make useful reference points for Black Sands?
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching.
Within Hawaii, the closest population matches are Hanalei (239 residents, $114,375 income); Kalihiwai (232 residents, $103,333 income); Maalaea (242 residents, $93,750 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Coffeeville, AL (237 residents); Westcreek, CO (237 residents); Magnolia, DE (237 residents). These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
Highest-decile cost · BEA RPP 2024, Hawaii average
F
City profile score · Black Sands, HI
26/100
3 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Poverty rate D
8.0%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share F
15.2%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Cost of living F
110.0 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Household income N/A
N/A
No ACS median household income on file for this place.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Black Sands profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Poverty rate: 48/100 (D) · 8.0%
Bachelor's+ share: 21/100 (F) · 15.2%
Cost of living: 8/100 (F) · 110.0 index
How does Black Sands compare to other US cities?
Where Black Sands sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Home value12% pricier than other cities
Median rent99% pricier than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Black Sands against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Hawaii only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Hawaii-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Black Sands near the bottom of Hawaii's cities
Among the 160 Hawaii cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Black Sands ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Black Sands only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 160
0th percentile in Hawaii
Median Home Value
#150 of 150
0th percentile in Hawaii
Poverty Rate
#59 of 160
63rd percentile in Hawaii
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#144 of 160
9th percentile in Hawaii
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Hawaii only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
How Black Sands's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$107,500Among the most affordablemore affordable than 88% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Income distribution context
Median household income is not available for Black Sands in the current Census ACS release (common for very small places).
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)15.2%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)8.0%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)30.9%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
237
Median Income
N/A
Median Home Value
$107,500
Median Age
52.4
Poverty Rate
8.0%
Labor force participation
30.9%
Bachelor's Degree+
15.2%
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
48.4%
Carpool
28.1%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
0.0%
Work from Home
12.5%
Other
11.0%
Based on 64 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Hawaii statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $280
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Hawaii at $280 (electricity about $220 , water and sewer about $60 ).
These are Hawaii statewide averages, not a meter reading for Black Sands. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Hawaii's BEA cost-of-living index is 110.0 (Well Above Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Black Sands is $2,433/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Hawaii statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 75.0 / 100 (High).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Hawaii statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Black Sands sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Black Sands compares to similar-size Hawaii cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.