City profile · Hawaii · Census ACS 2023

Kekaha, HI

Kekaha's Census ACS profile: residents, income, housing, and the joined public-record layers available for this place.

3,482
Residents
$73,011
Median income
$516,800
Median home
$2,433
Median rent (state)
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See how it ranks

State rank, size-class rank, and four peer cities for Kekaha.

Place dossier plate

Sheet HI-KEKAHA-HI · Kekaha, HI 3,482 pop · income 54th pct

POP-VILLAGE · INC-MID · COL-ABOVE · SAFE-UNK · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · HOME-HIGH · BOOK-UNK

  • POP-VILLAGE 3,482
  • INC-MID $73,011
  • COL-ABOVE 110.0
  • SAFE-UNK Safety pending
  • RANK-MID 54th
  • PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Ottawa
  • HOME-HIGH $516,800
  • BOOK-UNK Tracts pending

Nearest income peer: Ottawa, IL (+ $0 income $)

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.

Income neighbourhood around Kekaha

Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Kekaha on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.

median HH income

What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.

Source U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 5-Year Estimates As of 2026-08-08

Compare beyond this state

Nationwide peers by population, income

Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Kekaha 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: 3,482.

4 peers

Similar household income

Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS median household income. This city: $73,011. Population peers are excluded.

4 peers

Kekaha - the verdict

Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, Kekaha places in the 54th percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.

54th
percentile, household income
86th
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: Kekaha, HI

Hawaii's Kekaha is a small town, with 3,482 residents per the latest Census Bureau ACS figures. Kekaha households earn a median of $73,011 annually, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 17.6%. Home values in Kekaha run a median of $516,800, and the median resident age is 40.0 years. About 11.8% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 60.2% of working-age residents are in the labor force.

Hawai'i reports building permits at the county level only: Kauai County authorized 141 residential units in 2024, down 21.7% over six years, per Census BPS data.

Hawaii carries a cost-of-living premium: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts Hawaii at 110.0 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Well Above Average). A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $2,433 per month statewide. 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 Kekaha'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 housing and income to work and mobility to comparison shortlist to schools and households; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.

For Kekaha, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares, matched public-school count. No matched row is reported here for FBI reported-crime rates, annual population history, within-city Census tract profiles, local building permits; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.

1. Housing and income

How far does income reach against housing in Kekaha?

This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median. That flags a question for comparison, not a verdict: tenure, household composition, financing costs, and the age of the ACS estimate can all change what a resident actually pays.

The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 7.1 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 17.6%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.

Compare the housing trade-off →

Question 2

What does the journey to work look like in Kekaha?

Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 77.3%. 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.

Compare commute patterns →

3. Comparison shortlist

Which cities make useful reference points for Kekaha?

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 Hauula (3,473 residents, $113,571 income); Ainaloa (3,493 residents, $51,757 income); Waikapu (3,645 residents, $121,618 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are French Camp, CA (3,482 residents); Hillsboro, MO (3,483 residents); Clifton Forge, VA (3,483 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.

Open a side-by-side comparison →

4. Schools and households

What does the education layer cover for Kekaha?

The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.

The NCES join finds 3 public schools within the city match. 11.8% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.

See how the family ranking is built →

Population

3,482 residents

Micro place (under 10k)

Median Household Income

$73,011 /yr

Above median income · poverty 17.6% (High poverty)

Cost of Living Index (state)

110.0 (US=100)

Highest-decile cost · BEA RPP 2024, Hawaii average

City profile score · Kekaha, HI

25/100

4 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.

Household income C-
$73,011

Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.

Poverty rate F
17.6%

Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.

Bachelor's+ share F
11.8%

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.

Violent crime N/A
N/A

No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).

Kekaha profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions) 4-axis radar comparing 1 series across Household income, Poverty rate, Bachelor's+ share, Cost of living. Household incomePoverty rateBachelor's+ shareCost of living 25 F
Kekaha profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)
Read the chart values
  • Household income: 53/100 (C-) · $73,011
  • Poverty rate: 18/100 (F) · 17.6%
  • Bachelor's+ share: 11/100 (F) · 11.8%
  • Cost of living: 8/100 (F) · 110.0 index

How does Kekaha compare to other US cities?

Where Kekaha sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.

Household income 54% higher than other cities
Home value 86% pricier than other cities
Median rent 99% 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 Kekaha 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 Kekaha near the bottom of Hawaii's cities

Among the 160 Hawaii cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Kekaha ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Kekaha only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.

Median Household Income
#121 of 155
22nd percentile in Hawaii
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 160
0th percentile in Hawaii
Median Home Value
#112 of 150
25th percentile in Hawaii
Poverty Rate
#20 of 160
87th percentile in Hawaii
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#153 of 160
4th 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.

54thIncome percentile
Gauge source note

54th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.

How Kekaha's home value compares nationally

Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)

$516,800 14th percentile more affordable than 14% of 15,600 US cities

Show national distribution $0–$25,000: 5 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $25,000–$50,000: 54 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $50,000–$75,000: 352 US cities (2%). Below this entry. $75,000–$100,000: 1,086 US cities (7%). Below this entry. $100,000–$125,000: 1,516 US cities (10%). Below this entry. $125,000–$150,000: 1,170 US cities (8%). Below this entry. $150,000–$175,000: 1,278 US cities (8%). Below this entry. $175,000–$200,000: 1,229 US cities (8%). Below this entry. $200,000–$225,000: 1,035 US cities (7%). Below this entry. $225,000–$250,000: 976 US cities (6%). Below this entry. $250,000–$275,000: 754 US cities (5%). Below this entry. $275,000–$300,000: 712 US cities (5%). Below this entry. $300,000–$325,000: 521 US cities (3%). Below this entry. $325,000–$350,000: 526 US cities (3%). Below this entry. $350,000–$375,000: 465 US cities (3%). Below this entry. $375,000–$400,000: 393 US cities (3%). Below this entry. $400,000–$425,000: 317 US cities (2%). Below this entry. $425,000–$450,000: 300 US cities (2%). Below this entry. $450,000–$475,000: 307 US cities (2%). Below this entry. $475,000–$500,000: 250 US cities (2%). Below this entry. $500,000–$525,000: 160 US cities (1%). This entry sits in this band. $525,000–$550,000: 156 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $550,000–$575,000: 172 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $575,000–$600,000: 172 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $600,000–$625,000: 163 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $625,000–$650,000: 167 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $650,000–$675,000: 135 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $675,000–$700,000: 101 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $700,000–$725,000: 95 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $725,000–$750,000: 71 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $750,000–$775,000: 65 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $775,000–$800,000: 70 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $800,000–$825,000: 57 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $825,000–$850,000: 67 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $850,000–$875,000: 60 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $875,000–$900,000: 58 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $900,000–$925,000: 47 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $925,000–$950,000: 37 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $950,000–$975,000: 31 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $975,000–$1,000,000: 470 US cities (3%). Above this entry. $1,000,000–$1,025,000: 0 US cities (0%). Above this entry. Kekaha $0 $1,025,000 every US city, bucketed by value

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

Kekaha's home-value-to-income ratio: 7.1×

ACS median home value divided by median household income.

Band
pressured
> 5.0×
National rank
#14,705 of 15,516
More affordable than 5% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#10,820 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)

At 7.1×, Kekaha sits in the pressured band: national rank #14,705 of 15,516 and #10,820 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000). Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median, a comparison flag, not a verdict on any household.

How this ratio is calculated

Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000. Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0). This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.

Income distribution context

$73,011 Kekaha, HI median household income (Census ACS)

Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Household income distribution - Kekaha, HI Kekaha, HI's median household income ($73,011) against the U.S. national quintile-share pattern. The Lorenz curve and quintile bars are national context, not Kekaha, HI-specific shares. $ Household Income Distribution Kekaha, HI median $73,011/yr, vs. U.S. national quintile pattern QUINTILE SHARE OF AGGREGATE INCOME Lowest 20% 3.4% Second 20% 9.2% Middle 20% 15.1% Fourth 20% 23.2% Top 20% 49.1% LORENZ CURVE cumulative income vs. population 100% 0% 100% pop. 0%
Kekaha, HI median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Kekaha, HI.

Key socioeconomic indicators

Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+) 11.8%

Census ACS S1501, educational attainment

Poverty rate (households below FPL) 17.6%

Census ACS S1701, poverty status

Labor force participation (adults 16+) 60.2%

Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force

Population
3,482
Median Income
$73,011
Median Home Value
$516,800
Median Age
40.0
Poverty Rate
17.6%
Labor force participation
60.2%
Bachelor's Degree+
11.8%

Schools

Total Schools
3
Public schools in this city

Housing Supply

BPS source

Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS), no place-level data is published for Hawai'i cities and CDPs, since Hawai'i has no incorporated municipalities below the county level. The figures below are Kauai County's TOTAL across every city and CDP in the county, not specific to Kekaha.

Kauai County Total (2024)
141
county-wide housing units authorized
Single-Family
141
detached homes, county-wide
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos, county-wide

Kauai County 6-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)

Year County Total
2019 180
2020 147
2021 170
2022 160
2023 153
2024 141

Kauai County permit volume decreased 21.7% from 2019 to 2024 (county-wide, not specific to Kekaha).

Commute Patterns

Commute source

How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023

Drive Alone
77.3%
Carpool
18.0%
Public Transit
1.6%
Walk
1.2%
Work from Home
1.9%

Based on 1,545 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 Kekaha. 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 Kekaha 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 Kekaha sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.

How Kekaha 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.

City Population Median Household Income
Kekaha (this city) 3,482 $73,011
Hauula 3,473 $113,571
Ainaloa 3,493 $51,757
Waikapu 3,645 $121,618
NCES CCD Census BPS 2024 (county)
Primary sources on this page

Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024 (Kauai County, county-level), 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.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Citation & verification links Data sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCities

Primary sources: Census ACS, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES. Joins use OMB Bulletin 23-01 / FIPS keys.

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Estimate caveats

ACS and UCR figures are citywide estimates with vintage lags; they do not replace a local visit, school visit, or insurance quote.

Editorial standards, provenance, and how to cite this page

Every figure on PlainCities is rendered directly from Census ACS source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on Census ACS source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

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