City profile · Hawaii · Census ACS 2023

Lawai, HI

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

2,775
Residents
$104,826
Median income
$853,700
Median home
$2,433
Median rent (state)
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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.

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Starting with Lawai, HI - add up to three more cities on the compare page.

See how it ranks

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

Place dossier plate

Sheet HI-LAWAI-HI · Lawai, HI 2,775 pop · income 80th pct

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

  • POP-VILLAGE 2,775
  • INC-HIGH $104,826
  • COL-ABOVE 110.0
  • SAFE-UNK Safety pending
  • RANK-TOP 80th
  • PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Silver Peak
  • HOME-TOP $853,700
  • BOOK-UNK Tracts pending

Nearest income peer: Silver Peak, NV ( $5 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 Lawai

Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Lawai 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 Lawai 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: 2,775.

4 peers

Similar household income

Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS median household income. This city: $104,826. Population peers are excluded.

4 peers

Lawai - the verdict

Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, Lawai places in the 80th percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.

80th
percentile, household income
96th
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: Lawai, HI

2,775 people live in Lawai, Hawaii - a small town by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Median household income here is $104,826 per year, placing it in the top quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 8.2%. Home values in Lawai run a median of $853,700, and the median resident age is 38.4 years. About 35.5% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 52.2% of working-age residents are in the labor force.

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. FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 75.0 out of 100 (High).

A decision-led reading path

Useful questions to ask of Lawai'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 housing and income to comparison shortlist; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.

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

1. Work and mobility

What does the journey to work look like in Lawai?

Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. Remote work has a visible role in the local pattern. That can reduce commute exposure for some workers, but it says nothing about job availability or broadband quality; read it alongside income and housing rather than as a stand-alone lifestyle score.

Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 67.7%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.

Compare commute patterns →

Question 2

How far does income reach against housing in Lawai?

The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 8.1 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 8.2%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.

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.

Compare the housing trade-off →

Question 3

Which cities make useful reference points for Lawai?

Within Hawaii, the closest population matches are Holualoa (2,825 residents, $109,444 income); Paia (2,629 residents, $120,735 income); Kurtistown (2,928 residents, $78,750 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Clarion, IA (2,775 residents); Sale Creek, TN (2,775 residents); Angwin, CA (2,774 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.

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.

Open a side-by-side comparison →

Population

2,775 residents

Micro place (under 10k)

Median Household Income

$104,826 /yr

High income · poverty 8.2% (Above-median poverty)

Cost of Living Index (state)

110.0 (US=100)

Highest-decile cost · BEA RPP 2024, Hawaii average

City profile score · Lawai, HI

51/100

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 B+
$104,826

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

Bachelor's+ share B-
35.5%

Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.

Poverty rate D
8.2%

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

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).

Lawai profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions) 4-axis radar comparing 1 series across Household income, Bachelor's+ share, Poverty rate, Cost of living. Household incomeBachelor's+ sharePoverty rateCost of living 51 C-
Lawai profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)
Read the chart values
  • Household income: 79/100 (B+) · $104,826
  • Bachelor's+ share: 67/100 (B-) · 35.5%
  • Poverty rate: 47/100 (D) · 8.2%
  • Cost of living: 8/100 (F) · 110.0 index

How does Lawai compare to other US cities?

Lawai measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.

Household income 80% higher than other cities
Home value 96% 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 Lawai 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 Lawai near the bottom of Hawaii's cities

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

Median Household Income
#52 of 155
66th percentile in Hawaii
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 160
0th percentile in Hawaii
Median Home Value
#50 of 150
67th percentile in Hawaii
Poverty Rate
#58 of 160
64th percentile in Hawaii
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#57 of 160
64th 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.

80thIncome percentile
Gauge source note

80th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.

How Lawai's home value compares nationally

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

$853,700 4th percentile more affordable than 4% 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%). Below this entry. $525,000–$550,000: 156 US cities (1%). Below this entry. $550,000–$575,000: 172 US cities (1%). Below this entry. $575,000–$600,000: 172 US cities (1%). Below this entry. $600,000–$625,000: 163 US cities (1%). Below this entry. $625,000–$650,000: 167 US cities (1%). Below this entry. $650,000–$675,000: 135 US cities (1%). Below this entry. $675,000–$700,000: 101 US cities (1%). Below this entry. $700,000–$725,000: 95 US cities (1%). Below this entry. $725,000–$750,000: 71 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $750,000–$775,000: 65 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $775,000–$800,000: 70 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $800,000–$825,000: 57 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $825,000–$850,000: 67 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $850,000–$875,000: 60 US cities (0%). This entry sits in this band. $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. Lawai $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

Lawai's home-value-to-income ratio: 8.1×

ACS median home value divided by median household income.

Band
pressured
> 5.0×
National rank
#15,082 of 15,516
More affordable than 3% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#11,066 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)

At 8.1×, Lawai sits in the pressured band: national rank #15,082 of 15,516 and #11,066 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

$104,826 Lawai, HI median household income (Census ACS)

Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Household income distribution - Lawai, HI Lawai, HI's median household income ($104,826) against the U.S. national quintile-share pattern. The Lorenz curve and quintile bars are national context, not Lawai, HI-specific shares. $ Household Income Distribution Lawai, HI median $104,826/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%
Lawai, 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 Lawai, HI.

Key socioeconomic indicators

Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+) 35.5%

Census ACS S1501, educational attainment

Poverty rate (households below FPL) 8.2%

Census ACS S1701, poverty status

Labor force participation (adults 16+) 52.2%

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

Population
2,775
Median Income
$104,826
Median Home Value
$853,700
Median Age
38.4
Poverty Rate
8.2%
Labor force participation
52.2%
Bachelor's Degree+
35.5%

Commute Patterns

Commute source

How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023

Drive Alone
67.7%
Carpool
7.1%
Public Transit
3.8%
Walk
0.0%
Work from Home
21.3%

Based on 1,082 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 Lawai. 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 Lawai 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 Lawai sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.

How Lawai 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
Lawai (this city) 2,775 $104,826
Holualoa 2,825 $109,444
Paia 2,629 $120,735
Kurtistown 2,928 $78,750
Primary sources on this page

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.

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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