Census-designated place · Kauai County, Hawaii

Lawai, Hawaii

Lawai is a census-designated place in Kauai County, Hawaii, part of the Kapaa, HI metro area. It has 2,718 residents. Lawai, Hawaii has a quality-of-life score of 82 out of 100 (very high), ranking #2,890 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Hawaii it ranks #21 of 125 cities and towns. It ranks best on arts, entertainment and recreation (high), uninsured residents (under 65) (low) and time spent in the emergency room (low). It ranks worst on distance to an Amtrak station (high), home price to income ratio (high) and hospital quality rating (low).

82Very high

Quality-of-life score: #2,890 of 15,651 cities and towns
Hawaii: #21 of 125 in HI
Population: 2,718 (2020-2024)
Land area: 4 mi²
Density: 669.8 /mi²
FIPS code: 1544450

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 67 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety65#5,424/15,637
Economy65#5,525/15,631
Housing11#13,316/14,977
Health91#1,464/15,609
Healthcare72#4,398/15,650
Environment—
Education65#5,553/15,649
Infrastructure92#1,274/15,650
Community67#5,088/15,651
Leisure & amenities96#547/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Lawai, Hawaii ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Kauai County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Arts, entertainment and recreation · high14.0 /10k
98/100Hawaii 6.8 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsKauai County value
Uninsured residents (under 65) · low0.7%
98/100Hawaii 4.1%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010High uncertainty
Time spent in the emergency room · low96 min
97/100Hawaii 122 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesKauai County value
Restaurants and bars · high16.8 /10k
97/100Hawaii 12.5 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsKauai County value
Effective property tax rate · low0.32%
96/100Hawaii 0.29%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Firearm deaths · low3.0 /100k
96/100Hawaii 3.8 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimateProvisional dataKauai County value

Weaknesses

Distance to an Amtrak station · high2,455 mi
0/100Hawaii 2,391 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauKauai County value
Home price to income ratio · high8.1×
3/100Hawaii 8.4×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Hospital quality rating · low2.0
9/100Hawaii 3.2United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesKauai County value
Unemployment rate · high9.1%
12/100Hawaii 2.4%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025High uncertainty
Natural hazard risk · high86.6
13/100Hawaii 93.22025Federal Emergency Management AgencyKauai County value
Rent-burdened households · high50.6%
14/100Hawaii 56.7%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationRising
2,047 (2015-2019) → 2,718 (2020-2024)
+33%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
82.3% (2015-2019) → 96.2% (2020-2024)
+14 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
61.4% (2015-2019) → 50.6% (2020-2024)
−11 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
30.3% (2015-2019) → 38.0% (2020-2024)
+7.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Median household incomeImproving
$75,313 (2015-2019) → $104,286 (2020-2024)
+38%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Public transit commutersImproving
0.0% (2015-2019) → 4.1% (2020-2024)
+4.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B08301US 5.0% → 3.2%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Lawai, Hawaii improved on 2 of 10 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 8 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved2

Broadband+14 points82.3% → 96.2%
Household income+38%$75,313 → $104,286

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 10 measures

Change of every measure of Lawai, Hawaii between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	23.0 min2015-2019	19.3 min2020-2024	−3.6 min	Within the margin of error	83%
Bachelor's degree or higher	30.3%2015-2019	38.0%2020-2024	+7.7 points	Within the margin of error	82%
Broadband subscriptions	82.3%2015-2019	96.2%2020-2024	+14 points	Improved	76%
Effective property tax rate	0.36%2015-2019	0.32%2020-2024	−0 points	Within the margin of error	23%
High school diploma or higher	98.0%2015-2019	96.5%2020-2024	−1.5 points	Within the margin of error	19%
Home price to income ratio	7.8×2015-2019	8.1×2020-2024	+0.3×	Within the margin of error	59%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4032015-2019	0.3552020-2024	−0.049	Within the margin of error	83%
Median household income	$75,3132015-2019	$104,2862020-2024	+38%	Improved	71%
Rent as share of income	34.1%2015-2019	30.1%2020-2024	−4 points	Within the margin of error	79%
Rent-burdened households	61.4%2015-2019	50.6%2020-2024	−11 points	Within the margin of error	84%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Lawai, Hawaii five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Lawai, Hawaii in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Lawai, Hawaii itself moved +13.6 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

2,718 residents (±526)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

906 households (±169)

Lawai, Hawaii
Hawaii share

Under $25k11%†97
$25k–50k9.5%†86
$50k–75k

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

906 households (±169)

Lawai, Hawaii
Hawaii share

Own71%643
Rent29%†263

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

1,154 workers (±237)

Lawai, Hawaii
Hawaii share

Drive alone67%776
Carpool6.2%†72
Public transit4.1%†47

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Kapaa, HI

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Kauai County, the county holding most of Lawai's residents.

Kauai County has 2,281 employer establishments, 310 for every 10,000 residents (1.25× the US rate of 248; 1.35× Hawaii's), with 27,099 paid employees at an average annual pay of $51,587. The Census Bureau also counts 7,720 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 2,281; 7,720 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 310; US 248 · Hawaii 229
Paid employees: 27,099
Average annual pay: $51,587; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Kauai County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Restaurants and other eating places	216	29.3	1.60×More than typical	3,633	$33,246	55
Specialty trade contractors	147	20	1.29×More than typical	909	$63,264	452
Ambulatory health care services	140	19	0.91×About typical	1,157	$60,817	322
Lessors of real estate	131	17.8	1.44×More than typical	656	$67,127	771
Services to buildings and dwellings	103	14	2.07×More than typical	1,349	$25,961	959
Construction of buildings	101	13.7	1.81×More than typical	690	$94,181	233
Clothing and accessories stores	97	13.2	3.63×More than typical	682	$31,160	115
Limited-service restaurants	91	12.4	1.54×More than typical	1,121	$28,688	19
Full-service restaurants	86	11.7	1.52×More than typical	2,191	$37,009	19
Landscaping services	58	7.9	2.25×More than typical	307	$39,945	334
Traveler accommodation	53	7.2	3.99×More than typical	3,902	$59,300	40
Building equipment contractors	52	7.1	1.17×About typical	250	$60,176	101

Rank places for an industry Open Kauai County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 73,672 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $123.2K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Lawai, Hawaii: $45.31 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $123.2K; −74% vs FY2025
Per resident: $45.31; US $1,994
Sole-source: 100%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

U.S. Coast Guard$123.1K100.0%
Department of the Army$46.340.0%

Top recipients

CITIBANK, N.A.$79.8K65%
DKI808 LLC$33.8K27%
JBA CONSTRUCTION LLC$9,5547.8%
KAUAI KOOKIE LLC$46.340.0%
BEACON POINT ASSOCIATES LLC$00.0%
LUMEN TECHNOLOGIES GOVERNMENT SOLUTIONS, INC.

Spending by fiscal year

30.8KFY2017
595.9FY2018
12.9KFY2019
815.7FY2020
0FY2021
-4.1KFY2022
204.7KFY2023
69.2KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Management, scientific, and technical consulting services · 5416$79.8K65%
Remediation and other waste management services · 5629$33.8K27%
Other specialty trade contractors · 2389$9,5547.8%
Special food services · 7223$46.340.0%

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Lawai, Hawaii

ENVIRONMENTAL TESTING KAUAI HOUSING$79.8K
CITIBANK, N.A.· Kauai County, HI· Professional services· May 16, 2026 – May 16, 2026· 70Z03426PHONO0147
KAUAI HOUSING HEPA CLEANING$33.8K
DKI808 LLC· Kauai County, HI· Facilities & utilities· Jun 18, 2026 – Jun 18, 2026· 70Z03426PHONO0169

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Lawai, Hawaii, so they do not add up across cities.

Lawai, Hawaii's figures are part of those of Kauai County, HI ($84.2M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.1% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Lawai is mostly in Kauai County.

See federal money in Kauai County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Lawai, Hawaii is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Jill N. TokudaD-HI-2 · 100% of residentsWith party 100%Missed 0.1%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Kauai County86100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Kapaa, HI90

Other cities and towns in Kauai County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/1544450

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends