Census-designated place · Hawaii County, Hawaii

Pahala, Hawaii

Pahala is a census-designated place in Hawaii County, Hawaii, part of the Hilo-Kailua, HI metro area. It has 1,768 residents. Pahala, Hawaii has a quality-of-life score of 37 out of 100 (low), ranking #9,875 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Hawaii it ranks #108 of 125 cities and towns. It ranks best on uninsured residents (under 65) (low), effective property tax rate (low) and adult obesity (low). It ranks worst on distance to an Amtrak station (high), natural hazard risk (high) and unemployment rate (high).

37Low

Quality-of-life score: #9,875 of 15,651 cities and towns
Hawaii: #108 of 125 in HI
Population: 1,768 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 2,752.3 /mi²
FIPS code: 1559750

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 69 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.

Safety49#7,997/15,637
Economy35#10,182/15,631
Housing28#10,786/14,977
Health61#6,160/15,609
Healthcare58#6,537/15,650
Environment—
Education26#11,526/15,649
Infrastructure43#8,897/15,650
Community17#13,003/15,651
Leisure & amenities77#3,515/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Pahala, Hawaii ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Hawaii 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

Uninsured residents (under 65) · low0.7%
98/100Hawaii 4.1%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010High uncertainty
Effective property tax rate · low0.33%
96/100Hawaii 0.29%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Adult obesity · low25.5%
92/100Hawaii 26.2%United States 38.2%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Preventable hospital stays · low1,769 /100k
92/100Hawaii 1,752 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteHawaii County value
Median Air Quality Index · low32
92/100Hawaii 292025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyHawaii County value
Arts, entertainment and recreation · high7.2 /10k
90/100Hawaii 6.8 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsHawaii County value

Weaknesses

Distance to an Amtrak station · high2,343 mi
1/100Hawaii 2,391 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauHawaii County value
Natural hazard risk · high98.8
2/100Hawaii 93.22025Federal Emergency Management AgencyHawaii County value
Unemployment rate · high12.7%
5/100Hawaii 2.4%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025High uncertainty
Reading scores · low2.63
5/100Hawaii 2.97United States 3.052019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteHawaii County value
Math scores · low2.61
9/100Hawaii 2.99United States 3.032019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteHawaii County value
Food insecurity · high27.8%
11/100Hawaii 18.4%United States 15.6%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate

Trends

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

Broadband subscriptionsImproving
67.4% (2015-2019) → 92.1% (2020-2024)
+25 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Average commute timeWorsening
23.8 min (2015-2019) → 45.7 min (2020-2024)
+92%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
High school diploma or higherImproving
84.0% (2015-2019) → 95.2% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
35.1% (2015-2019) → 43.3% (2020-2024)
+8.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Unemployment rateWorsening
7.1% (2015-2019) → 12.7% (2020-2024)
+5.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%
Child poverty rateImproving
19.3% (2015-2019) → 13.9% (2020-2024)
−5.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%

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, Pahala, Hawaii improved on 1 of 8 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 7 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.

Improved1

Broadband+25 points67.4% → 92.1%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 8 measures

Change of every measure of Pahala, Hawaii between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Bachelor's degree or higher	18.9%2015-2019	23.0%2020-2024	+4.1 points	Within the margin of error	61%
Broadband subscriptions	67.4%2015-2019	92.1%2020-2024	+25 points	Improved	95%
Effective property tax rate	0.21%2015-2019	0.33%2020-2024	+0.1 points	Within the margin of error	5%
High school diploma or higher	84.0%2015-2019	95.2%2020-2024	+11 points	Within the margin of error	97%
Home price to income ratio	3.1×2015-2019	3.1×2020-2024	+0.0×	Within the margin of error	77%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5422015-2019	0.3982020-2024	−0.144	Within the margin of error	99%
Median household income	$65,3022015-2019	$71,5182020-2024	+9.5%	Within the margin of error	16%
Rent as share of income	25.9%2015-2019	24.1%2020-2024	−1.8 points	Within the margin of error	68%

“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 Pahala, Hawaii five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Pahala, 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, Pahala, Hawaii itself moved +20.8 points in standing on average over the same 8 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

1,768 residents (±625)

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

443 households (±124)

Pahala, Hawaii
Hawaii share

Under $25k16%†73
$25k–50k16%†73
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

443 households (±124)

Pahala, Hawaii
Hawaii share

Own78%†347
Rent22%†96

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

596 workers (±184)

Pahala, Hawaii
Hawaii share

Drive alone69%†414
Carpool15%†88
Public transit

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 Hilo-Kailua, 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 Hawaii County, the county holding most of Pahala's residents.

Hawaii County has 4,400 employer establishments, 212 for every 10,000 residents (0.85× the US rate of 248; 0.92× Hawaii's), with 54,716 paid employees at an average annual pay of $51,490. The Census Bureau also counts 20,503 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 4,400; 20,503 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 212; US 248 · Hawaii 229
Paid employees: 54,716
Average annual pay: $51,490; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	407	19.6	1.07×About typical	6,330	$30,446	124
Ambulatory health care services	356	17.2	0.82×About typical	3,456	$57,352	1,144
Specialty trade contractors	275	13.3	0.86×About typical	1,981	$68,732	1,196
Lessors of real estate	224	10.8	0.88×About typical	1,236	$65,887	1,968
Full-service restaurants	177	8.5	1.11×About typical	3,559	$34,477	46
Services to buildings and dwellings	176	8.5	1.26×More than typical	867	$41,915	1,898
Limited-service restaurants	165	8	0.99×About typical	2,068	$25,143	46
Construction of buildings	147	7.1	0.94×About typical	784	$70,531	785
Building equipment contractors	116	5.6	0.93×About typical	822	$66,726	214
Clothing and accessories stores	115	5.5	1.53×More than typical	987	$24,538	289
Offices of physicians	100	4.8	0.74×Fewer than typical	479	$61,495	196
Offices of other health practitioners	98	4.7	0.78×Fewer than typical	346	$48,396	672

Rank places for an industry Open Hawaii County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 207,476 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

No federal contract obligations recorded here in FY2026.

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

See federal money in Hawaii 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.

Pahala, 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.

Hawaii County58100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Hilo-Kailua, HI62

Other cities and towns in Hawaii 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/1559750

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends