Census-designated place · Maui County, Hawaii

Wailea, Hawaii

Wailea is a census-designated place in Maui County, Hawaii, part of the Kahului-Wailuku, HI metro area. It has 6,352 residents. Wailea, Hawaii has a quality-of-life score of 69 out of 100 (high), ranking #4,895 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Hawaii it ranks #55 of 125 cities and towns. It ranks best on preventable hospital stays (low), arts, entertainment and recreation (high) and median Air Quality Index (low). It ranks worst on home price to income ratio (high), distance to an Amtrak station (high) and rent-burdened households (high).

69High

Quality-of-life score: #4,895 of 15,651 cities and towns
Hawaii: #55 of 125 in HI
Population: 6,352 (2020-2024)
Land area: 7 mi²
Density: 853.3 /mi²
FIPS code: 1576925

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.

Safety50#7,782/15,637
Economy52#7,523/15,631
Housing2#14,716/14,977
Health83#2,599/15,609
Healthcare48#8,167/15,650
Environment—
Education76#3,687/15,649
Infrastructure94#909/15,650
Community52#7,519/15,651
Leisure & amenities98#310/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Preventable hospital stays · low1,363 /100k
98/100Hawaii 1,752 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMaui County value
Arts, entertainment and recreation · high14.3 /10k
98/100Hawaii 6.8 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsMaui County value
Median Air Quality Index · low21
98/100Hawaii 292025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyMaui County value
Time spent in the emergency room · low94 min
97/100Hawaii 122 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesMaui County value
Effective property tax rate · low0.31%
97/100Hawaii 0.29%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Restaurants and bars · high14.9 /10k
95/100Hawaii 12.5 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsMaui County value

Weaknesses

Home price to income ratio · high17.0×
0/100Hawaii 8.4×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Distance to an Amtrak station · high2,349 mi
1/100Hawaii 2,391 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauMaui County value
Rent-burdened households · high78.7%
2/100Hawaii 56.7%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Rent as share of income · high51.0%
2/100Hawaii 33.2%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071At least this value: the publisher's top bracket is open-ended
Income inequality (Gini index) · high0.533
4/100Hawaii 0.451United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Property crime rate · high2,567 /100k
4/100Hawaii 1,604 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationMaui County value

Trends

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

Child poverty rateWorsening
13.6% (2015-2019) → 30.2% (2020-2024)
+17 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
66.6% (2015-2019) → 78.6% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
39.7% (2015-2019) → 51.0% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
90.6% (2015-2019) → 97.4% (2020-2024)
+6.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
12.7× (2015-2019) → 17.1× (2020-2024)
+34%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
44.3% (2015-2019) → 49.7% (2020-2024)
+5.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%

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, Wailea, Hawaii improved on 2 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 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

Bachelor's++5.5 points44.3% → 49.7%
Broadband+6.9 points90.6% → 97.4%

Declined2

Price / income+4.3×12.7× → 17.1×
Rent / income+11 points39.7% → 51.0%

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Wailea, Hawaii between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	20.8 min2015-2019	17.6 min2020-2024	−3.2 min	Within the margin of error	81%
Bachelor's degree or higher	44.3%2015-2019	49.7%2020-2024	+5.5 points	Improved	71%
Broadband subscriptions	90.6%2015-2019	97.4%2020-2024	+6.9 points	Improved	43%
Effective property tax rate	0.28%2015-2019	0.31%2020-2024	+0 points	Within the margin of error	12%
High school diploma or higher	96.5%2015-2019	96.8%2020-2024	+0.3 points	Within the margin of error	36%
Home price to income ratio	12.7×2015-2019	17.1×2020-2024	+4.3×	Declined	0%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5722015-2019	0.5332020-2024	−0.039	Within the margin of error	79%
Median household income	$81,9322015-2019	$90,0002020-2024	+9.8%	Within the margin of error	17%
Poverty rate	10.3%2015-2019	14.0%2020-2024	+3.7 points	Within the margin of error	17%
Rent as share of income	39.7%2015-2019	51.0%2020-2024	+11 points	Declined	8%
Rent-burdened households	66.6%2015-2019	78.6%2020-2024	+12 points	Within the margin of error	19%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	7.9%2015-2019	6.9%2020-2024	−1 points	Within the margin of error	59%

“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 Wailea, Hawaii five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Wailea, 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, Wailea, Hawaii itself moved +0.2 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

6,352 residents (±659)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79
60–69
50–59†
40–49†
30–39†
20–29†
10–19†
Under 10†

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: 50–59 women (−3.7 points).

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

6,352 residents (±659)

Wailea, Hawaii
Hawaii share

White67%4,273
Black1.0%†65
Hispanic or Latino9.6%†607

Education

5,440 residents (±567)

Wailea, Hawaii
Hawaii share

No high school diploma3.2%†174
High school or GED17%947
Some college18%1,002

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

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

Household income

2,946 households (±315)

Wailea, Hawaii
Hawaii share

Under $25k12%†366
$25k–50k17%†487
$50k–75k9.5%†279
$75k–100k15%†440
$100k–150k17%507
$150k–200k12%†357
$200k or more17%510

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: $50k–75k (−6.3 points).

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

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

Owners and renters

2,946 households (±315)

Wailea, Hawaii
Hawaii share

Own70%2,056
Rent30%890

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+9.4 points).

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

853 households (±236)

Wailea, Hawaii
Hawaii share

Under $7506.8%†58
$750–1,0000.0%0
$1,000–1,50013%†112

Home values

2,056 homes (±280)

Wailea, Hawaii
Hawaii share

Under $150k1.4%†29
$150k–250k0.5%†10
$250k–400k1.9%†40

Age of homes

5,949 homes (±345)

Wailea, Hawaii
Hawaii share

2010 or later8.3%†492
2000–200912%689
1980–199956%3,311

Size of homes

5,949 homes (±345)

Wailea, Hawaii
Hawaii share

Studio2.2%†132
1 bedroom18%1,085
2 bedrooms41%2,440

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

2,473 workers (±321)

Wailea, Hawaii
Hawaii share

Drive alone63%1,546
Carpool6.7%†165
Public transit0.0%0
Walk0.2%†6
Bike0.0%0
Work from home29%718
Other1.5%†38

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Work from home (+13.6 points).

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

1,755 workers (±253)

Wailea, Hawaii
Hawaii share

Under 15 min59%1,043
15–29 min14%†243
30–44 min20%†345

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

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 Kahului-Wailuku, 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 Maui County, the county holding most of Wailea's residents.

Maui County has 5,000 employer establishments, 305 for every 10,000 residents (1.23× the US rate of 248; 1.33× Hawaii's), with 62,683 paid employees at an average annual pay of $52,863. The Census Bureau also counts 18,199 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 5,000; 18,199 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 305; US 248 · Hawaii 229
Paid employees: 62,683
Average annual pay: $52,863; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	388	23.7	1.29×More than typical	8,802	$32,751	86
Ambulatory health care services	343	20.9	1.00×About typical	3,746	$80,154	866
Specialty trade contractors	314	19.1	1.24×About typical	2,335	$73,635	1,004
Lessors of real estate	263	16	1.30×More than typical	1,282	$56,219	2,059
Clothing and accessories stores	219	13.4	3.68×More than typical	1,724	$30,723	264
Services to buildings and dwellings	180	11	1.63×More than typical	1,893	$48,696	1,646
Full-service restaurants	178	10.9	1.41×More than typical	5,861	$36,042	32
Construction of buildings	169	10.3	1.36×More than typical	891	$71,182	560
Limited-service restaurants	131	8	1.00×About typical	2,061	$27,421	34
Building equipment contractors	122	7.4	1.24×About typical	1,135	$83,282	203
Traveler accommodation	119	7.3	4.02×More than typical	11,151	$63,583	81
Real estate agents and brokers	115	7	1.44×More than typical	411	$63,260	728

Rank places for an industry Open Maui County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 164,022 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 $12.5M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Wailea, Hawaii: $1,968 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $12.5M; +7.5% vs FY2025
Per resident: $1,968; US $1,994
Sole-source: 53%; US 30%
Single offer: 8.2%; 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

Department of the Air Force$12M96%
National Institutes of Health$416.3K3.3%
Department of the Army$96.4K0.8%
Defense Information Systems Agency$67.2K0.5%
National Aeronautics and Space Administration$28.4K0.2%
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration$25.1K0.2%
Agricultural Research Service$16.4K0.1%
Federal Acquisition Service$5,5290.0%

Top recipients

GALAPAGOS FEDERAL SYSTEMS LLC$5.6M44%
KBR WYLE SERVICES, LLC$4.1M33%
KUPONO GOVERNMENT SERVICES, LLC$1.2M9.2%
UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII$534.9K4.3%
IMPRES TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC$416.3K3.3%

Spending by fiscal year

784.2KFY2017
901.5KFY2018
846.8KFY2019
1.2MFY2020
927.4KFY2021
758.1KFY2022
3.7MFY2023
24.8M

Top industries (NAICS)

Scientific research and development services · 5417$9.6M77%
Facilities support services · 5612$1.2M9.2%
Other support services · 5619$517.3K4.1%
Computer systems design and related services · 5415$511.5K4.1%
Management, scientific, and technical consulting services · 5416$351.2K2.8%

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 Wailea, Hawaii, so they do not add up across cities.

Wailea, Hawaii's figures are part of those of Maui County, HI ($142.6M in FY2026), never added to them: 8.8% of that total.

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

See federal money in Maui 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.

Wailea, 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.

Maui County80100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Kahului-Wailuku, HI75

Other cities and towns in Maui 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/1576925

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends