Moving to Fern Acres
Hawaii County gains about 6.0 residents per 1,000 a year to moves between counties.
Where people come from and where they go, top counties
Within Hawaii, other states or abroad
Income per tax return
People on tax returns who moved between counties, from IRS migration data, 2022 to 2023. Figures are for all of Hawaii County; flows under 20 returns are not published.
- Who moves here
- 4.6% of residents arrived from another county in the past year, 3.3% from another state. County figure.
- Who arrives and who leaves
- Households moving into Hawaii County report $84,900 a year in income on average; those leaving, $62,500, so newcomers earn more than leavers.
- Income you would need
- $55,000 a year to rent the median home at the 30% line. From your city
- Rent or buy
- Median rent is $1,375 a month; owners with a mortgage pay $1,213 a month including taxes and insurance, on a median home of $319,800.
- Getting to work
- 32 minutes each way on average; 12.1% work from home.
- If it is close but not quite
- Laughlin, NV matches it on character. Compare the two
All 5 moving measures
| Measure | Fern Acres | Among 6,645 places | Vs median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moved here in the past year1County figure | 4.6% | 20% below | |
| Moved from another state1County figure | 3.3% | 69% above | |
| Net movers per 1,000 people6County figure | 6.0 | above (median -0.6) | |
| Income of households moving in6County figure | $84,921 | 20% above | |
| Income of households moving out6County figure | $62,523 | 11% below |
What it costs to live here
Property tax rate is 0.2%, 82% below the median place.
Could you afford it?
Uses the median rent in Fern Acres, $1,375 a month. It runs in your browser and stores nothing.
Like Fern Acres, but easier on the budget
Close matches on income, rent, home value, education and age, where rent takes a clearly smaller share of income.
| Place | Rent to income | More left a year | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Silver Springs, NV | 29.4% vs 40.8% | n/a | Compare |
| Gardnerville, NV | 23.9% vs 40.8% | n/a | Compare |
| Spencer, MA | 21.0% vs 40.8% | n/a | Compare |
Moving from somewhere else? Work out the salary you would need in Fern Acres.
All 15 cost and housing measures
| Measure | Fern Acres | Among 6,645 places | Vs median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median gross rent1 | $1,375 | 1% above | |
| Rent to income1 | 40.8% | 100% above | |
| Property tax rate1 | 0.2% | 82% below | |
| Home price to income1 | 7.9x | 108% above | |
| Fair market rent, 2 bedrooms2County figure | $2,081 | 29% above | |
| HUD area median income3County figure | $98,300 | 8% below | |
| Property tax paid (median)1 | $513 | 84% below | |
| Median home value1 | $319,800 | 0% above | |
| Home prices, 1-year change4County figure | 6.1% | 92% above | |
| Home prices, 5-year change4County figure | 58.5% | 14% above | |
| Homeownership1 | 84.2% | 27% above | |
| Renters paying 30%+1County figure | 51.6% | 2% above | |
| Owner costs with a mortgage1 | $1,213 | 35% below | |
| Vacant homes1 | 10.0% | 42% above | |
| Median year built1 | 1996 | 1% above |
Work and pay
Commutes by transit is 0.0%, below the median place (median 0.8%).
All 10 work and pay measures
| Measure | Fern Acres | Among 6,645 places | Vs median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income1 | $40,400 | 50% below | |
| Income per person1 | $26,266 | 34% below | |
| Unemployment1County figure | 6.0% | 23% above | |
| Average annual pay5County figure | $61,757 | 6% below | |
| Pay growth, 1 year5County figure | 6.7% | 81% above | |
| Jobs5County figure | 74,168 | 51% below | |
| Poverty rate1 | 27.4% | 154% above | |
| Mean commute1 | 32 min | 27% above | |
| Works from home1County figure | 12.1% | 3% below | |
| Commutes by transit1 | 0.0% | below (median 0.8%) |
Who lives here
Median age is 57.0, 46% above the median place.
More about who lives here, against the typical place
All 8 people measures
| Measure | Fern Acres | Among 6,645 places | Vs median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population1 | 1,480 | 6646th largest | |
| Median age1 | 57.0 | 46% above | |
| Bachelor's or higher1 | 24.1% | 25% below | |
| High school or higher1 | 96.0% | 4% above | |
| Household size1 | 2.2 | 13% below | |
| Born abroad1 | 5.8% | 34% below | |
| No health insurance1County figure | 4.5% | 30% below | |
| Homes with broadband1 | 94.3% | 2% above |
Life in Fern Acres
99 sites are on the National Register of Historic Places, 8 of them National Historic Landmarks.
Out the door, against the typical place
Mapped by volunteers in OpenStreetMap inside the city limits (Census boundaries), so coverage is fuller in some places than others. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Businesses per 10,000 residents (county figures)
Counts businesses with paid staff, so small owner-run shops are not included.
All 16 schools and local life measures
| Measure | Fern Acres | Among 6,645 places | Vs median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public schools10County figure | 55 | above (median 9) | |
| Public school students10County figure | 27,129 | above (median 4,897) | |
| Students per teacher10County figure | 14.2 | 8% below | |
| Restaurants and bars per 10k7County figure | 22.5 | 8% above | |
| Shops per 10k7County figure | 31.2 | 3% above | |
| Arts, recreation and fitness per 10k7County figure | 4.2 | 2% above | |
| Doctors' offices and clinics per 10k7County figure | 17.3 | 14% below | |
| Child care centers per 10k7County figure | 2.0 | 13% below | |
| Parks per 10k8 | 0.0 | below (median 10.2) | |
| Playgrounds per 10k8 | 0.0 | below (median 9.4) | |
| Grocery stores per 10k8 | 0.0 | below (median 2.1) | |
| Restaurants, cafes and bars per 10k8 | 0.0 | below (median 11.2) | |
| Libraries per 10k8 | 0.0 | below (median 0.9) | |
| Named paths and bike trails8 | 0.0 | below (median 2.0) | |
| Transit stops per sq mi8 | 0.0 | below (median 0.2) | |
| National Register listings9County figure | 99 | above (median 13) |
Safety, weather and risk
Heat wave risk is 0.0, below the median place (median 90.1).
No crime figure yet. Either the city police department did not report to the FBI for the latest year, or our monthly fetch has not reached Fern Acres. Larger places are fetched first.
All 7 weather and risk measures
| Measure | Fern Acres | Among 6,645 places | Vs median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natural hazard risk11County figure | 98.5 | 7% above | |
| Hurricane risk11County figure | 68.3 | 3% below | |
| Tornado risk11County figure | 7.4 | 91% below | |
| Wildfire risk11County figure | 98.3 | 61% above | |
| Heat wave risk11County figure | 0.0 | below (median 90.1) | |
| Median air quality index12County figure | 32 | 26% below | |
| Good air days12County figure | 86.0% | 26% above |
How it is changing
Five-year survey estimates, one point per release.
Median gross rent
Median household income
Median home value
Citytistics measures
Measures only Citytistics publishes, built from the figures on this page. Scores of 100 beat every place we track. Formulas
Fern Acres in 2030: where the trends point
If recent trends hold, the median rent will take about 42% of the median income in 2030, up from 41% now.
Citytistics projections to 2030: each figure's own trend, blended with the typical trend across the places we rate, eased toward long-run US growth and carried forward from the latest release. The range is where 80% of places landed when we tested the same method on past releases.
| Measure | Latest | 2030 projection | Likely range | Avg. per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,375/mo (2024) | $1,730/mo | $1,420 to $2,110/mo | +3.9% |
| Median household income | $40,400 (2024) | $50,000 | $42,000 to $59,000 | +3.5% |
| Median home value | $319,800 (2024) | $474,000 | $344,000 to $653,000 | +6.8% |
The median home would be worth 9.5 years of the median income in 2030, against 7.9 now.
A projection of recent trends, not a prediction of the economy or advice to buy or sell. How we project.
Places like Fern Acres
The closest matches on income, rent, home value, education and age, and the places nearby.
| Place | Rent | Income | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Laughlin, NV | $1,112 | $45,685 | Compare |
| Cottonwood, AZ | $1,120 | $48,448 | Compare |
| West Lealman, FL | $1,302 | $51,589 | Compare |
| Florence, OR | $1,259 | $53,333 | Compare |
Nearby
- Hawaiian Paradise Park, HI9 mi
- Hilo, HI12 mi
- Waimea, HI50 mi
- Waikoloa Village, HI56 mi
- Kahaluu-Keauhou, HI57 mi
- Kailua, HI61 mi
Compare Fern Acres with
More in this area
Common questions
Is Fern Acres a good place to live?
It depends on what you need, so here is what the numbers say. The median rent takes 40.8% of the median household's income, a bigger share than in 99% of the 2,480 places under 10,000 people we track. It is the 2nd-highest of 55 Hawaii places. Owning with a mortgage costs about $162 a month less than the median rent, which is rarer than in 97% of places its size. It is the lowest of 54 Hawaii places. On cost, space and class size it scores 3 out of 100 for families. See how it ranks with your own weights.
Is Fern Acres expensive to live in?
The median rent takes 40.8% of the median household income, against 20.4% in the typical place we track. Housing is a heavier load here than usual. The median home is valued at $319,800.
What salary do you need to live in Fern Acres?
To rent the median home without spending more than 30% of income on rent, a household needs about $55,000 a year. Work it out from your current city.
What places are similar to Fern Acres?
On income, rent, home value, education and age, the closest matches are Laughlin, NV, Cottonwood, AZ, West Lealman, FL and Florence, OR.
Sources and methods
The small numbers beside each measure point here. Every dataset is public; links go to the publisher.
- American Community Survey 5-year estimates · US Census Bureau · 2020 to 2024 estimatesTables B01002, B01003, B05002, B07003, B08013, B08301, B15003, B17001, B19013, B19301, B23025, B25002, B25003, B25010, B25035, B25064, B25070, B25077, B25088, B25103, B28002, S2701
- Fair Market Rents · US Department of Housing and Urban Development · Fiscal year 2027
- Income Limits · US Department of Housing and Urban Development · Fiscal year 2026
- House Price Index · Federal Housing Finance Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14
- Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages · US Bureau of Labor Statistics · 2025 annual averages
- SOI Tax Stats, county-to-county migration · Internal Revenue Service · Tax years 2022 to 2023Counts tax returns and the people on them; flows under 20 returns are suppressed.
- County Business Patterns · US Census Bureau · 2023 data
- OpenStreetMap · © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database License (ODbL) · Map data as of 2026-11
- National Register of Historic Places · National Park Service · Listings through 2026-05-22
- Common Core of Data · National Center for Education Statistics · 2024 release
- National Risk Index · Federal Emergency Management Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14NRI data and maps
- Air Quality System, annual AQI by county · US Environmental Protection Agency · 2025 dataAirData download files
Derived by Citytistics from the tables above: rent to income (B25064, B19013); property tax rate (B25103, B25077); home price to income (B25077, B19013).
What stands out compares Fern Acres with places of a similar size, using only figures measured for Fern Acres itself; county and metro figures never count. Survey figures are estimates with margins of error. Formulas and definitions: methodology. API: /api/v1/places/fern-acres-hawaii
Citytistics. “Fern Acres, Hawaii.” Data as of 2026-11-14. https://www.citytistics.com/city/fern-acres-hawaii/
This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.