Moving to Waimea
Kauai County loses about 4.4 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 Kauai County; flows under 20 returns are not published.
- Who moves here
- 4.6% of residents arrived from another county in the past year, 2.9% from another state. County figure.
- Who arrives and who leaves
- Households moving into Kauai County report $90,600 a year in income on average; those leaving, $75,300, so newcomers earn more than leavers.
- Income you would need
- $64,500 a year to rent the median home at the 30% line. From your city
- Rent or buy
- Median rent is $1,612 a month; owners with a mortgage pay $2,821 a month including taxes and insurance, on a median home of $769,700.
- Getting to work
- 21 minutes each way on average; 8.6% work from home.
- If it is close but not quite
- Marathon, FL matches it on character. Compare the two
All 5 moving measures
| Measure | Waimea | Among 6,645 places | Vs median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moved here in the past year1County figure | 4.6% | 20% below | |
| Moved from another state1County figure | 2.9% | 46% above | |
| Net movers per 1,000 people6County figure | -4.4 | below (median -0.6) | |
| Income of households moving in6County figure | $90,556 | 28% above | |
| Income of households moving out6County figure | $75,335 | 7% above |
What it costs to live here
Property tax rate is 0.2%, 80% below the median place.
Could you afford it?
Uses the median rent in Waimea, $1,612 a month. It runs in your browser and stores nothing.
Like Waimea, 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carlstadt, NJ | 17.1% vs 21.7% | n/a | Compare |
| Doney Park, AZ | 13.9% vs 21.7% | n/a | Compare |
Moving from somewhere else? Work out the salary you would need in Waimea.
All 15 cost and housing measures
| Measure | Waimea | Among 6,645 places | Vs median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median gross rent1 | $1,612 | 18% above | |
| Rent to income1 | 21.7% | 6% above | |
| Property tax rate1 | 0.2% | 80% below | |
| Home price to income1 | 8.6x | 127% above | |
| Fair market rent, 2 bedrooms2County figure | $2,105 | 30% above | |
| HUD area median income3County figure | $120,100 | 12% above | |
| Property tax paid (median)1 | $1,391 | 57% below | |
| Median home value1 | $769,700 | 141% above | |
| Home prices, 1-year change4County figure | -0.8% | below (median 3.2%) | |
| Home prices, 5-year change4County figure | 52.1% | 1% above | |
| Homeownership1 | 48.2% | 27% below | |
| Renters paying 30%+1 | 57.0% | 13% above | |
| Owner costs with a mortgage1 | $2,821 | 51% above | |
| Vacant homes1 | 14.5% | 105% above | |
| Median year built1 | 1972 | 0% below |
Work and pay
Commutes by transit is 0.0%, below the median place (median 0.8%).
All 10 work and pay measures
| Measure | Waimea | Among 6,645 places | Vs median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income1 | $89,205 | 11% above | |
| Income per person1 | $39,118 | 2% below | |
| Unemployment1County figure | 3.9% | 21% below | |
| Average annual pay5County figure | $62,998 | 5% below | |
| Pay growth, 1 year5County figure | 5.5% | 49% above | |
| Jobs5County figure | 33,298 | 78% below | |
| Poverty rate1County figure | 9.1% | 16% below | |
| Mean commute1 | 21 min | 15% below | |
| Works from home1County figure | 8.6% | 31% below | |
| Commutes by transit1 | 0.0% | below (median 0.8%) |
Who lives here
Median age is 45.5, 17% above the median place.
More about who lives here, against the typical place
All 8 people measures
Life in Waimea
41 sites are on the National Register of Historic Places, 4 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 | Waimea | Among 6,645 places | Vs median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public schools10County figure | 21 | 133% above | |
| Public school students10County figure | 9,236 | 89% above | |
| Students per teacher10County figure | 14.2 | 8% below | |
| Restaurants and bars per 10k7County figure | 34.6 | 66% above | |
| Shops per 10k7County figure | 48.3 | 59% above | |
| Arts, recreation and fitness per 10k7County figure | 8.0 | 95% above | |
| Doctors' offices and clinics per 10k7County figure | 19.0 | 6% below | |
| Child care centers per 10k7County figure | 2.3 | 0% above | |
| Parks per 10k8 | 87.0 | above (median 10.2) | |
| Playgrounds per 10k8 | 5.4 | 42% below | |
| Grocery stores per 10k8 | 21.7 | above (median 2.1) | |
| Restaurants, cafes and bars per 10k8 | 38.0 | 241% above | |
| Libraries per 10k8 | 21.7 | above (median 0.9) | |
| Named paths and bike trails8 | 0.0 | below (median 2.0) | |
| Transit stops per sq mi8 | 0.5 | 157% above | |
| National Register listings9County figure | 41 | 215% above |
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 Waimea. Larger places are fetched first.
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
Waimea in 2030: where the trends point
If recent trends hold, the median rent will take about 22% of the median income in 2030, up from 22% 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 | $1,612/mo (2024) | $2,100/mo | $1,720 to $2,560/mo | +4.5% |
| Median household income | $89,205 (2024) | $113,000 | $95,500 to $133,500 | +4.0% |
| Median home value | $769,700 (2024) | $1,114,000 | $809,000 to $1,534,000 | +6.4% |
The median home would be worth 9.9 years of the median income in 2030, against 8.6 now.
A projection of recent trends, not a prediction of the economy or advice to buy or sell. How we project.
Places like Waimea
The closest matches on income, rent, home value, education and age, and the places nearby.
| Place | Rent | Income | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marathon, FL | $1,633 | $89,355 | Compare |
| Kahului, HI | $1,488 | $98,077 | Compare |
| Rosemead, CA | $1,834 | $73,566 | Compare |
| Snohomish, WA | $1,654 | $87,250 | Compare |
Nearby
- Wailua Homesteads, HI20 mi
- Lihue, HI20 mi
- Kapaa, HI22 mi
- Makaha, HI99 mi
- Waianae, HI102 mi
- Maili, HI103 mi
Compare Waimea with
More in this area
Common questions
Is Waimea a good place to live?
It depends on what you need, so here is what the numbers say. The median home is worth 8.6 years of the median household's income, more than in 97% of the 2,480 places under 10,000 people we track. Renters occupy 52% of homes, more than in 92% of places its size. It is the 3rd-lowest of 54 Hawaii places. See how it ranks with your own weights.
Is Waimea expensive to live in?
The median rent takes 21.7% 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 $769,700.
What salary do you need to live in Waimea?
To rent the median home without spending more than 30% of income on rent, a household needs about $64,480 a year. Work it out from your current city.
What places are similar to Waimea?
On income, rent, home value, education and age, the closest matches are Marathon, FL, Kahului, HI, Rosemead, CA and Snohomish, WA.
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
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 Waimea with places of a similar size, using only figures measured for Waimea itself; county and metro figures never count. Survey figures are estimates with margins of error. Formulas and definitions: methodology. API: /api/v1/places/waimea-kauai-county-hawaii
Citytistics. “Waimea, Hawaii.” Data as of 2026-11-14. https://www.citytistics.com/city/waimea-kauai-county-hawaii/
This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.