Work & commute · Hilo

Work & commute in Hilo, HI

60% of Hilo’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Kailua (6%), Kaiminani (5%) and Keaau (4%). Half commute less than 4 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

60%

19,754 of 32,694 working residents

Typical commute

4 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

20 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 12,940 Hilo residents head out of town to work, 19,754 work right here, and 8,486 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Hilo.

12,940live here, work elsewhere

19,754live and work here

8,486work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Hilo goes to work

Hilo (in town)right here

60%19,754

Kailua59.6 mi away

6%1,923

Kaiminani59.9 mi away

5%1,555

Keaau5 mi away

4%1,326

Waikoloa Beach Resort54.3 mi away

3%956

Waimea41.7 mi away

2%813

Urban Honolulu211.6 mi away

2%807

Waikoloa Village50.2 mi away

1%388

Kealakekua55 mi away

1%378

Kurtistown7.1 mi away

1%309

Everywhere elseother towns and states

14%4,485

Lines run between town centers; a thicker line means more commuters. The top 10 towns each way.

How far

How far Hilo commutes

Straight-line distance from home to work, for every working resident. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

68%

23%

68%Under 10 mi

3%10–24 mi

6%25–50 mi

23%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Hilo is balanced between jobs and homes

0.86jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.86 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Hilo are

28,240 jobs are based in Hilo. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Hilo’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Hilo

28,240 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)6%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)72%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month30%

Over $3,333 a month56%

Jobs Hilo residents hold

32,694 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)10%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)70%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month30%

Over $3,333 a month58%

+51%

Jobs based in Hilo, 2013 → 2023: 18,745 → 28,240. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

About these numbers

How to read this page

Every worker, home to workThe Census links each worker’s home block to their main job’s block, for jobs covered by unemployment insurance. That’s most jobs, but not the self-employed.

Where the employer saysA job counts where the employer reports it. Some big employers report one address for many sites, which can make a few commutes look longer than they are.

Two surveysFlows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.