Work & commute · Kailua

Work & commute in Kailua, HI

Most working residents leave Kailua for work: only 17% work in town. The top destinations are Urban Honolulu (22%), Kaiminani (13%) and Kahaluu-Keauhou (6%). Half commute less than 41 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

17%

265 of 1,523 working residents

Typical commute

41 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

20 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

10%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 1,258 Kailua residents head out of town to work, 265 work right here, and 7,848 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Kailua.

1,258live here, work elsewhere

265live and work here

7,848work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Kailua goes to work

Urban Honolulu166.7 mi away

22%332

Kailua (in town)right here

17%265

Kaiminani7.7 mi away

13%197

Kahaluu-Keauhou5.6 mi away

6%91

Hilo59.6 mi away

5%80

Kealakekua9.8 mi away

4%60

Waikoloa Beach Resort21.3 mi away

3%49

Kahului89.2 mi away

2%32

Waipahu177.2 mi away

1%17

Kailua165.2 mi away

1%15

Everywhere elseother towns and states

25%385

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

How far

How far Kailua commutes

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

40%

48%

40%Under 10 mi

8%10–24 mi

4%25–50 mi

48%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Kailua is a job hub

5.33jobs per working resident

A job hub

5.3 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Kailua are

8,113 jobs are based in Kailua. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Kailua’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Kailua

8,113 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)10%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)69%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month55%

Jobs Kailua residents hold

1,523 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)14%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)67%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month23%

Over $3,333 a month64%

+1%

Jobs based in Kailua, 2013 → 2023: 8,005 → 8,113. 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.