Work & commute · Kapolei

Work & commute in Kapolei, HI

Most working residents leave Kapolei for work: only 13% work in town. The top destinations are Urban Honolulu (45%), Ko Olina (7%) and Waipahu (3%). Half commute less than 10 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

13%

529 of 4,183 working residents

Typical commute

10 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

31 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

11%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 3,654 Kapolei residents head out of town to work, 529 work right here, and 9,201 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Kapolei.

3,654live here, work elsewhere

529live and work here

9,201work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Kapolei goes to work

Urban Honolulu14.2 mi away

45%1,889

Kapolei (in town)right here

13%529

Ko Olina3.3 mi away

7%313

Waipahu4.8 mi away

3%129

Pearl City8.3 mi away

3%121

Waipio6.9 mi away

2%94

Waimalu9.3 mi away

2%89

Waianae10.7 mi away

2%71

Halawa9.9 mi away

1%47

Mililani Town8.1 mi away

1%47

Everywhere elseother towns and states

20%854

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

How far

How far Kapolei commutes

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

47%

51%

47%Under 10 mi

51%10–24 mi

0%25–50 mi

1%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Kapolei is a job hub

2.33jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Kapolei are

9,730 jobs are based in Kapolei. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Kapolei’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Kapolei

9,730 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)10%

Trade, transport & utilities28%

Services (health, schools, offices…)62%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month55%

Jobs Kapolei residents hold

4,183 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)12%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)68%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month20%

Over $3,333 a month68%

+94%

Jobs based in Kapolei, 2013 → 2023: 5,027 → 9,730. 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.