Work & commute · Pahala

Work & commute in Pahala, HI

Most working residents leave Pahala for work: only 0% work in town. The top destinations are Urban Honolulu (21%), Hilo (15%) and Captain Cook (4%). Half commute less than 44 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

0 of 127 working residents

Typical commute

44 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

46 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

12%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 127 Pahala residents head out of town to work, 0 work right here, and 165 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Pahala.

127live here, work elsewhere

0live and work here

165work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Pahala goes to work

Urban Honolulu212.5 mi away

21%27

Hilo42.5 mi away

15%19

Captain Cook34.2 mi away

4%5

Kailua45.8 mi away

3%4

Hawaiian Ocean View20.7 mi away

3%4

Kealakekua36.3 mi away

2%3

Kaiminani51.5 mi away

2%3

Ko Olina226.1 mi away

2%2

Naalehu11 mi away

2%2

Waipahu223.1 mi away

2%2

Everywhere elseother towns and states

44%56

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

How far

How far Pahala commutes

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

17%

36%

43%

4%Under 10 mi

17%10–24 mi

36%25–50 mi

43%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Pahala is balanced between jobs and homes

1.30jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.30 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Pahala are

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

Jobs based in Pahala

165 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)13%

Trade, transport & utilities1%

Services (health, schools, offices…)85%

$1,250 a month or less4%

$1,251–$3,333 a month23%

Over $3,333 a month73%

Jobs Pahala residents hold

127 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)29%

Trade, transport & utilities15%

Services (health, schools, offices…)56%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month41%

Over $3,333 a month42%

+63%

Jobs based in Pahala, 2013 → 2023: 101 → 165. 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.