Work & commute · Pahoa

Work & commute in Pahoa, HI

Most working residents leave Pahoa for work: only 11% work in town. The top destinations are Hilo (29%), Urban Honolulu (18%) and Wailuku (3%). Half commute less than 26 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

11%

12 of 113 working residents

Typical commute

26 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

28 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 101 Pahoa residents head out of town to work, 12 work right here, and 642 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Pahoa.

101live here, work elsewhere

12live and work here

642work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Pahoa goes to work

Hilo16 mi away

29%33

Urban Honolulu226.4 mi away

18%20

Pahoa (in town)right here

11%12

Wailuku139.4 mi away

3%3

Waikoloa Beach Resort67.7 mi away

3%3

Kailua69.3 mi away

3%3

Honokaa52.5 mi away

2%2

Waikoloa Village63.9 mi away

2%2

Hawaiian Beaches3.5 mi away

2%2

Waimea56.7 mi away

2%2

Everywhere elseother towns and states

27%31

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

How far

How far Pahoa commutes

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

17%

33%

48%

17%Under 10 mi

33%10–24 mi

3%25–50 mi

48%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Pahoa is a job hub

5.79jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Pahoa are

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

Jobs based in Pahoa

654 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)3%

Trade, transport & utilities45%

Services (health, schools, offices…)52%

$1,250 a month or less26%

$1,251–$3,333 a month54%

Over $3,333 a month21%

Jobs Pahoa residents hold

113 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)14%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)67%

$1,250 a month or less20%

$1,251–$3,333 a month30%

Over $3,333 a month50%

+106%

Jobs based in Pahoa, 2013 → 2023: 317 → 654. 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.