Work & commute · Waimea

Work & commute in Waimea, HI

Most working residents leave Waimea for work: only 18% work in town. The top destinations are Urban Honolulu (25%), Hilo (7%) and Waikoloa Beach Resort (6%). Half commute less than 44 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

18%

123 of 683 working residents

Typical commute

44 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

27 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

19%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 560 Waimea residents head out of town to work, 123 work right here, and 2,664 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Waimea.

560live here, work elsewhere

123live and work here

2,664work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Waimea goes to work

Urban Honolulu169.9 mi away

25%170

Waimea (in town)right here

18%123

Hilo41.7 mi away

7%48

Waikoloa Beach Resort17.2 mi away

6%42

Kailua35 mi away

5%33

Kaiminani30 mi away

3%18

Waipahu181.1 mi away

2%14

Kahului80.1 mi away

2%14

Waikoloa Village12.5 mi away

2%11

Waimalu177.1 mi away

1%7

Everywhere elseother towns and states

30%203

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

How far

How far Waimea commutes

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

20%

13%

19%

48%

20%Under 10 mi

13%10–24 mi

19%25–50 mi

48%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Waimea is a job hub

4.08jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Waimea are

2,787 jobs are based in Waimea. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Waimea’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Waimea

2,787 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)14%

Trade, transport & utilities14%

Services (health, schools, offices…)72%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month61%

Jobs Waimea residents hold

683 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)13%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)68%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month28%

Over $3,333 a month60%

+9%

Jobs based in Waimea, 2013 → 2023: 2,567 → 2,787. 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.