Hanalei is a tiny coastal town (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of Hawaii. With a population of 444 people and just one neighborhood, Hanalei is the 58th largest community in Hawaii.
Hanalei home prices are not only among the most expensive in Hawaii, but Hanalei real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.
Hanalei is a decidedly white-collar town, with fully 100.00% of the workforce employed in white-collar jobs, well above the national average. Overall, Hanalei is a town of professionals, managers, and service providers. There are especially a lot of people living in Hanalei who work in management occupations (34.94%), art, media, and design (15.66%), and maintenance occupations (12.05%).
Of important note, Hanalei is also a town of artists. Hanalei has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Hanalei’s character.
One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 50.60% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.
Another notable thing is that Hanalei is an extremely popular vacation destination. A significant portion of the population is seasonal. During the vacation season, the town experiences a large influx of people who take up residence in second homes they own in the area. As the vacation season ends, the population drops again, leaving behind a substantially quieter and smaller town.
Hanalei is also nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Quite often, nautical areas such as these attract visitors and locals who come to enjoy the scenery and various waterfront activities.
Hanalei is a small town, and as such doesn't have a public transit system that people use to get to and from their jobs every day.
If knowledge is power, Hanalei is a pretty powerful place. 62.56% of the adults in Hanalei have earned a 4-year college degree, masters degree, MD, law degree, or even PhD. Compare that to the national average of 21.84% for all cities and towns.
The per capita income in Hanalei in 2022 was $45,504, which is wealthy relative to Hawaii and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $182,016 for a family of four. However, Hanalei contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
Hanalei is a very ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Hanalei home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Hanalei residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Hanalei include English, Irish, Scottish, Norwegian, and German.
The most common language spoken in Hanalei is English. Other important languages spoken here include Japanese and Pacific Island languages.
The way a neighborhood looks and feels when you walk or drive around it, from its setting, its buildings, and its flavor, can make all the difference. This neighborhood has some really cool things about the way it looks and feels as revealed by NeighborhoodScout's exclusive research. This might include anything from the housing stock to the types of households living here to how people get around.
Uncrowded roads, rural America and space to be the individual you are. If you like these characteristics, this neighborhood may fit you. With just 20 residents per square mile, is less crowded than 94.8% of all U.S. neighborhoods. is a neighborhood that is on the ocean, a bay, or inlet. Many times, such places have amenities that bring locals and visitors to the waterfront for recreational activities or to check out the scenery. In some densely populated areas that are less financially well-off, the neighborhood waterfront can be relatively industrial and less open to recreation. In addition to being coastal, is a very nautical neighborhood, meaning that it is somewhat historic, walkable, densely populated and on the water. This gives the neighborhood a very nautical feel, with some seaside and shipping feel, which some may really enjoy the sights and sounds of.
In addition, despite all of the residential real estate here in the neighborhood, NeighborhoodScout has discovered that much of it is vacant. In resort or second-home vacation areas, this naturally occurs because homes and apartments are seasonally occupied, and empty for a portion of the year. In non-vacation or resort areas, however, this can be an indicator of property abandonment or a weak real estate market. The vacancy rate here is 51.1%, which is higher than 98.8% of all U.S. neighborhoods.
More people in choose to walk to work each day (30.4%) than almost any neighborhood in America. If you are attracted to the idea of being able to walk to work, this neighborhood could be a good choice.
Regardless of the means by which residents commute, this neighborhood has a length of commute that is notable. Residents of the neighborhood have the pleasure of having one of the shortest commutes to work of any neighborhood in America. 72.9% of the residents have a commute time from home to work (one way) of less than fifteen minutes. This is a higher proportion of residents enjoying a short trip to work than NeighborhoodScout found in 98.9% of U.S. neighborhoods. Less time commuting means more time for other things in life.
It used to be that most Americans lived on the farm, or otherwise made their living from the land, the forests, or the sea. With global trade and an economy increasingly based on providing services to one another, fewer people farm, fish or harvest timber now than at any time in American history. But according to NeighborhoodScout's leading analysis, the neighborhood stands apart from most American neighborhood due to the proportion of its residents still working in these fields. With 8.9% of the workforce so employed, this neighborhood has a greater concentration of such workers than 98.7% of U.S. neighborhoods.
A majority of the adults in the neighborhood are wealthy and educated executives. They own stately homes that tend to maintain high real estate appreciation rates. Their upper-level careers keep them busy, but allow them to live comfortably. If you're an executive and want to keep similar company, consider settling in this neighborhood, rated as an executive lifestyle "best choice" neighborhood for Hawaii by NeighborhoodScout's analysis, which rated it as better for executive lifestyles than 96.3% of the neighborhoods in Hawaii. In addition to being an excellent choice for highly educated executives, this neighborhood is also a very good choice for active retirees.
Did you know that the neighborhood has more Scottish ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 9.2% of this neighborhood's residents have Scottish ancestry.
is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 1.6% of its residents five years old and above primarily speak Japanese at home. While this may seem like a small percentage, it is higher than 98.7% of the neighborhoods in America.
There are two complementary measures for understanding the income of a neighborhood's residents: the average and the extremes. While a neighborhood may be relatively wealthy overall, it is equally important to understand the rate of people - particularly children - who are living at or below the federal poverty line, which is extremely low income. Some neighborhoods with a lower average income may actually have a lower childhood poverty rate than another with a higher average income, and this helps us understand the conditions and character of a neighborhood.
The neighbors in the neighborhood in Hanalei are wealthy, making it among the 15% highest income neighborhoods in America. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that this neighborhood has a higher income than 86.8% of the neighborhoods in America. With 13.2% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 56.6% of U.S. neighborhoods.
A neighborhood is far different if it is dominated by enlisted military personnel rather than people who earn their living by farming. It is also different if most of the neighbors are clerical support or managers. What is wonderful is the sheer diversity of neighborhoods, allowing you to find the type that fits your lifestyle and aspirations.
In the neighborhood, 40.5% of the working population is employed in executive, management, and professional occupations. The second most important occupational group in this neighborhood is sales and service jobs, from major sales accounts, to working in fast food restaurants, with 31.8% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations (11.5%), and 8.9% in farming, forestry, or commercial fishing.
The languages spoken by people in this neighborhood are diverse. These are tabulated as the languages people preferentially speak when they are at home with their families. The most common language spoken in the neighborhood is English, spoken by 83.8% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Italian and French.
Boston's Beacon Hill blue-blood streets, Brooklyn's Orthodox Jewish enclaves, Los Angeles' Persian neighborhoods. Each has its own culture derived primarily from the ancestries and culture of the residents who call these neighborhoods home. Likewise, each neighborhood in America has its own culture – some more unique than others – based on lifestyle, occupations, the types of households – and importantly – on the ethnicities and ancestries of the people who live in the neighborhood. Understanding where people came from, who their grandparents or great-grandparents were, can help you understand how a neighborhood is today.
In the neighborhood in Hanalei, HI, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Irish (13.1%). There are also a number of people of English ancestry (12.3%), and residents who report German roots (9.9%), and some of the residents are also of Scottish ancestry (9.2%), along with some Asian ancestry residents (5.2%), among others. In addition, 12.8% of the residents of this neighborhood were born in another country.
How you get to work – car, bus, train or other means – and how much of your day it takes to do so is a large quality of life and financial issue. Especially with gasoline prices rising and expected to continue doing so, the length and means of one's commute can be a financial burden. Some neighborhoods are physically located so that many residents have to drive in their own car, others are set up so many walk to work, or can take a train, bus, or bike. The greatest number of commuters in neighborhood spend under 15 minutes commuting one-way to work (72.9% of working residents), one of the shortest commutes across America.
Here most residents (44.0%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In addition, quite a number also hop out the door and walk to work to get to work (30.4%) . In a neighborhood like this, as in most of the nation, many residents find owning a car useful for getting to work.