Kailua Kona is a medium-sized coastal town (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of Hawaii. With a population of 37,342 people and eight associated neighborhoods, Kailua Kona is the eighth largest community in Hawaii.

Housing costs in Kailua Kona are among some of the highest in the nation, although real estate prices here don't compare to real estate prices in the most expensive communities in Hawaii.

Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 9.88% of people work from home. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce it is high relative to the nation. 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.

The town is relatively quiet, having a combination of lower population density and few of those groups of people who have a tendency to be noisy. For example, Kailua Kona has relatively fewer families with younger children, and/or college students. Combined, this makes Kailua Kona a pretty quiet place to live overall. If you like quiet, you will probably enjoy it here.

Kailua Kona 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.

The education level of Kailua Kona citizens is substantially higher than the typical US community, as 33.30% of adults in Kailua Kona have at least a bachelor's degree.

The per capita income in Kailua Kona in 2022 was $44,842, which is upper middle income relative to Hawaii, and wealthy relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $179,368 for a family of four. However, Kailua Kona contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

Kailua Kona is an extremely ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Kailua Kona home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Kailua Kona residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Kailua Kona include German, English, Irish, Italian, and European.

Foreign born people are also an important part of Kailua Kona's cultural character, accounting for 19.66% of the town’s population.

The most common language spoken in Kailua Kona is English. Other important languages spoken here include Pacific Island languages and Spanish.