Makawao is a somewhat small town located in the state of Hawaii. With a population of 7,297 people and four associated neighborhoods, Makawao is the 23rd largest community in Hawaii.

Housing costs in Makawao 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.

Also of interest is that Makawao has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.

One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 11.99% 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.

In Makawao, however, the average commute to work is quite long. On average, people spend 30.58 minutes each day getting to work, which is significantly higher than the national average.

The overall education level of Makawao citizens is substantially higher than the typical US community, as 30.50% of adults in Makawao have at least a bachelor's degree, and the average American community has 21.84%.

The per capita income in Makawao in 2022 was $41,018, which is upper middle income relative to Hawaii and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $164,072 for a family of four. However, Makawao contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

Makawao is an extremely ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Makawao home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Makawao residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Makawao also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 16.97% of the town’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Makawao include Portuguese, German, English, Irish, and French.

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