Lawai, HI population, income and ZIP codes

Lawai CDP is a small town in Hawaii, with 2,775 residents counted in the Census American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, which places it #86 of 163 ranked by population — larger than 47% of them. The median age here is 38.4 years against 39.1 nationally, a slightly younger profile than the country as a whole. At this population the ACS sample is small, so the margin of error around every dollar figure below is wide — treat the numbers as a band, not a point, and expect them to move between annual releases without the place itself changing.

Households in Lawai CDP earn a median of $104,826 a year, 33.5% above the national figure of $78,538 and 14% above the $92,062 median for the 124 Hawaii cities we cover. Household income here is measured before tax and pooled across everyone at the address, which is why it reads higher than typical individual earnings in the same area. Poverty reaches 8.9% of residents here, below the 12.4% national rate.

The typical owner-occupied home in Lawai CDP is valued at $853,700, 181.4% above the national figure and 11% above the $768,200 peer median, while median gross rent runs $1,917 a month, 36.3% above the national figure, or roughly $23,004 across a full year. A household on the local median income would put about 21.9% of gross pay toward that rent against the federal 30% cost-burden threshold, so renting here is within the standard affordability guideline. The home-price-to-income ratio works out to 8.1×, against roughly 3.9× nationally, so buying is out of reach on local earnings alone and the ownership market leans on outside income, equity or dual high earners. 72.4% of occupied homes are owner-occupied versus 65% nationally, so the market leans toward owners. Gross rent folds in the utilities a tenant pays separately, so it is closer to the real monthly outlay than a headline rent figure.

Home values sit at 8.1× median household income, far past the 3.9× national mark, so ownership costs here are set by something other than local wages — second homes, retirees with equity, or commuters earning elsewhere.

Every value on this page is published directly by the Census for this area — nothing is modelled or interpolated. Small-area estimates still carry wider margins of error than state or national figures, so check the linked ACS tables before relying on them for lending, appraisal or legal work.