About Koloa

Koloa is a somewhat small coastal town (ie. on the ocean or tidally-influenced rivers) located in the state of Hawaii. With a population of 5,340 people and just one neighborhood, Koloa is the 38th largest community in Hawaii.

Unlike some towns where white-collar or blue-collar occupations dominate the local economy, Koloa is neither predominently one or the other. Instead, it has a mixed workforce of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Koloa is a town of service providers, sales and office workers, and managers. There are especially a lot of people living in Koloa who work in sales jobs (12.09%), food service (11.90%), and office and administrative support jobs (11.02%).

Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 7.57% 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.

Koloa 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.

The town is also nautical, which means that parts of Koloa are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and tidal rivers. Quite often, nautical areas such as these attract visitors and locals who come to enjoy the scenery and various waterfront activities.

Residents of the town have the good fortune of having one of the shortest daily commutes compared to the rest of the country. On average, they spend only 18.75 minutes getting to work every day.

Koloa 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.

Koloa Information and Demographics

In terms of college education, Koloa is somewhat better educated than the 14.96% who have a 4-year degree or higher in the typical US community: 20.35% of adults 25 and older in the town have at least a bachelor's degree.

The per capita income in Koloa in 2000 was $22,614, which is upper middle income relative to Hawaii and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $90,456 for a family of four.

Koloa is an extremely ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Koloa home come from a variety of different races and ancestries. The most prevalent race in Koloa is White, followed by Asian. Koloa also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 10.28% of the town's residents. Important ancestries of people in Koloa include German, Portuguese, English, and Irish.

The languages spoken by people in Koloa are also diverse. These are tabulated as the languages people preferentially speak when they are at home with their families. The most common language spoken in Koloa is English. Other important languages spoken here include Other Pacific Island languages, Tagalog, and Japanese.