Wahiawa 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 18,658 people and 11 associated neighborhoods, Wahiawa is the 12th largest community in Hawaii.

Housing costs in Wahiawa 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.

There are quite a few people in the armed forces living in Wahiawa, and when you visit or drive around town, you will see military people in and out of uniform, shopping, enjoying life, and being part of the community.

Wahiawa 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.

One downside of living in Wahiawa is that it can take a long time to commute to work. In Wahiawa, the average commute to work is 32.87 minutes, which is quite a bit higher than the national average. On the other hand, local public transit is widely used in the town, so leaving the car at home and taking transit is often a viable alternative.

Despite being a small town, Wahiawa has a lot of people using the bus to get to and from work every day. Most of these people on the bus are using it to get to good jobs in other cities.

The population of Wahiawa overall has a level of education that is slightly above the US average for all US cities and towns of 21.84%. Of adults 25 and older in Wahiawa, 23.86% have at least a bachelor's degree.

The per capita income in Wahiawa in 2022 was $37,553, which is middle income relative to Hawaii, and upper middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $150,212 for a family of four. However, Wahiawa contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

Wahiawa is an extremely ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Wahiawa home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Wahiawa residents report their race to be Asian, followed by White. Wahiawa also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 14.21% of the town’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Wahiawa include German, Portuguese, Irish, English, and Polish.

Foreign born people are also an important part of Wahiawa's cultural character, accounting for 19.85% of the town’s population.

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