Waipahu 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 39,794 people and 13 constituent neighborhoods, Waipahu is the fifth largest community in Hawaii.
Housing costs in Waipahu 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.
Unlike some towns where white-collar or blue-collar occupations dominate the local economy, Waipahu is neither predominantly one nor the other. Instead, it has a mixed workforce of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Waipahu is a town of service providers, sales and office workers, and professionals. There are especially a lot of people living in Waipahu who work in maintenance occupations (12.20%), food service (12.20%), and office and administrative support (11.81%).
Waipahu 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. Such areas are often places that visitors and locals go for waterfront activities or taking in the scenery.
One downside of living in Waipahu is that it can take a long time to commute to work. In Waipahu, the average commute to work is 35.87 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.
Like elsewhere in America, most people in Waipahu use a private automobile to get to work. But notably, a substantial number of Waipahu‘s citizens do make use of public transit in their daily commute, primarily riding the bus. This helps more people get to work with less air pollution, and require fewer highways to get them there.
The percentage of adults in Waipahu who are college-educated is close to the national average for all communities of 21.84%: 17.02% of the adults in Waipahu have a bachelor's degree or advanced degree.
The per capita income in Waipahu in 2010 was $23,170, which is lower middle income relative to Hawaii and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $92,680 for a family of four. However, Waipahu contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
Waipahu is an extremely ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Waipahu home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Waipahu residents report their race to be Asian, followed by Native Hawaiian. Important ancestries of people in Waipahu include Portuguese, German, Irish, Turkish, and Norwegian.
Foreign born people are also an important part of Waipahu's cultural character, accounting for 41.58% of the town’s population.
The most common language spoken in Waipahu is English. Other important languages spoken here include Pacific Island languages and Tagalog.
