The county economy from official statistics, with source and year on every table.
Click any dot to open that city: jobs, pay, rent, commute, county economy and climate. Dot size follows population; colours follow the state flag.
By AtiveSite · Published 07/11/2026 · Updated 07/11/2026 · Every figure is linked to its source below.
Hawaii County is a county of Hawaii with 205,769 residents. Its economy produced $12,193 million in 2024 (ranked #2 of 5 counties) and had 74,029 jobs with an average annual pay of $57,868 (#4 for pay). The unemployment rate was 3.5% in 2026M09. It is part of the Hilo-Kailua, HI micropolitan area (central county).
Hawaii County produced about $12,193 million of goods and services in 2024, which is 11.6% of the combined output of the 3 counties of Hawaii that BEA reports (about 14.2% of the state's population lives here), and ranks it 2nd of 3 on that measure. Per resident that is $59,256, 18% below the state average; the average for all counties of the state taken together is $72,522. In current dollars output grew 6.7% from 2023 to 2024, before adjusting for inflation.
BLS counts 74,029 jobs located in Hawaii County on average in 2024, spread over 7,367 employer sites (about 10 jobs per site). That is 0.36 jobs for every resident, below the 0.45 of the typical county in Hawaii, which tells you whether the county is a place people mostly commute to for work or a place they commute from. The average annual pay per job was $57,868, 14% below the average of all counties in the state ($57,868 against $66,995). Average pay is total wages divided by jobs, so it is pulled up by high earners and counts part-time jobs as whole jobs; it is not the pay of a typical worker. The number of jobs rose 2.0% from 2023 to 2024.
The three largest private industries are accommodation and food services (23.3% of private jobs, $47,065 a year on average), retail trade (17.7% of private jobs, $41,022 a year on average), health care and social assistance (13.9% of private jobs, $56,739 a year on average). Together they hold 54.8% of private-sector jobs. Among industries with at least 3% of jobs, the best paying is professional and technical services at $83,599 a year, followed by construction ($77,524). The county is specialised in several industries: utilities (2.0 times the US share, 556 jobs); accommodation and food services (2.0 times the US share, 13,305 jobs); arts, entertainment, recreation (1.4 times the US share, 1,762 jobs). A location quotient above 1 means an industry employs a larger share of workers here than in the whole country, so these are the industries where local employers compete hardest for skills.
In 2026M09 the unemployment rate in Hawaii County was 3.5%, 9% above the average of the state's counties (3.5% against 3.2%). The labour force (people working or looking for work) numbered 93,661. Over the last 12 months it ranged from 2.4% (2026M01) to 3.9% (2026M06); the latest month is preliminary and BLS revises it. These county rates are not seasonally adjusted, so compare the same month across years.
The median household income was $78,639 (ACS 2020–2024), 22% below the state median ($78,639 against $100,389). The guide covers 5 cities with this as the main county: Hilo, Kailua, Hawaiian Paradise Park, Kaiminani, Waimea. Open any of them for rent, home values, commuting and climate. Within the county, median rent runs from $1,202 in Kaiminani to $1,867 in Waimea, so where you live matters as much as which county you pick.
Counties close to Hawaii County in output are Honolulu County, Kauai County, Maui County. Compare their jobs, pay and unemployment on their own pages.
| Measure ⇅ | Value ⇅ | Rank among the 5 counties of Hawaii ⇅ |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 205,769 | 2 of 5 |
| GDP 2024 | $12,193 million | 2 of 3 |
| GDP per resident | $59,256 | 3 of 3 |
| Jobs (QCEW 2024) | 74,029 | 2 of 4 |
| Average annual pay | $57,868 | 4 of 4 |
| Job change vs 2023 | +2.0% | 1 of 4 |
| Unemployment rate (lower is better) | 3.5% | 3 of 4 |
| Median household income | $78,639 | 4 of 5 |
Federal jobs in Hawaii (384) →All cities of HawaiiState guide: Hawaii
These links go to official sources and open in a new window. The first one is the government's or company's own site as listed in Wikidata (property "official website"); check it before relying on it.
Cities of this guide whose main county is Hawaii County.
| City ⇅ | Population ⇅ | Median household income ⇅ | Median rent ⇅ | Median home value ⇅ | Bachelor's+ ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hilo | 50,404 | $81,779 | $1,427 | $483,000 | 34.6% |
| Kailua | 21,818 | $88,211 | $1,754 | $667,400 | 33.6% |
| Hawaiian Paradise Park | 13,203 | $88,348 | $1,310 | $457,100 | 25.8% |
| Kaiminani | 11,465 | $110,560 | $1,202 | $772,800 | 33.1% |
| Waimea | 9,286 | $100,198 | $1,867 | $677,400 | 41.6% |
| Industry ⇅ | Jobs ⇅ | Share of private jobs ⇅ | Average annual pay ⇅ | Concentration vs US (location quotient) ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accommodation and food services | 13,305 | 23.3% | $47,065 | 1.98 |
| Retail trade | 10,106 | 17.7% | $41,022 | 1.37 |
| Health care and social assistance | 7,914 | 13.9% | $56,739 | 0.75 |
| Construction | 4,022 | 7.0% | $77,524 | 1.04 |
| Administrative and waste services | 3,836 | 6.7% | $45,322 | 0.88 |
| Transportation and warehousing | 2,841 | 5.0% | $56,599 | 0.91 |
| Other services (except public administration) | 2,374 | 4.2% | $46,539 | 1.07 |
| Professional and technical services | 1,964 | 3.4% | $83,599 | 0.38 |
| Wholesale trade | 1,838 | 3.2% | $66,986 | 0.63 |
| Arts, entertainment, recreation | 1,762 | 3.1% | $44,510 | 1.42 |
| Manufacturing | 1,716 | 3.0% | $50,530 | 0.28 |
| Real estate and rental | 1,423 | 2.5% | $60,849 | 1.24 |
| Educational services | 1,354 | 2.4% | $54,809 | 0.88 |
| Finance and insurance | 1,160 | 2.0% | $75,984 | 0.39 |
| Information | 609 | 1.1% | $99,845 | 0.44 |
| Utilities | 556 | 1.0% | $131,746 | 1.98 |
| Management of companies | 357 | 0.6% | $78,071 | 0.29 |
A location quotient above 1 means the industry is more concentrated here than in the US. BLS withholds sectors with too few employers.
| Measure ⇅ | Value ⇅ |
|---|---|
| Labour force | 93,661 |
| Employed residents | 90,354 |
| Unemployed residents | 3,307 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.5% |
| Jobs located in the county (QCEW) | 74,029 |
| Employer sites | 7,367 |
Residents employed and jobs located here differ: many residents commute to other counties.
| County ⇅ | Population ⇅ | GDP 2024 ⇅ | GDP per resident ⇅ | Jobs ⇅ | Average annual pay ⇅ | Unemployment ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Honolulu County | 1,001,146 | $87,066 million | $86,967 | 453,193 | $69,851 | 3.0% |
| Hawaii County | 205,769 | $12,193 million | $59,256 | 74,029 | $57,868 | 3.5% |
| Maui County | 164,522 | n/a | n/a | 73,656 | $61,830 | 3.1% |
| Kauai County | 73,731 | $5,552 million | $75,306 | 32,830 | $59,731 | 5.1% |
| Kalawao County | 67 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
205,769 (Census Bureau ACS 2020–2024).
$12,193 million in 2024 (BEA, current dollars).
3.5% in 2026M09 (BLS, not seasonally adjusted; the latest month may be revised).
74,029 jobs on average in 2024 with an average annual pay of $57,868 (BLS QCEW).