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Hawaiian Ocean View, Hawaii

Hawaiian Ocean View is an unincorporated community of about 4,400 people in Hawaii County, Hawaii. It has no city government of its own: local services come from the county, or in some states from the town or township. A typical home costs about 7.1 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Honolulu, is about 204 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
4,431
Census survey, 2020-24
Typical home, 2020-24
$318,200
Hawaii County prices up 17% since 2022
Household income
$45,043
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Hawaii
106.4
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
21 miles
Pahala, HI
To Honolulu
204 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 6.4% above the U.S. average in the parts of Hawaii outside metro areas.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 7.1 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI doesn't publish crime figures for unincorporated communities. Call the county sheriff's office (or the town or township police, where there is one) and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in townNo public schools inside the town. The nearest high school is Konawaena High School, about 30 miles away.
  • A hospital close byKau Hospital in Pahala, about 21 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityHonolulu is about 204 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Hawaiian Ocean View meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$318,200U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 17%Hawaii County, 2022 to 2025
Typical household income
$45,043U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
78%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,255 a yearHawaii: $2,239
Homes built before 1940
2%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
24%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
11%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
106.4U.S. average = 100 (the parts of Hawaii outside metro areas)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 17% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Hawaii outside metro areas, not Hawaiian Ocean View alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2020-2024 Census survey
4,431The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age
53.9 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
32%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
17%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
16%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
2%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (12%); construction (10%)
Work from home
0%U.S.: 15%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Kau Hospital, Pahala, HI, about 21 miles away. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

Nearest general hospital: Kona Community Hospital, Kealakekua, HI, about 31 miles away. Medicare gives it 2 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

There are no public schools inside Hawaiian Ocean View itself. The nearest public high school is Konawaena High School, about 30 miles away.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Hawaii's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
62%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
92%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
54°F
July average high
78°F
Days 90°F or hotter
0 a year
Nights at or below freezing
0 a year
Rain and melted snow
21.3 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
2,319 feet

Weather station: S Kona 2 2.32 (2 miles away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Kau Hospital, San Francisco, Honolulu.

Hawaii County is outside any metro area, with 20,000 or more people in its towns, not next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 5, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park2 miles
  • Pu'uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park23 miles
  • Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park43 miles

Read about Hawaiian Ocean View's history on Wikipedia.

Know Hawaiian Ocean View?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Discovery Harbour, HI (unincorporated)1,079 people, 10 miles
  • Waiohinu, HI (unincorporated)152 people, 11 miles
  • Naalehu, HI (unincorporated)872 people, 13 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.