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Helemano, Hawaii

Helemano is an unincorporated community of about 2,700 people in Honolulu 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. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Honolulu, is about 18 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
2,691
Census survey, 2020-24
Household income
$83,197
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Urban Honolulu area
111
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
11 miles
Kahuku, HI
To Honolulu
18 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 11% above the U.S. average in the Urban Honolulu metro area.
  • More house for the moneyThe Census survey didn't reach enough homes in Helemano to say.
  • 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 Leilehua High School, about 2 miles away.
  • A hospital close byKahuku Medical Center in Kahuku, about 11 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityHonolulu is about 18 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 Helemano 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

Home prices since then
Up 11%Honolulu County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$3,094 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$83,197U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
0%U.S.: 65%
Homes built before 1940
0%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
20%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
111U.S. average = 100 (the Urban Honolulu metro area)

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 11% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Urban Honolulu metro area, not Helemano 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
2,691The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age
23.2 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
0%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
30%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
23%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
20%U.S.: 6%
College students
11%share of all residents

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 (23%)
Average commute
21 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
3%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
12%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Kahuku Medical Center, Kahuku, HI, about 11 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: Pali Momi Medical Center, Aiea, HI, about 12 miles away. Medicare gives it 4 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 Helemano itself. The nearest public high school is Leilehua High School, about 2 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
92%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
100%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
61°F
July average high
82°F
Days 90°F or hotter
0 a year
Nights at or below freezing
0 a year
Rain and melted snow
64.1 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
1,110 feet

Weather station: Upper Wahiawa 874.3 (3 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: Kahuku Medical Center, San Francisco, Honolulu.

Honolulu County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, 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:

  • Honouliuli National Historic Site10 miles
  • Pearl Harbor National Memorial13 miles

Read about Helemano's history on Wikipedia.

Know Helemano?

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

  • Punaluu, HI (unincorporated)950 people, 9 miles
  • Mokuleia, HI (unincorporated)1,655 people, 10 miles
  • Waiahole-Waikane, HI (unincorporated)829 people, 10 miles
  • Kaaawa, HI (unincorporated)1,328 people, 11 miles
  • Kahuku, HI (unincorporated)2,375 people, 11 miles
  • Makaha Valley, HI (unincorporated)163 people, 11 miles
  • Kawela Bay, HI (unincorporated)376 people, 11 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.