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Kalawao County Commute Time Map & Patterns

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Commuting in Kalawao County, Hawaii: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.

You 10/22/26, 12:35 AM
How much time do drivers in Kalawao County spend on the road daily?
Map AI 10/22/26, 12:35 AM

Commute Time Burden in Kalawao County: Annual Hours and Cost

Commuters in Kalawao County spend about 9 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 37 hours, about 1.5 full days, spent commuting. That is 81% less time on the road than the Hawaii average of 22.8 minutes each way, a difference of 18.3 minutes.

Kalawao County holds about 0.0% of Hawaii's population and accounts for roughly 0.0% of its total commuting time.

Working from home just 2 days a week in Kalawao County would save about 15 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $457 at the same national wage assumption used above.

Area One-Way Commute Daily Round-Trip Yearly Time Spent Estimated Yearly Cost Local Road Traffic (VPD)
Kalawao County 4.4 min 8.8 min 37 hrs/yr $1,143 263
Hawaii 22.8 min 45.5 min 190 hrs/yr $5,883 2,478
United States 22.4 min 44.8 min 187 hrs/yr $5,790 1,355

The estimated yearly cost applies a single national rule of thumb (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics average hourly earnings), not a measurement of wages in this area - treat it as a rough estimate, not a paycheck figure. Local road traffic counts, vehicles per day on non-highway roads, come from proprietary Ticon and TrafficZoom data.

Commute Time Map: Hawaii Counties

Fastest commutes among counties in Hawaii
  1. Kalawao County (4.4 min)
  2. Maui County (18.9 min)
  3. Kauai County (21.4 min)
Slowest commutes among counties in Hawaii
  1. Honolulu County (23.5 min)
  2. Hawaii County (21.4 min)
  3. Kauai County (21.4 min)

Compare commute times among different counties

Kalawao County
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Average commute time

On average, it takes 4.4 minutes to get to work in Kalawao County. That's 80% shorter than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.

Fastest county in Hawaii

The most common departure window is 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM, followed by 05:30 AM – 05:59 AM. Driving is the most common commute choice, followed by walking. About 6.1% work from home.

How People Get to Work in Kalawao County

  • Car: 59.2% unusually low
  • Walked: 20.4% unusually high
  • Public Transportation: 14.3% unusually high
  • Worked at Home: 6.1%
  • Motorcycle: < 0.1% unusually low
  • Taxi: < 0.1% unusually low
  • Bicycle: < 0.1% unusually low
  • Other: < 0.1%

Riding a motorcycle is essentially absent in Kalawao County, versus 0.5% in Hawaii.

Driving is 25% less common in Kalawao County than the Hawaii average (59.2% vs 79.1%).

Walking is unusually common in Kalawao County: 4.8 times more than the Hawaii average (20.4% vs 4.2%).

Public transit is unusually common in Kalawao County: 3.7 times more than the Hawaii average (14.3% vs 3.8%).

Taking a taxi is essentially absent in Kalawao County, versus 0.2% in Hawaii.

Biking is essentially absent in Kalawao County, versus 0.9% in Hawaii.

Kalawao County stands out for active commuting: 20.4% of workers walk or bike to work, 4.0 times the Hawaii average of 5.1%.

Commute Mode Trends in Kalawao County, 2009-2024

This chart shows how workers in Kalawao County get to work, as a share of all workers aged 16 and over, across 16 U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) releases from 2009 to 2024. Each release is a 5-year estimate: the 2024 figures cover surveys taken from 2020 to 2024. Because neighboring releases share most of their survey years, the lines move gradually, and a sudden change such as the rise of remote work in 2020 spreads across several releases. Hover over or tap a line to highlight it, and use the legend to show or hide a mode. Driving starts hidden so the smaller modes stay readable.

Share of workers aged 16 and over, by ACS 5-year release year. Source: U.S. Census Bureau.
Show commute mode data by year
Year Car Walked Public Transportation Worked at Home Taxi Motorcycle Bicycle Other
2009 62.7% 10.7% 0.0% 13.3% 0.0% 8.0% 5.3% 0.0%
2010 53.1% 17.2% 0.0% 15.6% 0.0% 6.2% 7.8% 0.0%
2011 37.0% 15.2% 0.0% 17.4% 0.0% 6.5% 19.6% 4.3%
2012 25.5% 34.5% 0.0% 10.9% 0.0% 5.5% 20.0% 3.6%
2013 31.0% 32.8% 0.0% 3.4% 0.0% 6.9% 22.4% 3.4%
2014 34.5% 45.5% 0.0% 3.6% 0.0% 0.0% 12.7% 3.6%
2015 41.8% 40.3% 0.0% 3.0% 0.0% 0.0% 11.9% 3.0%
2016 38.9% 48.6% 0.0% 4.2% 0.0% 0.0% 8.3% 0.0%
2017 42.2% 40.6% 0.0% 6.3% 0.0% 0.0% 10.9% 0.0%
2018 43.6% 40.0% 0.0% 5.5% 0.0% 0.0% 10.9% 0.0%
2019 47.1% 41.2% 2.0% 3.9% 0.0% 0.0% 5.9% 0.0%
2020 94.1% 3.8% 0.2% 0.5% 0.0% 0.0% 1.4% 0.0%
2021 71.0% 16.1% 3.2% 3.2% 0.0% 0.0% 6.5% 0.0%
2022 63.9% 16.7% 5.6% 13.9% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2023 46.7% 16.7% 33.3% 3.3% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2024 59.2% 20.4% 14.3% 6.1% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%

Driving's share was highest in 2020 at 94.1% and lowest in 2012 at 25.5%. Overall it fell from 62.7% in 2009 to 59.2% in 2024, down 3.5 percentage points. It has risen in the latest release.

Public transit gained the most ground in Kalawao County: its share of workers rose from 0.0% in 2009 to 14.3% in 2024, up 14.3 percentage points. Most of that increase, 12.3 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.

Riding a motorcycle lost the most ground, falling from 8.0% to 0.0% of workers (down 8.0 percentage points).

Walking overtook working from home to become the 2nd most common choice in the 2012 release and has stayed ahead since.

Walking peaked at 48.6% in 2016 and has since fallen back to 20.4%.

Driving is the most common way to get to work in 2024, as it was in 2009, though it did not lead in every release in between.

Commute Start Times in Kalawao County

  • Early BirdThe earliest start among Hawaii's 5 counties: half of commuters are on the road by 5:55 AM.
  • Dawn PatrolThe highest share of pre-6 AM departures among Hawaii's 5 counties: 54.3% of commuters leave before 6 AM.
  • Earlier AlarmsThe biggest shift to earlier mornings among Hawaii's 5 counties: the typical start is 52 minutes earlier than in 2009.

What Time Do People Leave for Work in Kalawao County?

The bars show when commuters in Kalawao County leave home for work, as a share of everyone who commutes (people who work from home are not counted), from the 2024 ACS 5-year estimates. The thin violet marks show Hawaii for comparison. Hover over or tap a row for the exact numbers.

12:00-4:59 AM
19.6%
5:00-5:29 AM
6.5%
5:30-5:59 AM
28.3%
6:00-6:29 AM
0.0%
6:30-6:59 AM
8.7%
7:00-7:29 AM
37.0%
7:30-7:59 AM
0.0%
8:00-8:29 AM
0.0%
8:30-8:59 AM
0.0%
9:00-9:59 AM
0.0%
10:00-10:59 AM
0.0%
11:00-11:59 AM
0.0%
12:00-3:59 PM
0.0%
4:00-11:59 PM
0.0%

Kalawao County Hawaii Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates

The busiest time to head out in Kalawao County is 7:00-7:29 AM, when 37.0% of commuters leave home, compared with 14.5% across Hawaii. Early starts are more common than in Hawaii: 54.3% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 19.0% there. The morning rush looks much like Hawaii's: 45.7% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 44.2% there.

When people leave matters as much as how far they go. Rush-hour traffic shrinks how much ground a 20-minute trip covers, so a trade area drawn as a simple circle often takes in neighborhoods that customers or staff would never drive from and misses others that are an easy trip. A drive-time zone, also called an isochrone, outlines every place within a set number of minutes of an address, which makes it the more honest way to size a store's catchment, a hiring area or the commute from a new home.

See it for yourself on the interactive map: click any spot in Kalawao County, pick a 5, 10, 15 or 30-minute drive and see the local demographics of the people who live within that exact drive time.

Is Kalawao County Waking Up Earlier? Typical Departure Time, 2009-2024

Each line follows the typical (median) departure time: the moment by which half of commuters have already left home. Higher on the chart means a later start. Setting Kalawao County next to Hawaii and the U.S. shows whether local mornings are drifting earlier or later than everyone else's. The figures span 16 ACS 5-year releases, so changes build up gradually rather than jumping from one year to the next.

Median time commuters leave home, by ACS 5-year release year. Source: U.S. Census Bureau.
Show typical departure times by year
Year Kalawao County Hawaii United States
2009 6:47 AM 7:11 AM 7:37 AM
2010 6:42 AM 7:12 AM 7:38 AM
2011 6:51 AM 7:13 AM 7:38 AM
2012 6:39 AM 7:13 AM 7:38 AM
2013 6:33 AM 7:14 AM 7:39 AM
2014 6:40 AM 7:14 AM 7:39 AM
2015 6:34 AM 7:14 AM 7:38 AM
2016 6:26 AM 7:14 AM 7:38 AM
2017 6:06 AM 7:14 AM 7:38 AM
2018 5:58 AM 7:14 AM 7:37 AM
2019 5:48 AM 7:15 AM 7:37 AM
2020 7:04 AM 7:15 AM 7:37 AM
2021 7:00 AM 7:16 AM 7:37 AM
2022 6:56 AM 7:17 AM 7:37 AM
2023 6:49 AM 7:18 AM 7:38 AM
2024 5:55 AM 7:18 AM 7:38 AM

In 2024, half of commuters in Kalawao County were on the road by 5:55 AM, 52 minutes earlier than in 2009 (6:47 AM). That goes against the trend across Hawaii, where the typical commuter now leaves 7 minutes later than in 2009. Commuters in Kalawao County now leave 102 minutes earlier than the typical American commuter (7:38 AM). Since the 2019 release, which covers the years just before the pandemic, the typical start in Kalawao County has moved 7 minutes later.

How does Kalawao County's commute time compare?

Metric Kalawao County Hawaii US Average
Avg. Commute Time 4.4 min 22.8 min 22.4 min
Departure Window 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
Secondary Departure Window 05:30 AM – 05:59 AM 06:00 AM – 06:29 AM 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
Work From Home 6.1% 9.6% 15.0%
Walked 20.4% 4.2% 2.4%
Public Transit 14.3% 3.8% 3.2%

The average commute time in Kalawao County is 4.4 minutes, shorter than the 22.8 minutes in Hawaii.

14.3% commute by public transit, higher than the 3.8% in Hawaii. 20.4% commute by walking, higher than the 4.2% in Hawaii.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Kalawao County, HI Commute Compared With Nearby Counties

Kalawao County, HI is the smallest of the 6 counties compared here, 67 residents against a local median of 164,522. Kalawao County, HI's one-way commute, at 4.4 min, runs 79% below the 21.4 min typical of the counties around it. That is the better end of the local range on this measure.

Work from home tells the same story from another angle: 6.1% against a local median of 10.2%, 40% below it. The counties themselves spread 17.4 min on one-way commute, so Kalawao County, HI sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Kalawao County, HI has the lowest one-way commute of the 6 areas compared here.

Area Population One-way commute Work from home Typical departure
Kalawao County, HI 67 4.4 min #1/6 6.1% #6/6 5:55 AM #1/6
Maui County, HI 164,522 18.9 min 10.2% 7:28 AM
Hawaii County, HI 204,351 21.4 min 12.1% 7:23 AM
Kauai County, HI 73,731 21.4 min 8.6% 7:24 AM
Honolulu County, HI 997,376 23.5 min 9.1% 7:15 AM
Aleutians East Borough, AK 3,491 6.1 min 11.5% 7:35 AM

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about commuting in Kalawao County, Hawaii.

How much does the average commute cost workers in Kalawao County, Hawaii?

Commuters here spend an estimated 37 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $1,143 at a typical national wage. That's 81% less than the typical Hawaii commuter spends.

When is rush hour worst in Kalawao County, Hawaii?

Traffic peaks between 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM in Kalawao County, Hawaii. Leaving before or after this window is the single easiest way to avoid the heaviest local congestion, though 05:30 AM – 05:59 AM also sees a secondary bump.

Do people use public transit in Kalawao County, Hawaii?

Public transit usage is notably higher here than typical: about 14.3% of commuters use it versus 3.8% in Hawaii, making it a realistic option for many workers.

Which counties in Hawaii have the fastest and slowest commutes?

Among counties in Hawaii, the shortest average commutes are in Kalawao County (4.4 min), Maui County (18.9 min), Kauai County (21.4 min). The longest are in Honolulu County (23.5 min), Hawaii County (21.4 min), Kauai County (21.4 min).