One of the nice things about Waianae is that it is nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Because of this, visitors and locals will often go to these areas to take in the scenery or to enjoy waterfront activities.
One downside of living in Waianae, however, is that residents on average have to contend with a long commute, spending on average 39.49 minutes every day commuting to work. However, local public transit is widely used. For those who would prefer to avoid driving entirely and leave their car at home, it may be an option to use the transit instead.
Even though Waianae is a smaller town, it has many people who hop on public transportation – mostly the bus for their daily commute to work. Typically, these people are commuting to good jobs in the surrounding cities.
The citizens of Waianae are slightly less educated than the national average of 21.84% for the average city or town: 13.61% of adults in Waianae have a bachelor's degree or advanced degree
The per capita income in Waianae in 2022 was $29,607, which is low income relative to Hawaii, and lower middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $118,428 for a family of four. However, Waianae contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
Waianae is an extremely ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Waianae home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Waianae residents report their race to be Native Hawaiian, followed by Asian. Waianae also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 12.55% of the town’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Waianae include Portuguese, German, Irish, English, and Italian.
The most common language spoken in Waianae is English. Other important languages spoken here include Pacific Island languages and Italian.
