Lowest-earning counties in Hawaii
Americans on the whole were doing well financially heading into 2020, with major markers like unemployment reaching 50-year lows. The pandemic changed all that: During the second quarter of the 2020 fiscal year, our nation's real GDP fell by a whopping 31.4%, a number that hasn't been seen since the Great Depression. Since then the GDP has recovered, the first quarter of 2022 was 11% above the fourth quarter of 2019.
While GDP has recovered since the height of the pandemic, wage growth has not kept pace with inflation. In 2021 average hourly wages increased 4.7% while there was 7% inflation, meaning the worker's purchasing power dropped by 2.4%.
Where you live can make a big impact on your financial situation. The highest earning county in the U.S. earns $147,111, while the lowest earns $22,292. Stacker compiled a list of the lowest-earning counties in Hawaii using data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Counties are ranked by the Census' 2020 5-year estimate median household income.
#5. Honolulu County
--- 5.5% above state average, 35.0% above national average
- Households earning over $100k: 43.9%
--- #106 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 6.8%
--- #3,033 highest among all counties nationwide
#4. Maui County
--- 1.4% above state average, 29.8% above national average
- Households earning over $100k: 40.8%
--- #155 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 7.0%
--- #3,002 highest among all counties nationwide
#3. Kauai County
--- 0.4% below state average, 27.4% above national average
- Households earning over $100k: 40.4%
--- #165 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 8.3%
--- #2,983 highest among all counties nationwide
#2. Kalawao County
--- 8.1% below state average, 17.6% above national average
- Households earning over $100k: 3.0%
--- #3,142 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 0.7%
--- #2,911 highest among all counties nationwide
#1. Hawaii County
--- 21.4% below state average, 0.6% above national average
- Households earning over $100k: 29.9%
--- #491 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 11.3%
--- #2,588 highest among all counties nationwide
