Kauai County, Hawaii

County Distress Index: Healthy · 34.3 | 73,851 people · 5th most distressed in Hawaii

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Kauai County, HI ranks among the least distressed counties in the country at 34.3 — 2685th nationally out of 3144 counties. The primary driver is Housing Cost Burden, where a large share of households spend more than 30% of income on housing. Within Hawaii, it ranks 5th of 5 counties. Its strongest area is Community Vulnerability, where health coverage and disability rates are better than the national average.

The Numbers Behind the Score

The CDI measures five domains of financial distress. Kauai County's primary driver is Housing Cost Burden at 73.3 — above the national median.

Housing Cost Burden Primary driver 73.3
Rent-Burdened (30%+) 76
Severely Rent-Burdened (50%+) 56
Mortgage-Burdened (30%+) 58
Homeownership Rate 79
Rent-to-Income Ratio 97
Employment & Wages 39.8
Unemployment Rate 3
Wage-to-Rent Ratio 99
Business Formation Rate 17
Income & Poverty 25.2
Poverty Rate 16
Income vs. State Median 41
Child Poverty Rate 18
Debt & Delinquency 22.6
Debt in Collections 18
Medical Debt 18
Student Loan Delinquency 23
Auto Loan Delinquency 28
Credit Card Delinquency 34
Bankruptcy Filing Rate 15
Community Vulnerability 10.6
Uninsured Rate 9
Disability Rate 12

Scores are percentile-based: 50 = national median, higher = more distressed. The median line is shown on each bar.

Neighbors and Peers

How Kauai County compares to its population peers.

Population Peers

County Score Zone vs. Kauai County
Orange County, NC 34.1 Healthy -0.1
Limestone County, AL 34.4 Healthy +0.1
Buffalo County, NE 34.1 Healthy -0.2
Wilson County, TN 34.1 Healthy -0.2
Johnson County, IA 34.0 Healthy -0.3

Download Data

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