Pahala, HI
Hawaii County · Hawaii · United States
Home to 1,838 people across 93.491 square miles.
At a glance
96777 by the numbers
Every figure below comes from the 2019–2023 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, the Census Gazetteer, or is computed from those. Margins of error are shown where they matter.
Location
Where 96777 is
| Coordinates | 19.227605, -155.466558 |
|---|---|
| Time zone | Pacific/Honolulu |
| County | Hawaii County |
| State | Hawaii (HI) |
| Land area | 93.491 mi² |
| Coordinate source | Census ZCTA internal point |
Local time
Pacific/Honolulu
Current weather
Live from the National Weather Service
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Distance to major cities
Straight-line, computed from coordinates
| San Francisco, CA | 2361.3 mi |
|---|---|
| Los Angeles, CA | 2498.6 mi |
| San Diego, CA | 2538.3 mi |
| Seattle, WA | 2699.9 mi |
People
Who lives in 96777
1,838 residents in 494 households, averaging 3.72 people per household. The largest age group is under 18 at 29.8% of residents.
Age distribution
Share of residents by age band
Households
Composition and size
| Total households | 494 |
|---|---|
| Average household size | 3.72 |
| Family households | 66.8% |
| Living alone | 33.2% |
| Median age | 32 years |
| Households with internet | 92.9% |
Race & ethnicity
Census race categories. Hispanic or Latino origin is asked separately and overlaps these groups.
Income & work
What people earn in 96777
The median household here earns $63,438 a year, below the US median of $70,109, which puts 96777 ahead of 39% of American ZIP codes. 9.1% of residents live below the poverty line.
Compared to the US
This ZIP against the national median
| Median household income | $63,438 ±$25,773 |
|---|---|
| Per capita income | $22,955 |
| Poverty rate | 9.1% |
| Unemployment rate | 12.9% |
| Labor force participation | 53.7% |
Household income distribution
Share of households in each bracket
Educational attainment among residents 25 and older: 24.5% hold a bachelor's degree or higher, 91.6% finished high school.
Housing
Homes and rent in 96777
A typical home is valued at $227,200, and median rent runs $650 a month. This is an owner-majority area — 84.2% of occupied homes are owned, and the typical building went up in 1976.
Costs
Typical values
| Median home value | $227,200 |
|---|---|
| Median gross rent | $650/mo |
| Median year built | 1976 |
| Housing units | 570 |
| Vacancy rate | 13.3% |
Own vs. rent
Of 494 occupied units
| Owner households | 416 |
|---|---|
| Renter households | 78 |
Building types
Units by structure size
Getting to work
How 96777 commutes
69.7% of workers drove alone, and the average one-way trip takes 37.1 minutes.
Mode of transport
Workers 16 and older
Travel time
Mean commute 37.1 minutes
Overview
Understanding ZIP code 96777
ZIP code 96777 is assigned to Pahala, HI, and falls within Hawaii County. Like every US postal code, it began as a mail-routing device rather than a geographic boundary — the US Postal Service groups delivery routes under a single code so carriers and sorting equipment can process mail efficiently. Today it also serves as a practical shorthand for the area itself: roughly 1,838 people live inside it.
At 20 residents per square mile spread over 93.491 square miles, 96777 reads as a rural area. It is a sparsely populated postal code, and density shapes almost everything else on this page — how people get to work, whether they own or rent, and what housing costs.
Household earnings run below the national median. At $63,438, 96777 sits in the lower half, ahead of 39% of them. The US median for comparison is $70,109. Bear in mind that median income describes the midpoint household, not the average — it is not pulled upward by a handful of very high earners the way a mean would be.
Living here
What life in Pahala looks like
Housing in 96777 costs close to the national median. A typical home is valued at $227,200 against a US median of $207,500, and median gross rent runs $650 a month. Ownership dominates: 84.2% of occupied homes are owner-occupied, which usually signals an established residential area with relatively low turnover.
The building stock is dominated by detached single-family houses, which account for 90.0% of housing units here. The median construction year is 1976, making the housing here from the later twentieth century.
The population skews younger than the country as a whole, with a median age of 32 against 42 nationally. Households are relatively large at 3.72 people on average, with 66.8% classified as family households.
Getting to work takes 37.1 minutes on average one way. The dominant mode is drove alone at 69.7% of workers, while 11.5% work from home. Commute patterns are one of the better proxies for how a place actually functions day to day.
Where to stay
Where to stay in Pahala, HI
96777 covers a rural area, and accommodation within the postal code itself is likely to be sparse — perhaps a country inn, a lodge or a vacation rental rather than a conventional hotel. Widening the search radius is usually the practical approach, and it also opens up more availability at short notice.
Local costs are modest — median rent here is $650 a month — and accommodation prices in the area tend to be correspondingly reasonable. For reference, San Francisco, CA is about 2361.3 miles away in a straight line, which is worth factoring in if you are comparing a stay here against one closer to the city centre.
Availability and pricing change constantly, so the live search below will give you a more accurate picture than any figure we could publish here. It opens results for this area on Booking.com.
Opens Booking.com in a new tab. We are not affiliated with Booking.com and receive nothing from this link.
Practical uses
What ZIP code 96777 is used for
Beyond addressing mail, 96777 does a lot of quiet administrative work. Retailers use it to calculate shipping and sales tax at checkout. Insurers use it to set premiums, since risk profiles vary geographically. Employers and marketers use it to define service areas. Government agencies use it to route benefits and organise reporting. If you have ever been asked for a postal code by a form that clearly does not intend to send you anything, this is why.
For anyone weighing a move, 96777 offers a compact profile of Pahala: 1,838 residents, a median household income of $63,438, 24.5% of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher, and an unemployment rate of 12.9%. A handful of figures like these answer more relocation questions than most neighbourhood guides do.
One caution worth repeating: a postal code is not a neighbourhood. 96777 may cover parts of several distinct areas, and a single neighbourhood in Pahala may be split across more than one code. Boundaries also shift as USPS adjusts delivery routes. Treat the figures here as describing a delivery area, which is what they actually measure.
Nearby
ZIP codes near 96777
The eight closest postal codes by centroid distance, each with its own full profile. You can also browse every Hawaii ZIP code or use the ZIP Express Lookup to search by city, county or time zone.
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Questions
Common questions about 96777
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Methodology
Where this data comes from
- Postal geography — GeoNames open postal code database (CC BY 4.0), cross-checked against the US Census Gazetteer.
- Demographics, income, housing, commute — US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2019–2023 5-Year Estimates, ZIP Code Tabulation Area 96777. Tables B01001, B01002, B01003, B02001, B03003, B08301, B08303, B11001, B15003, B17001, B19001, B19013, B19301, B23025, B25002, B25003, B25024, B25035, B25064, B25077, B28002.
- Land and water area — US Census Bureau 2023 Gazetteer Files.
- Weather — NOAA National Weather Service, fetched live in your browser.
- Map — OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).