Wahiawa, HI
Honolulu County · Hawaii · United States
Home to 41,293 people across 89.198 square miles.
At a glance
96786 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 96786 is
| Coordinates | 21.537569, -158.022383 |
|---|---|
| Time zone | Pacific/Honolulu |
| County | Honolulu County |
| State | Hawaii (HI) |
| Land area | 89.198 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 | 2393.8 mi |
|---|---|
| Los Angeles, CA | 2561.6 mi |
| San Diego, CA | 2610.8 mi |
| Seattle, WA | 2673.6 mi |
People
Who lives in 96786
41,293 residents in 13,159 households, averaging 3.14 people per household. The largest age group is under 18 at 29.6% of residents, and 76.0% of households are families.
Age distribution
Share of residents by age band
Households
Composition and size
| Total households | 13,159 |
|---|---|
| Average household size | 3.14 |
| Family households | 76.0% |
| Living alone | 20.9% |
| Median age | 28 years |
| Households with internet | 93.2% |
Race & ethnicity
Census race categories. Hispanic or Latino origin is asked separately and overlaps these groups.
Income & work
What people earn in 96786
The median household here earns $83,488 a year, above the US median of $70,109, which puts 96786 ahead of 69% of American ZIP codes. 10.9% of residents live below the poverty line.
Compared to the US
This ZIP against the national median
| Median household income | $83,488 ±$2,294 |
|---|---|
| Per capita income | $33,797 |
| Poverty rate | 10.9% |
| Unemployment rate | 5.6% |
| Labor force participation | 65.9% |
Household income distribution
Share of households in each bracket
Educational attainment among residents 25 and older: 25.2% hold a bachelor's degree or higher, 93.6% finished high school.
Housing
Homes and rent in 96786
A typical home is valued at $724,400, and median rent runs $2,784 a month. This is a renter-majority area — 70.2% of occupied homes are rented, and the typical building went up in 1977.
Costs
Typical values
| Median home value | $724,400 |
|---|---|
| Median gross rent | $2,784/mo |
| Median year built | 1977 |
| Housing units | 14,444 |
| Vacancy rate | 8.9% |
Own vs. rent
Of 13,159 occupied units
| Owner households | 3,926 |
|---|---|
| Renter households | 9,233 |
Building types
Units by structure size
Getting to work
How 96786 commutes
71.3% of workers drove alone, and the average one-way trip takes 25.5 minutes.
Mode of transport
Workers 16 and older
Travel time
Mean commute 25.5 minutes
Overview
Understanding ZIP code 96786
ZIP code 96786 is assigned to Wahiawa, HI, and falls within Honolulu 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 41,293 people live inside it.
At 463 residents per square mile spread over 89.198 square miles, 96786 reads as a small-town area. It is a populous 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 track close to the national picture. The median of $83,488 puts 96786 near the middle of the pack, ahead of 69% 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 Wahiawa looks like
Housing in 96786 costs far above the national median. A typical home is valued at $724,400 against a US median of $207,500, and median gross rent runs $2,784 a month. This is firmly renter territory — 70.2% of occupied homes are rented, a pattern typical of city centres, student areas and neighbourhoods with a lot of apartment stock.
The building stock is dominated by detached single-family houses, which account for 68.5% of housing units here. The median construction year is 1977, making the housing here from the later twentieth century.
The population skews notably young, with a median age of 28 against 42 nationally. Households are relatively large at 3.14 people on average, with 76.0% classified as family households.
Getting to work takes 25.5 minutes on average one way. The dominant mode is drove alone at 71.3% of workers.
Where to stay
Where to stay in Wahiawa, HI
Wahiawa is a smaller community, so options inside 96786 may be limited to a handful of independent inns, motels or bed-and-breakfast properties. Travellers often widen the search to the surrounding area, where the choice is greater and prices are usually competitive.
Local housing costs are a rough guide to nightly rates: median rent in 96786 runs $2,784 a month, which is high, and hotel pricing in expensive residential areas usually follows the same curve. For reference, San Francisco, CA is about 2393.8 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 96786 is used for
Beyond addressing mail, 96786 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, 96786 offers a compact profile of Wahiawa: 41,293 residents, a median household income of $83,488, 25.2% of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher, and an unemployment rate of 5.6%. 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. 96786 may cover parts of several distinct areas, and a single neighbourhood in Wahiawa 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 96786
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 96786
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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 96786. 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).