Waianae is also nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Such areas are often places that visitors and locals go for waterfront activities or taking in the scenery.
One downside of living in Waianae is that it can take a long time to commute to work. In Waianae, the average commute to work is 40.45 minutes, which is quite a bit higher than the national average. On the other hand, local public transit is widely used in the town, so leaving the car at home and taking transit is often a viable alternative.
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 percentage of adults in Waianae with college degrees is slightly lower than the national average of 21.84% for all communities. 13.19% of adults in Waianae have a bachelor's degree or advanced degree.
The per capita income in Waianae in 2022 was $30,053, 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 $120,212 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 14.17% of the town’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Waianae include Portuguese, German, English, Irish, and Italian.
The most common language spoken in Waianae is English. Other important languages spoken here include Pacific Island languages and Italian.
