Lihue, Hawaii

What Lihue is made of: the communities whose institutions are here, the sectors its 1,648 businesses sit in, the franchises already on the ground, and the services a newcomer could start.

1,648 businesses on file · 126 trades · 33 sectors · census population 7,847 · registry population 6,455 · built from geonet.kauai on 2026-10-07

The two disagree: the registry says 6,455 and the 2021 census counted 7,847 for the municipality. The registry figure is often a metropolitan population. Both are shown; neither is corrected into the other.

Businesses1,648
0% carry coordinates
Specialised in12
trades above the national pattern
Best suited toSeniors
on the census signals below
Franchise brands37
already operating here

Visiting rather than moving? The free guidebook for Lihue → — the free guidebook for this region: why go, what to see, what is open when it rains.

1

The local economy

What the business base is made of, what it is specialised in against the national pattern, and what that mix implies. This is the part a development office would read first.

Composition, not health. geonet records what trades exist and where; it does not record formation, closure, employment or revenue, so none of those appear here. What makes this economics rather than a directory is the NAICS coding: it lets the local mix be read against the BLS survival curves and against the 323 industry groups this research has screened.

The two biggest markets here

Every industry group on this page links through to its NAICS page, and to the screened market report where this research has one — that is what the trait-to-NAICS coding buys.

Business density210
businesses per 1,000 residents, against the 2021 census count of 7,847
Breadth of the base322
broad — 93 industry groups, top three 22.4%
Survival the mix implies56.5%
at five years, against 51.4% for all private establishments
Coded to NAICS55.7%
of which 71.5% unambiguous

What this city is specialised in

Location quotient is this city's share of a trade divided by the same share across 10 US metro tables. Above 1.25 is the conventional threshold for a local specialisation.

Thin against the national pattern

Common trades that are under-represented here. For someone deciding what to open, this is the more useful half of the table — though a gap can mean unmet demand or a market that does not work here, and this does not tell you which.

The base against the entry screen

Businesses by the entry signal of the industry group they sit in, from the /markets screen. A large "structure decides" share means most local trades are ones where being better than the incumbent does not by itself win. A trade is matched to the screened record at whatever level the research wrote it — the same code, a broader one, or a narrower one. Where a group holds several screened sub-markets the count is shown, because no single one of them speaks for the whole group.

Enter
27.6%
253 businesses
Caution
48.6%
446 businesses
Structure decides
23.9%
219 businesses
Not screened
0%
0 businesses

How to read the survival figure

Each sector's five-year establishment survival rate, weighted by how many of this city's businesses sit in that sector. It is a property of the MIX, not of these businesses — it says what survival this composition would imply at US private-sector rates, because no Canadian equivalent series exists.

Weighted over 91.1% of the coded base — public administration carries no curve. Source: Business Employment Dynamics — Table 7, Survival of private sector establishments by opening year, US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

And what it does not measure

A "mixed" trait is one that genuinely spans codes — "computers" covers systems design, repair and supply. The clear share is how much of this reading rests on unambiguous coding. Business density also reflects how completely the directory covers a place, not only how many businesses are in it — so it compares poorly between a city the register knows well and one it does not.

2

Who lives here, and who the city is for

The census: the only figures on this page that count people rather than businesses, and the three cohort readings they make possible.

The register says what trades exist. The census says who lives here — and it is the only thing on this page that counts people. Figures are American Community Survey 2019–2023 five-year estimates for Lihue CDP, Hawaii, the incorporated place, which is the city proper, and every comparison is against the United States as a whole, from the same ACS tables.

Detailed language is not published for American places. B16001, the table with individual languages, has no place-level rows; C16001 is what exists, and it names six languages and groups the rest into families. A Canadian city on this site names about forty.

Population7,847
census 2021
Median age43.1
against 38.7 nationally
Immigrants13.1%
against 13.9% nationally
Median rent$1,989
against $1,348 nationally

Who the city is for

Three readings, each built from real numbers against real benchmarks. This is not an index. Every signal is shown with its own value, its benchmark and which way it points, and the band simply counts how many point the same way — so a reader who disagrees with one signal can drop it and still use the rest.

Seniors

strong

Is this a place to grow old, and is the care here?

Residents 65 and over 26.1% ▲16.8%
Residents 85 and overthe group that needs care rather than the group that is merely retired 6.6% ▲1.9%
Median age 43.1 years ▲38.7 years
Poverty ratethe US poverty threshold — a different definition from the Canadian pages, and not comparable to them 6.3% ▲12.4%
Medical clinics per 1,000 residentsfrom the business register 0.25 –
Pharmacies per 1,000 residentsfrom the business register 1.53 –
Median rent 1989 $/mo ▼1348 $/mo

A high share of over-65s says other people made this choice; it does not say the care exists. The register has no category for a hospital at all, so distance to an emergency department is still missing.

Students and young adults

moderate

Is there a reason to be here between 19 and 25, and can they afford it?

Residents 20 to 24 3.7% ▼6.5%
Residents 15 to 19the cohort arriving next 4.3% ▼6.5%
Renter householdsa rental market is what makes a place possible to move to 37.2% –35%
Median rent 1989 $/mo ▼1348 $/mo
Unemployment rate 1.2% ▲5.2%
Degree holders in the adult population 40.5% ▲35%
Drinking places and recreationfrom the register 14 –

Post-secondary institutions in the city are listed further down this page; where there are none, a high 20-to-24 share usually means work rather than study.

Newcomers and other-language speakers

moderate

Is there already a community here, and has anyone built anything for it?

Foreign-born residents 13.1% –13.9%
Arrived 2010 or laterthe band the ACS publishes; the Canadian pages use 2016 to 2021, so the two are not comparable 33.1% ▲29.4%
Speak a language other than English at home 11.4% –
Language groups above the reporting floor 3 –
Median household income 77420 $ –78538 $

The American census does not publish individual languages for a city — only the eleven groups below, six of which are single languages. A Canadian city on this site names about forty, so the two sections are not the same depth and should not be read as if they were.

What is spoken at home, and whether anyone built for it

The register-versus-census cross-check on the Canadian pages is not possible here: the ACS publishes language in groups, so "Other Indo-European languages" cannot be matched against an institution that names a community.

Spoken most often at homeSpeakers ShareCommunity in the register Institutions
Other Asian and Pacific Island languages 689 8.8% not mapped to a marker 0
Tagalog (incl. Filipino) 111 1.4% not mapped to a marker 0
Vietnamese 93 1.2% not mapped to a marker 0

The rest of the profile

CharacteristicHereCanada
Residents 65 and over 26.1% 16.8%
Residents 85 and over 6.6% 1.9%
Residents 20 to 24 3.7% 6.5%
Arrived 2016 to 2021 33.1% 29.4%
Non-permanent residents — —
Speak a non-official language at home 11.4% —
Renter households 37.2% 35%
Spending 30% or more on shelter — —
Participation rate 59.8% 63.5%
Unemployment rate 1.2% 5.2%
Median household income, 2020 77420 $ —
Median after-tax household income, 2020 — —
Prevalence of low income (LIM-AT) 6.3% —
Bachelor degree or higher 40.5% —

The one thing to keep in mind

Five-year estimates pooled over 2019–2023, so a figure is an average of the period rather than a single year, and every value carries a margin of error this extract does not keep. Unlike the Canadian census, which counts everyone, the ACS is a sample — a small place's figures are correspondingly uncertain. ACS five-year estimate for the incorporated place, which is the city proper. It will differ from the figure in wander.regions, which is sometimes a metropolitan population.

Source: American Community Survey 2019–2023 five-year estimates — Table-based summary file, 2023, United States Census Bureau, under the US federal government work, public domain. National comparison: The United States row of the same ACS tables, not an average of places — roughly a third of Americans live outside any incorporated place, so summing places would understate the country.

3

The communities the register shows

A community appears in the business register before it appears in prose — a national church, a society, a credit union, a newspaper. Those are counted as institutions, and they are what suggests residents. A restaurant serving a cuisine is counted separately as trade, because every city has those and they say nothing about who lives nearby. The ranking is by institutions.

CommunityInstitutions WorshipTrade Where it shows
Korean 1 1 —
Kauai Korean Baptist Church
Chinese — — 3
Filipino — — 2
Japanese — — 1
Italian — — 1
Spanish-speaking — — 1
4

Where the communities are

Streets, not neighbourhood names. The data knows that Greek institutions sit on one street and Greek restaurants on another; it does not know the word "Greektown", so it does not use it.

5

What the city is made of

Every business on file, grouped by the sector it trades in. This is the economic-development view: where the 1,648 businesses actually are, and the specific trades inside each sector.

SectorBusinesses ShareWhat is in it
Business 141 8.6% government (79) · association (19) · accounting (16) · consulting (7) · cemetary (3) · foundation (2) · vending (1)
Construction 87 5.3% home builder (23) · painting (16) · electrician (11) · plumbing (8) · heating and cooling (8) · general contractor (5) · excavating (4) · concrete (4)
Living 75 4.6% place of worship (30) · cleaning (13) · furniture (8) · daycare (5) · veterinary (3) · appliances (3) · janitor (3) · apartment (3)
Health 74 4.5% physician (17) · optical (9) · fitness club (5) · chiro (3) · pharmacy (3) · home healthcare (3) · medical clinic (2)
Dining 73 4.4% restaurant (66) · pizza (2) · burgers (2) · diner (1) · pubs (1) · fast food (1)
Retail 64 3.9% gifts (18) · jeweler (17) · photography (9) · flowers (5) · department store (4) · convenience (3) · toys (3) · fuel (2)
Automotive 63 3.8% autos (37) · auto repair (8) · scooter (3) · auto parts (2) · tires (2) · detailing (1)
Finance 60 3.6% insurance (24) · bank (14) · real estate (11) · credit union (5) · loans (2)
Beauty 58 3.5% hair stylist (29) · dentist (24) · barber (3)
Travel 52 3.2% travel agent (17) · motel (8) · airline (4) · hotel (3) · truck rental (2) · real estate (1) · parking (1) · bnb (1)
Living & Home 37 2.2% greenhouse (1)
Law 35 2.1% lawyer (11)
Realty 33 2% real estate (33)
Tech 26 1.6% computers (15) · wireless (6) · telecom (3) · real estate (1)
Education 24 1.5% school (17) · library (2) · garden (2) · writing (1)
Food 24 1.5% grocer (7) · ice cream (6) · baker (5) · seafood (4) · catering (1) · diner (1)
Agribusiness 22 1.3% landscaping (16) · fertilizer (2) · forestry (2) · livestock (1) · dairy (1)
Manufacturing 21 1.3% industrial supplier (12) · fabrication (5) · salvage (1) · chemical (1) · pulp and paper (1)
Retail Goods 21 1.3%
Construction & Realty 20 1.2%
6

The franchises already here

Brands from a register of 2,024 franchise systems, matched into this city by name. A high count is a signal in both directions: the territory works, and it may be taken.

13 of these brands are a single common word — Metro, Avenue, Budget — so their counts include businesses that merely share the word. They are marked rather than dropped.

BrandCategory HereWorldwide
7-Eleven convenience 2 30,000
Curves For Women fitness 2 10,000
Lions Club club 2 —
Salvation Army retail 2 —
Wal-Mart retail 2 6,500
ACE Hardware hardware 1 4,700
Alamo Rent A Car car 1 1,000
Bank of America bank 1 —
Baskin Robbins dessert 1 2,800
Blockbuster Video video 1 5,900
Budget Rent A Car car 1 1,900
Burger King fastfood 1 11,000
Cold Stone Creamery dessert 1 1,350
Dollar Rent A Car car 1 600
Hertz Rent A Car car 1 7,000
Home Depot home 1 2,104
Little Caesars Pizza pizza 1 1,800
NAPA Auto Parts auto 1 18,000
Pizza Hut pizza 1 10,000
Rent-A-Center retail 1 3,500
Rent-A-Wreck car 1 —
Sunglass Hut retail 1 —
Taco Bell tacos 1 5,845
U-Haul car 1 13,700
Limited name only retail 4 —
Sears name only inc 3 2,300
Toyota name only car 3 —
Marriott name only upscalehotel 2 2,800
AllState name only insurance 1 —
Beltone name only specialty 1 1,500
Borders name only book 1 559
Hallmark name only greetingcards 1 5,600
Midas name only auto 1 1,800
Radisson name only upscalehotel 1 —
Starbucks name only coffee 1 3,500
TCBY name only fastfood 1 —
YMCA name only fitness 1 —
7

Real estate as a local trade

Four unrelated jobs share the name: selling existing homes, owning and letting them, managing them for someone else, and building new ones. For anyone weighing a move or a licence these are the counts — and the ownership question goes to /property, which answers it building by building.

Real estate is a local job market in its own right, and four unrelated trades get the same name. Counts are businesses filed under each trade in the register, which lists a brokerage once however many agents work there — so this measures firms, not licensees.

Selling homes

5312
48 firms · LQ 0.66

Offices of agents and brokers — the resale market, and the biggest single trade in most Canadian cities.

Named in the register
  • Bobby Bumanglag — P.O. BOX 662094
  • Coldwell Banker Commercial — 4374 Kukui Grove St
  • Diogo Jose R RE Appraiser — 448 B Hardy St
  • Finance Factors LTD — 4393 Kukui Grove St # 101
  • Grove Farm Company — P.O. BOX 662069
  • Kauai Board Of Realtors — 4359 Kukui Grove St # 103
  • Kauai Marriott Resort Bch CLB — 3610 Rice St
  • Kauai Mortgage Co — 4370 Kukui Grove St # 108
  • Kauai Realty — 2970 Kress St
  • Maile Properties Of Kauai — 4491 Rice St # 105
  • Prosser Realty — 4495 Puhi Rd # G
  • Prosser Realty — 4379 Rice St
  • Rice Shopping Center — 4303 Rice St Ste C2
  • Title Granty Escrow Title Svcs — 4414 Kukui Grove St # 204

Owning and letting

5311
3 firms · LQ 0.28

Lessors of real estate: the buildings themselves, filed under the building rather than the owner.

Named in the register
  • Lihue Court Townhomes — 4160 Hoala St # 9e
  • Lihue Gardens Elderly — 3120 Jerves St
  • Lihue Thatre Senior Apartments — 3-3194 Kuhio Hwy APT 301

Managing for owners

5313
2 firms · LQ 0.7

Property managers, who run buildings the landlord does not.

Named in the register
  • Avm Company — P.O. BOX 208
  • Brans Taxi — 4438b Laukini Rd

Building new homes

2361
28 firms · LQ 1.07

Residential builders and the general contractors who work for them.

Named in the register
  • Archie Watanabe — 3168 Alohi St
  • Bodell Construction — 3186 Ninini Point St # A
  • Cragi Kawakami Builders Contrg — PO Box 3366
  • Craig Kawakami Builders — 4158 Hili St
  • Daniel K Iida Daniel K Iida GE — 2804 Hoolako St
  • Henrys Builders — 4406 Laulima St # A
  • Kauai Builders LTD — 3988 Halau St
  • Leandro Agcaoili and Son — 2966 Hoolako St
  • Nyles Muramoto Construction — 2780 Mokoi St
  • Pacific Blue Construction — 1566 Haleukana St
  • Phoenix International — 3501 Rice St
  • Roy Takatsuki Construction — 3-4051 Kuhio Hwy
  • Shioi Construction — 4023 Halau St
  • Unlimited Construction Service — 4176 Hoala St

Financing it

5222
2 firms · LQ 0.38

Mortgage brokers and non-bank lenders.

Named in the register
  • Kauai Island Finance — 2973 Umi St
  • Wells Fargo — 3122 Kuhio Hwy Ste A14

On "how many doors"

How many doors a landlord holds is not in any of this. The register files an apartment building under the building, not its owner, and carries no unit count; there is no open dataset of Canadian landlords by portfolio. Where this research has established ownership it is in the /property record for the city, building by building, which is a different and much slower exercise.

8

Work where you go to them

The Ultimate 411 half of local: everything where the customer does not have to come to you.

A shop needs the customer to walk in. These 157 services do the opposite — the mobile mechanic, the mobile groomer, the bookkeeper, the junk haul — and they are the ones a person can start without a lease. 0 of them already match a trait filed in this city's register.

The 157 Service=1 rows in search.local: work where the provider travels to the customer. "present" counts businesses already filed under that exact trait name; a blank is a coverage gap, not proof of absence, because the two vocabularies were built separately.

home services

Short-Term Rental TurnoverAppliance InstallationBabyproofing & Safety InstallsCarpet & Upholstery CleaningDeep CleaningDrywall RepairErrand RunningExterior PaintingFence & Deck StainingFurniture AssemblyGarden Weeding & MaintenanceGrocery Pickup & DeliveryGutter CleaningHandyman (General Repairs)Hedge & Shrub TrimmingHouse CleaningHouse SittingInterior PaintingJunk Removal & Dump RunsLandscape Design & PlantingLawn MowingFall Leaf CleanupMove-In / Move-Out CleaningMoving Help (Labour Only)Moving with TruckOffice CleaningPersonal ShopperPressure WashingMove Things Around the HouseSnow Shovelling & RemovalPacking & UnpackingTV & Picture MountingWardrobe StylingWindow Cleaning

events

BartenderDesignated Driver (Your Car)CateringTents, Tables & ChairsFloristFuneral & Celebration of Life ArrangementsGame-Day Bus or VanBook a Pub for Your GroupKaraoke Machine RentalParty Bus & Group ShuttlePub Crawl HostTaxi to the PubSports & Game PhotographyStag & Doe / Jack & Jill PlanningTailgate Party SetupTrivia Night HostVenue SourcingBig-Game Watch Party SetupWedding OfficiantWedding Planner / Coordinator

pets

Aquarium & Terrarium CleaningCatio (Cat Patio) BuildChicken Coop BuildDog House BuildDog TrainingDog WalkingHome Pet BoardingLost Pet SearchMobile Dog GroomingOvernight Pet SittingBuild & Install a Pet DoorPet Cages & EnclosuresPet Fencing & Dog RunsPet PhotographyPet-Proofing Your HomePet Sitting & Dog WalkingPet TaxiYard Poop Scooping

luxury

Chauffeur & Luxury CarDJ & Sound Gear RentalDJEvent PhotographerEvent PlannerLive MusiciansHair & Makeup ArtistMatchmakerPersonal ConciergePortrait & Headshot PhotographerPrivate ChefVideographerVIP / Social Club MembershipWedding PhotographerYacht & Boat Charter

healthcare

Wheelchair-Accessible TransportGrab Bars, Ramps & Home AccessibilityLight Housekeeping for SeniorsCooking & Meal Prep for SeniorsMedical Appointment EscortMedication & Appointment RemindersMobility Equipment RentalRespite Care for Family CaregiversSenior CompanionshipTech Help for SeniorsWalking Companion

sporting goods

Bike Tune-UpBorrow a Bike or E-BikeBorrow Camping GearBorrow Golf ClubsBorrow Hockey GearBorrow Ice SkatesBorrow a Kayak, Canoe or PaddleboardBorrow Skis, Poles & Ski BootsBorrow a Snowboard & Snow BootsSkate SharpeningSki & Snowboard Tuning

sports

Backyard Rink BuildLocal Fishing GuideGolf CaddieFind Players for a Pickup GamePrivate Sports LessonJoin or Build a Rec League TeamBook Ice, Courts & FieldsWorkout & Sports BuddyRoommates Who Also Like Sports

business

BookkeepingStart a Local BusinessCareer Coaching & RésumésFind a Local ManufacturerFind Local Work / Contract GigsLocal Advertising PlacementPrototype & Small-Batch ProductionTranslation & InterpretationWebsite & Online Presence

outdoors

Brush & Land ClearingChainsaw Rental (from a local owner)Firewood (Cut, Split & Delivered)Log Bucking & Cutting (Chainsaw)Portable SawmillingSmall-Lot Logging & Land ClearingStump GrindingTree FellingWood Splitting

construction

CarpenterElectricianHeating & Cooling (HVAC)Mobile MechanicPlumberRoof RepairSmall Engine RepairWelder / Metal Fabrication

travel

Airport Transfer & Car ServiceCorporate & Business TravelCruise BookingFamily Travel for a WeddingBereavement / Funeral TravelLeisure Travel PlanningLocal Tour Guide

tools

Camera & Lens RentalGenerator RentalLog Splitter RentalParty Equipment RentalPower Tool RentalTrailer & Truck Rental
9

Schools and colleges

wander.schools is a post-secondary table — universities and colleges. K-12 public and private schools are not in it, and only 7 of its 1,686 rows carry coordinates, so these are listed and not mapped.

In the business register

Where schooling shows up as a business rather than an institution — which is where K-12, tutoring and childcare appear.

school 17daycare 5
10

Health and care

What a person moving a parent here would ask first. The register files clinics and pharmacies; it has no category for a hospital at all, so hospitals are matched by name and the limit is stated rather than hidden.

Medical clinics2
Pharmacies3
Dental practices24

Matched on the name "hospital"

  • Wilcox Hospital Aux Thrift Sp — 4438 Kuene St
  • Wilcox Hospital Auxiliary — 3-3420 Kuhio Hwy
  • Wilcox Memorial Hospital — 4366 Kukui Grove St # 202
  • Lihue Veterinary Hospital — 3113 Oihana St
  • Wilcox Memorial Hospital — 2943 Kress St

geonet carries no 'hospital' trait, so these are matched on the business name. A distance-to-hospital figure needs a source that states hospital locations.

12

What this record cannot tell you

Named in full, because the gaps are the part most likely to be misread as an answer.

  • Census figures are 2021, taken on 11 May 2021: income is for 2020 and the labour figures were measured mid-pandemic, so the unemployment rate on this page is a 2021 reading rather than a current one.
  • wander.schools is now readable, but it holds universities and colleges only and 1,679 of its 1,686 rows have no coordinates. K-12 public and private schools need a separate source — in Ontario the Ministry of Education school finder, in British Columbia the provincial school list. wander.citytowns, hotels and territories remain denied to the ru user.
  • No 'hospital' trait exists in geonet; distance to a hospital needs an external source such as StatCan's Open Database of Healthcare Facilities.
  • 100.0% of businesses here carry no coordinates, so a map or address lookup would miss them. Postal codes reach 100%.

Built from

  • geonet.kauai — the local business register
  • wander.regions — city name, population, metro
  • search.local — trait vocabulary and the come-to-you services
  • search.cozfranchises — 2,024 franchise brands