What education levels are typically required for projected living-wage job openings in Kauaʻi County?
Workforce Understory Episode: Season 1, Episode 1 — The Geography of Opportunity
Geography: Kauaʻi County
Topic: Living-wage opportunity and education requirements
The takeaway
Among Kauaʻi County’s projected living-wage job openings, 52% typically require only a high school diploma or equivalent—the highest share among Hawaiʻi’s counties.
By comparison, 30% typically require a bachelor’s degree, the lowest county-level share in the state.
More than half of Kauaʻi’s projected living-wage openings are concentrated in occupations that do not formally require education beyond high school.
What this visualization shows
This visualization examines the education typically required for projected living-wage job openings in Kauaʻi County.
The distribution differs noticeably from the statewide picture and from the profiles of the other counties. Kauaʻi has the largest share of living-wage openings classified as requiring only a high school diploma or equivalent, while bachelor’s-degree occupations account for a smaller share than they do elsewhere.
At first glance, this suggests that Kauaʻi may offer relatively accessible routes into living-wage work for people without a four-year degree.
But the education category alone does not tell us how easy those jobs are to enter.
Occupations classified as requiring only a high school diploma may still depend on apprenticeships, licenses, technical credentials, significant work experience, employer-based training, or access to professional networks. Some may also have relatively few openings even if they represent a large share of Kauaʻi’s limited living-wage job market.
The visualization therefore identifies a potentially important pathway, but it also points toward the need for deeper investigation.
The key question is not simply whether a degree is required.
It is whether local workers can realistically access, prepare for, and advance within the occupations behind the 52% figure.
Why this matters
Kauaʻi has relatively few living-wage openings overall. That makes the structure of those opportunities especially important.
If more than half of the county’s living-wage openings are accessible without a bachelor’s degree, Kauaʻi may have a meaningful foundation for expanding economic mobility through apprenticeships, technical education, workplace learning, industry credentials, and career advancement.
That could be especially valuable for students and working adults who cannot easily leave the island to pursue four-year education.
But the size of the opportunity matters as much as the share.
A large percentage of a small labor market may still translate into a limited number of actual openings each year. Communities therefore need to understand which occupations are driving the result, how many jobs they represent, what preparation they require in practice, and whether employers can expand those pathways over time.
This evidence invites Kauaʻi to ask:
Which living-wage careers are genuinely accessible without a four-year degree, and how can the island help more local workers enter and advance within them?
Evidence:
Questions this visualization helps answer
What share of Kauaʻi’s living-wage openings requires only a high school diploma or equivalent?
How many projected living-wage opportunities require a bachelor’s degree?
How does Kauaʻi’s education profile compare with those of Hawaiʻi’s other counties?
Does Kauaʻi offer meaningful living-wage pathways for workers without four-year degrees?
How concentrated are the county’s living-wage opportunities across education levels?
Curiosity:
Questions this visualization raises
Which specific occupations account for the 52% of living-wage openings requiring only a high school diploma or equivalent?
How many actual openings do those occupations represent each year?
Are these jobs accessible to local workers without prior experience or specialized connections?
What apprenticeships, licenses, certifications, technical skills, or workplace training do they require in practice?
Are the opportunities concentrated in construction, repair, transportation, public safety, utilities, government, or other fields?
Do these occupations provide clear pathways for continued wage growth and advancement?
Are employers able to expand the number of these living-wage positions?
Do Kauaʻi’s schools, community college programs, and workforce organizations prepare residents for the occupations behind the 52% figure?
What barriers prevent local workers from entering these pathways?
How does the limited number of total living-wage openings affect the practical value of this relatively accessible education profile?
Are workers with associate degrees or short-term credentials entering occupations formally classified as requiring only a high school diploma?
What additional non-degree pathways could Kauaʻi develop in response to employer and community needs?
Is the share of living-wage openings accessible without a bachelor’s degree increasing or declining over time?
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