How are Honolulu’s STAR workers distributed across income bands relative to the living-wage threshold?
Workforce Understory Episode: Episode Four — Mobility Through Lifelong Learning
Geography: Honolulu County
Topic: STARs, living-wage attainment, upskilling, and economic mobility
The takeaway
Among Honolulu County’s 433,513 STAR workers, 202,585 earn more than $20,000 below the living-wage threshold.
Another 150,576 STAR workers already earn above a living wage.
Between those groups are 80,352 workers who may be closer to economic security. This includes 35,566 workers earning within $10,000 of the threshold and 44,786 earning between $10,000 and $20,000 below it.
Together, the two groups within $20,000 of a living wage represent approximately 19% of Honolulu’s STAR workforce.
More than 80,000 Honolulu STAR workers are within $20,000 of a living wage, creating a substantial potential target for focused wage and mobility strategies.
What this visualization shows
This visualization distributes Honolulu County’s STAR workforce across four income bands based on the difference between workers’ earnings and the living-wage threshold:
Far Below: More than $20,000 below a living wage — 202,585 workers
Below: Between $10,000 and $20,000 below — 44,786 workers
Near: Within $10,000 of the threshold — 35,566 workers
Above: Already earning a living wage — 150,576 workers
The Far Below category is the largest. Nearly 47% of Honolulu’s STAR workforce earns more than $20,000 below the threshold.
Approximately 35% already earns above a living wage.
The remaining workers occupy the space between those two outcomes. Roughly 8% are within $10,000 of the threshold, while another 10% are between $10,000 and $20,000 below it.
The visualization identifies the scale of each group, but it does not show the workers’ industries, occupations, hourly wages, hours worked, household circumstances, or access to advancement.
The phrase within reach should therefore be interpreted as an analytical starting point rather than a prediction. A worker’s earnings gap may be relatively small without a clear promotion, training pathway, or higher-paying job being available.
Why this matters
Honolulu’s scale makes it central to any statewide strategy for improving STAR economic mobility.
The county has the largest number of STAR workers already earning above a living wage. It also has the largest absolute number earning far below the threshold.
The 80,352 workers within $20,000 of a living wage represent a particularly important opportunity.
Some may already have the experience and skills required for higher-paying work but need a promotion, recognized credential, stronger professional network, or employer willing to remove an unnecessary degree requirement. Others may benefit from short-term training, additional hours, a transition into an adjacent occupation, or improved wages within their current job.
Because Honolulu has a larger and more diverse economy than the Neighbor Islands, there may be more industries and occupations capable of supporting those transitions.
That diversity also creates a more complicated coordination challenge.
A strategy focused on one or two sectors is unlikely to reach enough workers. Honolulu may need coordinated interventions across Healthcare, Administration, Construction, Technology, Hospitality, Retail, Government, Finance, and other major parts of its economy.
The 202,585 workers earning far below a living wage may require a different set of responses. For many, a short-term credential or modest raise will not close a gap exceeding $20,000. Improving their outcomes may require substantial occupational transitions, stronger career ladders, increased job quality, or structural changes in industries that depend heavily on low-wage work.
The visualization therefore points toward a portfolio of strategies rather than a single solution.
This evidence invites Honolulu to ask:
Which combinations of wage growth, advancement, training, and sector transition could move tens of thousands of STAR workers toward economic security at meaningful scale?
Evidence:
Questions this visualization helps answer
How many Honolulu STAR workers already earn above a living wage?
How many earn more than $20,000 below the threshold?
How many are within $10,000 of reaching a living wage?
How many fall between $10,000 and $20,000 below it?
What share of Honolulu’s STAR workforce is within $20,000 of the threshold?
Which income band contains the largest number of workers?
How does the number of workers within reach compare with those already above the threshold?
Why does Honolulu represent such a significant share of the statewide STAR mobility opportunity?
How large is the population likely to require more substantial pathway or job-quality interventions?
How might the scale of Honolulu’s opportunity differ from that of the Neighbor Islands?
Curiosity:
Questions this visualization raises
In which industries are the 202,585 STAR workers earning far below a living wage concentrated?
What share works in industries classified as Limited?
Which occupations account for most workers in the Far Below category?
Are low earnings driven primarily by low hourly wages, limited hours, unstable schedules, or some combination?
How many Far Below workers are employed full time?
Which industries employ the 35,566 workers closest to the living-wage threshold?
What wage increase would move the typical Near worker across the threshold?
Could employer raises or promotions close the gap without requiring workers to change industries?
Which credentials or training programs reliably produce gains of $10,000 or more?
How many workers could advance through incumbent-worker training?
Which workers would need to transition into a different occupation or sector?
Do Honolulu employers have enough living-wage openings to absorb 80,000 workers over time?
Which industries offer the greatest number of accessible advancement opportunities for STARs?
How many workers in the Near and Below categories already possess the skills needed for higher-paying roles?
Are unnecessary bachelor’s-degree requirements preventing their advancement?
Which occupations could adopt skills-based hiring or promotion practices?
How do mobility opportunities differ between Healthcare, Administration, Construction, Technology, Hospitality, Retail, Government, and Finance?
Are workers concentrated geographically in communities far from higher-paying jobs?
How do transportation time and cost affect access to opportunity across Oʻahu?
What role do housing, childcare, and caregiving responsibilities play in workers’ ability to complete training or change jobs?
How do the income bands vary by race, gender, age, disability, and educational experience?
Which workers are already participating in training or advancement programs?
Are public workforce investments reaching the workers closest to the threshold?
How much would it cost to support the 35,566 Near workers into living-wage employment?
Would prioritizing workers closest to the threshold produce the greatest immediate impact?
How should Honolulu balance support for Near workers with the deeper needs of those in the Far Below category?
What changes in job quality could improve earnings without requiring workers to leave essential occupations?
Which employers have demonstrated successful STAR advancement pathways that could be expanded?
How should interventions be coordinated across Honolulu’s more diverse employer and industry landscape?
What data would allow workforce leaders to track movement among the four income bands over time?
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