Economic Impact | Income

How have the incomes of fire-impacted people changed since the wildfires?

More than 50% of the respondents still have lower incomes now than before the wildfires. Almost a quarter are earning much less, i.e. less than half of their pre-fire incomes. This suggests a persistent income shock for much of the fire-impacted community which is only exacerbated by elevated housing costs. In contrast, about 10% of respondents earn significantly more than before the disaster.

As expected, the vast majority of people who work fewer hours have less income. However, about 45% of participants whose employment status has remained unchanged since the wildfires still have lower incomes. This means that people have likely suffered pay cuts in their existing jobs or had to switch to lower-earning jobs, and not yet attained previous incomes again.

How much income do fire-impacted people have?

Overall, there has been a significant shift in the income distribution after the wildfires. More survey participants are now falling into lower income categories and have remained there, while the share in higher income brackets has decreased. This suggests that many who were previously higher-income earners have experienced a drop in income. The percentage of respondents having less than $2,000 of income per month remains almost three times as high as before the fires, increasing from about 8% to over 20%. For both full-time and part-time employees, the $2,000-$4,000 per month income group saw the largest increase between the Maui fires and now. The percentage of respondents earning below $4,000 per month is substantially higher, now at about half of respondents compared to less than 30% before the wildfires. This may be due to wage reductions and/or changes in the composition of the part-time workforce. The share of people who are not currently employed and earn below $2,000 a month has also almost doubled compared to before the fires.

How did the wildfires affect the poverty rates of fire-impacted people?

Before the wildfires, almost 90% of respondents were above the poverty line. More than 80% remain above the poverty line now, but around 16% of fire-impacted people in the survey are below the poverty line. This is nearly twice as high as the Maui County average in 2023 (9% of households below the poverty line). This suggests that fire-impacted people remain very vulnerable and at risk of long-term poverty.

To further illustrate the poverty dynamics, this chart shows that, compared to their poverty status before the wildfires, nearly 10% of respondents have fallen into poverty. In addition, 7% of fire-affected people continue to live below the poverty threshold. Only about 2-4% have risen above it in the period since the wildfires. The sharp and persistent increase in poverty remains concerning and suggests ongoing gaps in assistance for the fire-impacted community.