The Survey | Characteristics of participants

Type of respondent

87% of survey participants lived in West Maui or Kula at the time of the wildfires. 56% of respondents worked in West Maui or Kula when the fires happened, while 24% owned a business there.

Age Groups

The weighted survey data closely resembles the general age structure of the Lahaina population. 13% of the respondents are between 18 and 29 years old. Respondents ages 30-59 comprise 54% of the cohort and 33% are over 60 years old.

Race/ethnicity

Race/ethnicity data in this chart allows for identification with multiple racial/ethnicity groups. For example, a person could be included in the Filipino and in the Latinx counts. 26% of the survey sample identify solely or partly as Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. 22% are Filipino and 17% identify with other Asian ethnicities. 10% of the participants are Latinx and 52% have some or only white racial heritage. 5% of the sample identify with other race/ethnicity groups. This includes Black and Native American people and represents the only markedly underrepresented group compared to the general population where 12% identifies as other race/ethnicity groups. Because of limited data availability of race/ethnicity data at the local level, the general population data includes all of Maui and also Kauaʻi.

Household size

Households in the survey cohort tend to be similar to those of the general Lahaina population. The sample has a somewhat higher share of single-person households (19% of respondents) and households with four or more people (36% of respondents). Two-person and three-person households make up 30% and 16% of the sample respectively.

Area of residence

Over 86% of survey respondents resided in West Maui before the fires. The remaining participants are primarily concentrated in Upcountry Maui and the North Shore (7% of respondents) since we also actively recruited participants from the Kula area affected by the wildfires. Some respondents also lived in Central Maui (4%) and South Maui (2%). Those who lived outside West Maui at the time of the wildfires either worked or owned a business there.

Place of birth

The proportion of Hawaii-born survey participants closely matches that of the general Lahaina population before the fires. People born outside of the islands represent 632% of survey respondents.

Time on Maui

Most survey respondents were long-time residents of Maui at the time of the fires. 73% had lived on the island for over ten years. Less than 3% had been on Maui for a year or less.

Poverty

Poverty rates in the weighted survey sample are similar to those in the general Lahaina population before the fires. 15% of the survey cohort live in households below the poverty line (compared to 12% of the general population). Respondents with incomes above the poverty line, but below two times the poverty threshold comprise 18% of the cohort. Higher-income individuals above two times the poverty threshold represent 67% of the sample. While the survey cohort has a slightly larger share of lower-income individuals than the general population, a good representation of low-income individuals is particularly important to ensure reliable monitoring of the recovery outcomes for this group, because they are likely to be more vulnerable and have fewer safety nets.

Employment

Survey participants had a higher employment rate before the wildfires (80%) compared to the general Lahaina population (69%). The pre-fire unemployment rate in the survey cohort was 3.6%. 17% of survey participants were retired or not seeking employment.

Housing

Homeownership rates in the weighted survey are similar to the overall Lahaina population. 45% of the survey respondents were homeowners before the wildfires, compared to 52% of the general Lahaina population in 2023.

Disability

The proportion of disabled survey respondents who already had their disabilities at the time of the wildfire is slightly higher than in the general population. Including those whose disabilities started during or after the wildfires, the proportion of disabled respondents is 25%, compared to 10% for the overall Lahaina population in 2023. This disparity is likely related to differences in the questionnaire. Disability status in the Census population data is inferred from a set of questions about specific symptoms and their impact on people’s lives. Our disability question asks directly about any disabilities as well as chronic health conditions.