Why are isle residents struggling, income-wise?

“Someone who hasn’t been working or looking for work—there’s a really big chance they are living with family,” said Nicole Woo, senior policy analyst at Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law & Economic Justice, a nonprofit that advocates for policy changes addressing poverty.

Woo cautioned against drawing too many conclusions from the single data point of rising family Area Median Income (AMI) estimates, which are typically based on small data sets.

They also miss certain pockets of society, she said, including elders living alone.

“Family income doesn’t count households of one—and there are probably a whole lot of kūpuna who are households of one.

“Between 2011 and 2018, there’s been a huge increase in housing costs,” Woo added. “This might be how families respond—they move in together.”