A new report on post-wildfire housing and economics shows progress has been made over the past three years, but gaps persist.
The University of Hawaiʻi Economic Research Organization said housing stability has improved, but employment and incomes on Maui in the past year have not.
The survey focuses on those who lived, worked or owned a business in West Maui or Kula at the time of the 2023 wildfires.
“The clearest progress is in housing,” said UHERO research economist Daniela Bond-Smith. “About two-thirds of families are now in permanent homes. That's up from just about half a year ago, but still, rates of temporary and unstable housing remain elevated.”
Of West Maui residents displaced from both their house and area of Maui as of early 2025, about one in six have returned to West Maui but not to their home.
“Displacement has come down over the past year, but similarly, it remains widespread,” said Bond-Smith. “Displacement reaches beyond the burn area, so those wider housing market and economic pressures have displaced people who lived outside the burn area originally.”
Across the island, rental prices rose after the wildfire, and some those prices have dropped while others have not.
“On rent, we see a mixed picture,” said Bond-Smith. “For smaller units, prices are back close to where they were before the fires, but for larger units, rents are still well above pre-fire levels.”
Just over 40% of fire-affected people work full-time, same as a year ago, but well below the pre-fire rate of about 60% employment.
The report also found that unmet needs have only slightly decreased, while the assistance available has fallen significantly.
You can read the full report here.
