Kihei is a medium-sized coastal town (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of Hawaii. With a population of 21,423 people and 11 associated neighborhoods, Kihei is the tenth largest community in Hawaii.

Housing costs in Kihei are among some of the highest in the nation, although real estate prices here don't compare to real estate prices in the most expensive communities in Hawaii.

Of important note, Kihei is also a town of artists. Kihei has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Kihei’s character.

A relatively large number of people in Kihei telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 9.99% of the workforce works from home. While this may seem like a small number, as a fraction of the total workforce it ranks among the highest in the country. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

Kihei is also nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Quite often, nautical areas such as these attract visitors and locals who come to enjoy the scenery and various waterfront activities.

The overall education level of Kihei citizens is substantially higher than the typical US community, as 31.78% of adults in Kihei have at least a bachelor's degree, and the average American community has 21.84%.

The per capita income in Kihei in 2018 was $43,099, which is upper middle income relative to Hawaii and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $172,396 for a family of four. However, Kihei contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

Kihei is an extremely ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Kihei home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Kihei residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Kihei also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 13.90% of the town’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Kihei include German, Irish, English, Italian, and French.

In addition, Kihei has a lot of people living here who were born outside of the US (16.09%).

The most common language spoken in Kihei is English. Other important languages spoken here include Pacific Island languages and Tagalog.