County profile

Partially sourced

Maui County

Maui County now has a first-pass Hawaii statewide source anchor for routing. Tiny home, RV, off-grid, container-home, ADU, water, wastewater, access, shoreline, coastal, conservation, lava, tsunami, leasehold, agricultural, and building-permit feasibility should still be confirmed through local staff, state environmental review, subdivision rules, private covenants, land-tenure review, and parcel-level research before purchase.

County-level researchedParcel review requiredRV cautionTiny-home review neededLand availability signal

Profile boundary

County Profiles Do Not Approve Parcels

This profile summarizes county-level signals. Before relying on a parcel, verify current rules with planning, zoning, building, environmental health, water, road, fire, title, and local professionals.

Read disclaimer

Verification queue

What Still Needs Confirmation

This profile has official source coverage for county-level discovery, but it still needs stronger current county-office confirmation before being promoted to verified. Treat it as a shortlist candidate, then confirm the exact parcel and intended use with local offices.

Office path

Current county contact

Confirm who handles planning, subdivision, rural addressing, floodplain, permitting, and enforcement for the parcel.

Parcel path

Exact intended use

Ask about the specific structure, RV or camper occupancy plan, water source, septic path, access road, and development sequence.

At a glance

Fast Read

County-level discovery summary for alternative housing research. Use this as a shortlist signal, then verify the specific parcel and code path.

Verify first
Overall

Mixed discovery fit

Maui County has a Freedom Score of 45. Its strongest profile signals are ADUs (4/5) and Container homes (3/5).

Best use case

Maui Nui land screening

Best initial fit: Maui Nui land screening, Hawaii county-office due diligence, island-specific alternative living research. Check county planning materials before making parcel assumptions.

Land signal

20/100 affordability score

$822,785 per acre snapshot with 212 active land listings and a 4/5 availability signal.

Caution

RV living needs extra review

do not treat this Hawaii source pass as parcel approval

Lifestyle indexes

Decision Signals by Goal

These indexes translate the county data into practical shortlisting signals for common alternative-living goals. They are discovery scores, not parcel approvals.

Methodology
Housing Freedom Index45

Tiny homes, RV living, ADUs, container homes, and land cost signals.

Off-Grid Freedom Index65

Off-grid score, solar, rural land availability, low density, and utility friction.

Homestead Freedom Index67

Land affordability, availability, growing season, density, and water-climate signals.

Land Affordability Index20

Price-per-acre snapshot, land availability, and county-level tax burden context.

Connectivity Index86

Broadband proxy, wired access, cellular reliance, and remote-work suitability.

Trust strip

Source Snapshot

Fast source context for this county profile. Use the full source trail below for links, citations, and parcel-level verification reminders.

Data status
Land snapshotsourced
Jun 12, 2026

LandWatch

Broadbandsourced
2024

Census Reporter ACS 2024 5-year table B28002

Public landsourced
2026

USGS PAD-US Manager Type GIS layer

Solar periodsourced
2001-2020

NASA POWER 2001-2020 solar irradiance climatology

County citationssourced
19

Planning, zoning, building, and profile links

Best Fit

Maui Nui land screeningHawaii county-office due diligenceisland-specific alternative living research

Pros

  • https://hawaiicounties.org/ provides a first-pass Hawaii county routing anchor
  • Hawaii planning, land-use, building-code, wastewater, drinking-water, water-resource, and coastal resources support statewide due diligence
  • this record can be compared against climate, solar, broadband, public-land, tax, and land-market layers already collected

Cons

  • this is a statewide source-anchor pass, not a county-office confirmation or zoning interpretation
  • island geography, leasehold or land-tenure issues, conservation/agricultural districts, shoreline rules, lava or tsunami risk, and infrastructure limits can change the parcel-level answer
  • local zoning, subdivisions, wastewater, water access, covenants, utilities, road access, and code enforcement remain parcel-specific

Alternative Housing Ratings

derived

Verified county-level discovery scores

Tiny Homes
2/5
RV Living
1/5
Off Grid
2/5
Container Homes
3/5
ADUs
4/5

Alternative Housing Notes

Tiny Homes

Tiny home feasibility in Maui County is not confirmed by this Hawaii source pass. Use county planning, zoning, building, health, water, wastewater, coastal, shoreline, subdivision, and any community association or leasehold staff to verify zoning district, dwelling classification, manufactured-home treatment, minimum-size rules, foundation or mobility status, building permits, utilities, sanitation, access, flood, tsunami, lava, shoreline, conservation, agricultural, and private-covenant constraints.

RV Living

Long-term RV or camper occupancy in Maui County should be confirmed directly with local staff. Review occupancy duration, camping restrictions, construction-use rules, utility hookups, wastewater disposal, driveway access, emergency access, shoreline or conservation constraints, road maintenance, and whether the parcel is affected by leasehold, subdivision, agricultural, or special-management rules.

Off Grid

Off-grid projects in Maui County should verify island-specific water, wastewater, power, access, fire, lava, flood, tsunami, shoreline, conservation, agricultural, and emergency-response constraints before relying on rural acreage.

Container Homes

Container-home projects in Maui County should be reviewed as dwelling or structure proposals through local staff. Engineering, foundation, corrosion exposure, hurricane/wind, seismic, egress, utilities, sanitation, fire access, and Hawaii building-code review may matter.

ADUs

ADU feasibility in Maui County is parcel-specific. Confirm zoning, primary-dwelling status, occupancy limits, local review, utilities, wastewater capacity, driveway access, shoreline or conservation constraints, and private covenants or leasehold terms.

Land Affordability

sourced

Sourced market snapshot

Price/Acre Estimate
$822,785
Active Land Listings
212
Availability Score
4/5
Affordability Score
20/100

Source: LandWatch snapshot from June 12, 2026. LandWatch county page snapshot. Active listing count is from the county page title/metadata; medianAcrePrice is the median asking price per acre from visible page listing data (25 nonzero sampled listings), not a full-market median or appraisal.

How to read source layers

Population Context

sourced

Sourced Census estimate

Population
163,688
Population Density
140.9 / sq mi

Population uses 2024 U.S. Census county estimates. Density is computed from county land area in the imported GeoJSON boundary data.

Water and Septic

draft

Parcel-level verification needed

Water

Water availability in Maui County is parcel-specific. Hawaii water-resource and drinking-water resources are useful starting points, but buyers should verify public-water access, catchment legality and practicality, well feasibility, water quality, drought exposure, and subdivision-specific limits.

Septic

Wastewater feasibility in Maui County requires parcel-level review with Hawaii wastewater authorities and local staff, including soils, setbacks, cesspool or septic restrictions, treatment-system requirements, water-source separation, shoreline or conservation constraints, and repair area.

Climate, Utilities, and Access

derived

Mixed sourced and derived layers

Snowfall
0"
Precipitation
31.3"
Growing Season
365 days
Broadband
9/10
Solar
10/10
Public Land
369,313
Recreation Access
4/5
Federal Public Land
155,946
State Public Land
210,928
Local Public Land
2,438

Public land source: USGS PAD-US Manager Type GIS layer snapshot from 2026. County-clipped GIS estimate using PAD-US 4.1 manager type records for Hawaii. Includes federal, state, local, and district-managed polygons; excludes tribal, NGO, and private-managed records. This is a discovery-level public/protected lands estimate, not a parcel-level access determination. Sample matched labels: 'Ahihi Kina'u Natural Area Reserve; 'Lao Valley State Monument; 5Th Avenue Park; Ahihi-Kinau Natural Area Reserve; Air Force Maui Optical and Supercomputing Site; Baldwin Beach Park; County Land Local Other or Unknown; Cove Beach Park; Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program (FRPP), Maui, HI; Fleming Park; Fourth Marine Division Memorial Park; Fraser Avenue Park; Fraser Park; Hale Piilani Park; Haleakala National Park; Haleakala Wilderness Area; Haleki'i-pihana Heiau State Monument; Haliimaile Park; Hana Forest Reserve; Hanakao'O Park; Hanawi Natural Area Reserve; Harold W Rice Memorial Park; Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary; Hoaloha Park; Honokowai Beach Park; Honolua-Mokuleia Bay Marine Life Conservation District; Hookipa Park; Iron Maehere Stadium; Kahakuloa Game Management Area; Kahikinui Forest Reserve; Kahikunui Forest Reserve; Kaho'olawe Island Reserve; Kahului Beach & Boat Ramp; Kahului Community Center Park; Kakahaia National Wildlife Refuge; Kalama Park; Kalaupapa National Historical Park; Kalepolepo Beach Park; Kamalii Park; Kamaole Beach Park; Kamaole Beach Park Ii; Kamehameha Iki Park; Kamiloloa Plant Sanctuary; Kanaha Beach Park; Kanaha Pond Wildlife Sanctuary; Kanaio Natural Area Reserve; Kaumahina State Wayside; Kealia Pond National Wildlife Refuge; Kealohilani Park; Kelawea Mauka Iii Park; Kenolio Beach; Kenolio Park; Keonekai Park; Kepaniwai Park; Kepuolani Park; Kihei Boad Landing; Kihei Regional Park; Kilohana Park; Kipahulu Forest Reserve; Ko'olau Forest Reserve; Kula Forest Reserve; Lahaina Aquatic Center & West Maui Skate Park; Lahaina Banyan Court; Lahaina Recreation Center Park; Lana'i Cooperative Game Management Area; Launiupoko; Launiupoko State Park; Library; Lower Paia Park; Mai Poina Beach Park; Makawao Forest Reserve; Makawao Park Eddie Tam Center; Makena Beach Administrative Site; Makena State Park; Malu Ulu O Lele Park; Mokuhau Park; Moloka'i Forest Reserve; Nakalele Point Light; Napili Park; Offshore Island, Kukuipalaoa Seabird Sanctuary.

Broadband Subscription
90.2%
Cable/Fiber/DSL
79.1%
Satellite
5.3%
No Internet
6.5%

Broadband source: Census Reporter ACS 2024 5-year table B28002 snapshot from 2024. Broadband score is a county-level ACS household broadband subscription proxy, not parcel-level service availability. Score is based on the percentage of households with broadband of any type.

Annual Solar Resource
5.81 kWh/m²/day
Winter Solar
4.59 kWh/m²/day
Summer Solar
6.91 kWh/m²/day

Solar source: NASA POWER 2001-2020 solar irradiance climatology for 2001-2020. County-centroid solar proxy using NASA POWER ALLSKY_SFC_SW_DWN annual all-sky surface shortwave downward irradiance. This is a county-level solar resource estimate, not a parcel-level PV design study.

Source glossary and data layer notes

Red Flags

  • do not treat this Hawaii source pass as parcel approval
  • verify jurisdiction, land tenure, zoning district, building permits, wastewater, drinking water, legal access, shoreline, tsunami, flood, lava, conservation, agricultural, subdivision, leasehold, covenant, easement, and special-management constraints before buying land

Source Trail

County office links, sourced data layers, and profile citations used to build this county-level research summary.

Source glossary

County Profile Citations

Research Status

draft

County-level profile reviewed; parcel-level confirmation still required

This profile is currently marked partially sourced. It is ready for county comparison and early research, but legal claims and parcel-specific decisions should still be verified against county code, planning offices, and local experts.

County FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Maui County a good county for alternative living?

Maui County has a Freedom Score of 45, which makes it useful for county-level discovery. Treat that score as a shortlist signal, then verify zoning, building, water, septic, access, and covenant rules for the specific parcel.

Can you live in a tiny home in Maui County?

Maui County has a tiny home score of 2/5. That score does not approve a tiny home by itself; it means the county is worth researching through planning, zoning, building code, sanitation, and parcel-specific rules.

Can you live in an RV on land in Maui County?

Maui County has an RV living score of 1/5. RV rules often depend on duration, construction status, sanitation, water, zoning district, and whether the land is inside a subdivision or municipality.

Is Maui County good for off-grid living?

Maui County has an off-grid score of 2/5. Off-grid feasibility still depends on legal access, septic or OWTS approval, water options, fire risk, winter access, and whether a lawful dwelling can be permitted.

How affordable is land in Maui County?

Maui County has a land affordability score of 20/100 based on the current county-level dataset. Use this for comparison only, because actual parcel prices can vary by road access, utilities, terrain, water, covenants, and listing quality.

Who is Maui County best suited for?

Based on the current profile, Maui County is best suited for Maui Nui land screening, Hawaii county-office due diligence, island-specific alternative living research. The best fit can change once you narrow from county-level research to a specific property.

What should I verify before buying land in Maui County?

Before buying, confirm zoning, building permits, legal access, road maintenance, water rights or well eligibility, septic feasibility, wildfire requirements, floodplain issues, mineral rights, and any HOA, POA, subdivision, or covenant restrictions.

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