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Three years after the August 2023 Maui wildfires, housing conditions have improved for many affected families, but employment and incomes lag behind pre-fire levels, according to a new report from the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization.
Released Tuesday, the report used findings from the Maui Recovery Survey, an ongoing survey of people who lived, worked or owned a business in West Maui or Kula at the time of the wildfires.
About two-thirds of fire-affected households now live in permanent housing, up from just over half in early 2025, while homeownership has increased from 38% to 42%. Households are also moving far less frequently than during the first two years after the fires, according to UHERO.
However, displacement remains widespread, particularly in West Maui.
Among people who lived in West Maui at the time of the fires, the households that are no longer displaced increased from 23% in 2025 to 27% in 2026. Of households that were displaced from both their homes and West Maui in early 2025, only about 7% had returned to their original homes a year later.
UHERO cautioned that its estimates likely understate the extent of displacement because the survey relies primarily on Maui-based networks, so people who have left Hawaii entirely are likely underrepresented.
The report also found rental costs have eased for studios and one-bedroom units, with median rents falling to roughly pre-fire levels by May.
But larger units remain considerably more expensive than before the disaster.
Median rent for unassisted renters in two-bedroom units remained above $2,300, more than 45% higher than the pre-fire median of $1,600.
For units with three or more bedrooms, median rent for households without full rental assistance remained between about $2,500 and $2,700, compared with $1,400 before the fires.
Overall, 46% of fire-affected renters were paying less than before the fires, largely because of rental assistance, while 39% were paying more. Among renters without full assistance, however, half were paying more than they did before the disaster.
Employment also continues to be an issue. Among fire-affected people, 42% were working full time, which is well below the 62% who worked full time before the fires. Among those under 65, 51% were working full time, compared with 74% before the disaster.
Unemployment among those surveyed declined from 10% to 8%, but the share who were retired or no longer seeking work increased from 26% to 30%.
Maui’s visitor industry also continues to show signs of long-term disruption. Real visitor spending remained nearly 20% below pre-fire levels during the first quarter of 2026, according to UHERO.
Among people employed in the visitor industry before the fires, 65% remained in the industry, down slightly from 67% a year earlier.
“Overall, three years on, the sector has not returned to a scale that would re-absorb the workers who had to leave it,” the report said.
The share of households living in poverty has declined over the past year but remains above the pre-fire level of about 11%, and most households are still poorer than before.
Unmet needs have declined slightly, but assistance has fallen substantially. Financial assistance remains the most frequently reported need. FEMA assistance has been cut in half over the last year and a half.
Other government assistance has also declined, and only half as many people now receive help from community organizations compared with the start of 2025. About half of fire-affected people received no assistance of any kind in May, almost double the share a year earlier.
With support from the Maui Strong Fund of the Hawaii Community Foundation, UHERO said it will continue to monitor and analyze the progress of the recovery in its fourth year.