The 2009 population and housing census covered in brief the labour status as tabulated below. The main variable of interest for inequality discussed in the text is work for pay by level of education. The other variables, notably family business, family agricultural holdings, intern/volunteer, retired/homemaker, fulltime student, incapacitated and  no work are tabulated and presented in the annex table 14.3 up to ward level.

Table 14: Overall Employment by Education levels in Kilifi County 

In Kilifi County, 16% of the residents with no formal education, 23% of those with primary education and 39% of those with a secondary level of education or above are working for pay. Work for pay is highest in Nairobi at 49% and this is 10 percentage points above the level in Kilifi for those with secondary level of education or above.

In this report, the Gini index measures the extent to which the distribution of consumption expenditure among individuals or households within an economy deviates from a perfectly equal distribution. A Gini index of '0' represents perfect equality, while an index of '1' implies perfect inequality. Kilifi County’s Gini index is 0.565 compared with Turkana County, which has the least inequality nationally (0.283).

Only 2% of residents in Kilifi County use liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), and 8% use paraffin. 67% use firewood and 21% use charcoal. Firewood is the most common cooking fuel by gender with 65% of male headed households and 73% in female headed households using it.

Ganze constituency has the highest level of firewood use in Kilifi County at 95%.This is twice Malindi constituency, which has the lowest share at 39%. Ganze constituency is about 28 percentage points above the county average. Jaribuni ward has the highest level of firewood use in Kilifi County at 97%.This is six times Malindi Town ward, which has the lowest share at 15%. Jaribuni ward is 30 percentage points above the county average.

Malindi constituency has the highest level of charcoal use in Kilifi County at 42%.This is slightly more than 10 times Ganze constituency, which has the lowest share at 4%. Malindi constituency is about 21 percentage points above the county average. Shella ward has the highest level of charcoal use in Kilifi County at 60%.This is 59 percentage points more than Chasimba ward, which has the lowest share at 1%. Shella ward is 39 percentage points above the county average.

Kilifi South constituency has the highest level of paraffin use in Kilifi County at 17%. This is almost 17 percentage points above Ganze constituency, which has the lowest share.  Kilifi South constituency is 9 percentage points higher than the county average. Shimo la Tewa ward has the highest level of paraffin use in Kilifi County at 34%.This is almost 34 percentage points above Garashi ward, which has the lowest share. Shimo la Tewa ward is 26 percentage points above the county average.

Some 17% of residents in Kilifi County use electricity as their main source of lighting. A further 17% use lanterns, and 63% use tin lamps. 2% use fuel wood. Electricity use is mostly common in male headed households at 18% as compared with female headed households at 14%.

Malindi constituency has the highest level of electricity use at 29%.That is 27 percentage points above Ganze constituency, which has the lowest level of electricity use. Malindi constituency is 12 percentage points above the county average. Shimo la Tewa ward has the highest level of electricity use at 50%.That is 50 percentage points above Garashi ward, which has the lowest level of electricity use. Shimo la Tewa ward is 33 percentage points above the county average.

In Kilifi County, 32% of residents have homes with cement floors, while 65% have earth floors. Less than 1% has wood and just 1% has tile floors. Malindi constituency has the highest share of cement floors at 56%.That is eight times Ganze constituency, which has the lowest share of cement floors Malindi constituency is 24 percentage points above the county average. Shella ward has the highest share of cement floors at 74%.That is almost 25 times Garashi ward, which has the lowest share of cement floors. Shella ward is 42 percentage points above the county average.

In Kilifi County, 2% of residents have homes with concrete roofs, while 42% have corrugated iron sheet roofs. Grass and makuti roofs constitute 52% of homes, and none have mud/dung roofs.

Malindi constituency has the highest share of corrugated iron sheet roofs at 54%.That is twice Ganze constituency, which has the lowest share of corrugated iron sheet roofs. Malindi constituency is 12 percentage points above the county average. Mariakani ward has the highest share of corrugated iron sheet roofs at 85%.That is almost six times Matsangoni ward, which has the lowest share of corrugated iron sheet roofs. Mariakani ward is 43 percentage points above the county average.

Ganze constituency has the highest share of grass/makuti roofs at 74%.That is twice Malindi constituency, which has the lowest share of grass/makuti roofs. Ganze constituency is 22 percentage points above the county average. Matsangoni ward has the highest share of grass/makuti roofs at 83%. This is nine times Mariakani ward, which has the lowest share. Matsangoni ward is 31 percentage points above the county average.

In Kilifi County, 33% of homes have either brick or stone walls. 62% of homes have mud/wood or mud/cement walls. 2% have wood walls. Less than 1% has corrugated iron walls. 1% has grass/thatched walls. 1% has tin or other walls.

Malindi constituency has the highest share of brick/stone walls at 53%.That is almost nine times Ganze constituency, which has the lowest share of brick/stone walls. Malindi constituency is 20 percentage points above the county average. Shimo la Tewa ward has the highest share of brick/stone walls at 76%.That is 38 times Garashi ward, which has the lowest share of brick/stone walls. Shimo la Tewa ward is 43 percentage points above the county average.

Ganze constituency has the highest share of mud with wood/cement walls at 91%.That is twice Malindi constituency, which has the lowest share of mud with wood/cement. Ganze constituency is 29 percentage points above the county average. Mwanamwinga ward has the highest share of mud with wood/cement walls at 96%.That is almost five times Shimo la Tewa ward, which has the lowest share of mud with wood/cement walls. Mwanamwinga ward is 34 percentage points above the county average.

Improved sources of water comprise protected  spring, protected well, borehole, piped into dwelling, piped and rain water collection while unimproved sources include pond, dam, lake, stream/river, unprotected spring, unprotected well, jabia, water vendor and others.

In Kilifi County, 64% of residents use improved sources of water, with the rest relying on unimproved sources. There is no gender differential in use of improved sources with both male and female headed households at 64% each.

Kilifi North constituency had the highest share of residents using improved sources of water at 90%. That is three times Magarini constituency has the lowest share using improved sources of water. Kilifi North constituency is 26 percentage points above the county average. Dabaso ward has the highest share of residents using improved sources of water at 99%. That is 99 percentage points above Mwanamwinga ward, which has the lowest share using improved sources of water. Dabaso ward is 35 percentage points above the county average.

A total of 42% of residents in Kilifi County use improved sanitation, while the rest use unimproved sanitation. There is no significant gender differential in use of improved sanitation with 42% of male headed households and 41% in female headed households using it.

 Kilifi South constituency has the highest share of residents using improved sanitation at 69%. That is four times Magarini constituency, which has the lowest share using improved sanitation. Kilifi South constituency is 27 percentage points above the county average. Mwarakaya ward has the highest share of residents using improved sanitation at 86%. That is 14 times Bamba ward, which has the lowest share using improved sanitation. Mwarakaya ward is 44 percentage points above the county average.