News Release from DBEDT

The Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism has released the third 2010 Census report: “Island Population and Housing Units, State of Hawaii: 2010”.

The report was produced by the Hawaii State Data Center, a part of the Research and Economic Analysis Division of DBEDT, from data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2010 Redistricting Data (P.L. 94-171) summary file which was released on February 24, 2011. 10 tables in this report provide information on total population; population by major race groups, voting age; population by Hispanic or Latino origin; and housing unit counts for the six major Hawaiian Islands and the island of Niihau.

The report is available in pdf format or the tables in the report can be downloaded in Excel format at: http://hawaii.gov/dbedt/info/census/Census_2010/PL94-171/index_html

Some of the data by island show:

Oahu

Total population on the island of Oahu in 2010 was 953,207. Slightly over 70 percent of the people in the State of Hawaii resided on Oahu. Oahu’s population grew by 8.8% between 2000 and 2010, but its share of the state population dropped from 72.3% in 2000 to 70.1% in 2010. Asians (race alone) accounted for 43.9% of the total population on Oahu in 2010, the largest race group on the island. 62.0% of the population considered themselves as Asians (full or part). 36.8% of the population considered themselves as full or part White. Housing units increased by 6.6% during the past decade which was the lowest growth rate among all the islands except Niihau. Housing vacancy rate declined from 9.3% in 2000 to 7.7% in 2010.

Hawaii

The total population on the island of Hawaii in 2010 was 185,079 which accounted for 13.6% of the State’s population. The island had the highest population growth rate of 24.5% between 2000 and 2010.

In 2010, 142,799 individuals were 18 years and older. The population in this age group grew by 30.0% between 2000 and 2010, the highest growth rate among all the islands and also higher than the population growth for all age group for this island. The portion of the population identifying themselves as either full or part White was the highest in the state, at 54.8%. Housing units grew by 31.4% between 2000 and 2010, the highest increase in the state. Housing vacancy rate increased 15.5% in 2000 to 18.5% in 2010.

Maui

Total population on Maui Island in 2010 was 144,444. Maui had the second highest growth for both the total population (22.8%) and the population age 18 years old and over (26.3%). 74,329 individuals identified themselves as full or part White, represented 51.5% of the total population. Individuals identified themselves as full or part Asians totaled 66,925, accounting for 46.3% of the total population. There were 36,971 Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders (full or part) on Maui in 2010 (25.6 percent of population). Maui had the highest growth rate for Hispanic or Latino population between 2000 and 2010, at 58.4%. There were 13,252 more housing units in 2010 than in 2000 on the island. Both occupancy and vacancy rate remained constant between 2000 and 2010 (77.0 percent and 23.0 percent, respectively).

Lanai

Lanai Island had a total population of 3,135 in 2010, the second smallest population among all islands in the state. Lanai experienced a population decrease of 1.8% between 2000 and 2010. The largest race group on Lanai was Asians, full or part race, with 2,368 persons, accounted for 75.5% of the population on Lanai. The next biggest race group on the island was White (27.8 percent) followed by Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander race group (22.5 percent). There were 161 more housing units on the island in 2010, compared to 2000. However, the number of occupied units in 2010 was about the same as those in 2000 (1,161 and 1,158 units, respectively).

Molokai

Population on Molokai Island declined slightly to 7,345 persons in 2010, from 7,404 in 2000. Besides Lanai Island, Molokai was the other island with a decline in population (-0.8 percent) between 2000 and 2010. Majority of the people on Molokai were Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders. Population with mixed races accounted for 41.1% of the total population and was the highest among all islands in the state. The housing vacancy rate was the highest among the islands at 30.5% in 2010, which was an increase of 6.5 percentage points from 2000 (24.0%).

Kauai

Total population on Kauai Island was 66,921 in 2010 which registered an increase of 14.8 percent from 2000. Asian and White population are about the same on this island. 34,253 individuals identified themselves as Asians, full or part, in 2010, accounted for 51.2% of the total population. 51.0%, or 34,152 persons, of the population were White, full or part. Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islanders accounted for 25.7% of the total population on Kauai with 17,225 persons.

Niihau

Niihau had the smallest total population of 170 in 2010, an increase of 10 individuals from 2000. Unlike the other islands, the majority of the population was non-mixed race. 94.1 % of people on the island were single race, and 85.9% of people were Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander race alone in 2010. There were 35 housing units on Niihau in 2010, just one short from that of 2000.

About the Hawaii State Data Center:

The Hawaii State Data Center (HSDC) is part of the Research and Economic Analysis Division (READ) of the Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism (DBEDT).

READ is one of the agencies in Hawaii with a formal agreement with the U.S. Census Bureau. Services of the HSDC include issuing analyses, distributing census data, sponsoring workshops and providing assistance to census data users.