Hawaii County, Hawaii

Hawaii County
Hawaii County
County
	W. H. Shipman House
	Seal
	Location within the U.S. state of Hawaii
	Hawaii's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 19°35′N 155°30′W / 19.58°N 155.5°W
Country	United States
State	Hawaii
Founded	1905
Named for	Hawaii (Island)
Seat	Hilo
Largest community	Hilo
Government
• Mayor	Kimo Alameda
Area
• Total	5,086.70 sq mi (13,174.5 km2)
• Land	4,028.02 sq mi (10,432.5 km2)
• Water	1,058.69 sq mi (2,742.0 km2) 20.81%
Population (2020)
• Total	200,629
• Density	46/sq mi (17.7/km2)
Time zone	UTC−10 (Hawaii–Aleutian)
Congressional district	2nd
Website	hawaiicounty.gov

Hawaii County (Hawaiian: Kalana o Hawaiʻi; officially known as the County of Hawaiʻi) is a county in the U.S. state of Hawaii in the Hawaiian Islands. It is coextensive with the Island of Hawaii, often called the "Big Island" to distinguish it from the state as a whole. The 2020 Census population was 200,629.^[1] The county seat is Hilo. There are no incorporated cities in Hawaii County (see Hawaii Counties). The Hilo Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Hawaii County. Hawaii County has a mayor–council form of government. In terms of geography, Hawaii County is the most expansive county in the state and the most southerly county in the United States.

The mayor of Hawaii County is Kimo Alameda, who took office in 2024. Legislative authority is vested in the nine-member Hawaii County Council.

Hawaii County is one of seven counties in the United States to share the same name as the state they are in (the other six are Arkansas County, Idaho County, Iowa County, New York County, Oklahoma County, and Utah County).^[2]

Geography

Hawaii County has a total area of 5,086.70 square miles (13,174.5 km²); 4,028.02 square miles (10,432.5 km²) is land and 1,058.69 square miles (2,742.0 km²) is water^[3] (mostly all off the ocean shoreline but counted in the total area by the U.S. Census Bureau). The county's land area comprises 62.7 percent of the state's land area. It is the highest percentage by any county in the United States. (Delaware's Sussex County comes in second at 48.0 percent, while Rhode Island's Providence County is third at 39.55 percent.)

Major highways

Adjacent county

Maui County - northwest

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1900	46,843		—
1910	55,382		18.2%
1920	64,895		17.2%
1930	73,325		13.0%
1940	73,276		−0.1%
1950	68,350		−6.7%
1960	61,332		−10.3%
1970	63,468		3.5%
1980	92,053		45.0%
1990	120,317		30.7%
2000	148,677		23.6%
2010	185,079		24.5%
2020	200,629		8.4%
2023 (est.)	207,615	^[4]	3.5%

As of 2010^[update], the island had a resident population of 185,079.^[5] There were 64,382 households in the county. The population density was 17.7/km² (46/sq mi). There were 82,324 housing units at an average density of 8/km² (21/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 34.5% White, 29.2% from two or more races, 22.6% Asian, 12.4% Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander and 0.7% African American; 11.8% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race. The largest ancestry groups were:

9.8% Japanese
9.6% German
8.6% Filipino
8.5% Native Hawaiian
8.3% Portuguese
6.9% Irish
5.7% English
5.1% Puerto Rican
3.2% Mexican
2.5% French
2.2% Italian
1.9% Spanish
1.7% Scottish
1.5% Scotch-Irish
1.5% Swedish
1.1% Polish
1.1% Dutch
1.0% Norwegian

There were 64,382 households, out of which 32.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.6% were married couples living together, 13.2% had a woman whose husband did not live with her, and 30.4% were non-families. 23.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.75 and the average family size was 3.24.

The age distribution was 26.1% under 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 26.2% from 25 to 44, 26.0% from 45 to 64, and 13.5% who were 65 or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 100 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98 males.

41.3% of the people on Hawaii island are religious, meaning they affiliate with a religion. 18.4% are Catholic; 3.7% are of another Christian faith; 5.1% are LDS; 5.0% are of an Eastern faith; 0.1% are Muslim.^{[citation needed]}

Government and infrastructure

County government

Executive authority is vested in the mayor of Hawaii County, who is elected for a four-year term. Since 2004, the election by the voters has been on a nonpartisan basis. In 2024, Kimo Alameda was elected mayor, defeating Mitch Roth in the general election.^[6] Legislative authority is vested in a nine-member County Council. Members of the County Council are elected on a nonpartisan basis to two-year terms from single-member districts.^[7] As of December 2016, Hawaii County Council has a female supermajority for the first time, with six women and three men.^[8]

Administrative districts were originally based on the traditional land divisions called Moku of Ancient Hawaii. Some more heavily populated districts have since been split into North and South districts to make them more comparable on a population basis.

The number following each district is the Tax Map Key (TMK) number, used to locate state property information. They are assigned in a counter-clockwise order beginning on the eastern side of the island.^[9]

Nr.	District	Area mi²	Population 2000	moku
1	Puna	499.45	31,335	Puna
2	South Hilo	394.38	47,386	Hilo
3	North Hilo	370.65	1,720	Hilo
4	Hāmākua	580.50	6,108	Hāmākua
5	North Kohala	132.92	6,038	Kohala
6	South Kohala	351.72	13,131	Kohala
7	North Kona	489.01	28,543	Kona
8	South Kona	335.38	8,589	Kona
9	Kaʻū	922.22	5,827	Kaʻū
	Hawaiʻi County	4028.02	148,677	6 moku

County council districts do not directly match the property tax districts because of the variation in the population density of voters in urban areas to rural areas; Hilo & Kailua (Kailua-Kona) towns are densely populated areas, while other districts such as Kaʻū, Puna, Hāmākua, and North & South Kohala are more sparsely populated.^[10]

Several government functions are administered at the county level that are at the state or municipal level in other states. For example, the county has its own office of liquor control.^[11]

State government

Hawaii Department of Public Safety previously operated the Kulani Correctional Facility in Hawaii County, on the Island of Hawaii.^[12] In 2009, the Hawaii Department of Public Safety announced that Kulani Correctional Facility would close.^[13]

Presidential election results

United States presidential election results for Hawaii County, Hawaii^[14]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	28,748	34.71%	52,163	62.98%	1,912	2.31%
2020	26,897	30.63%	58,731	66.88%	2,186	2.49%
2016	17,501	26.98%	41,259	63.61%	6,107	9.41%
2012	14,753	23.25%	47,224	74.42%	1,477	2.33%
2008	14,866	22.22%	50,819	75.94%	1,231	1.84%
2004	22,032	38.18%	35,116	60.86%	554	0.96%
2000	17,050	33.52%	28,670	56.37%	5,140	10.11%
1996	13,516	27.60%	27,262	55.66%	8,199	16.74%
1992	15,460	30.36%	25,725	50.52%	9,731	19.11%
1988	17,125	41.00%	24,091	57.68%	552	1.32%
1984	20,707	52.90%	17,866	45.64%	570	1.46%
1980	14,247	39.73%	17,630	49.16%	3,984	11.11%
1976	15,366	48.37%	15,960	50.24%	439	1.38%
1972	16,832	59.09%	11,652	40.91%	0	0.00%
1968	9,625	37.41%	15,819	61.49%	283	1.10%
1964	4,962	19.87%	20,011	80.13%	0	0.00%
1960	12,251	51.46%	11,557	48.54%	0	0.00%

Localities

Census-designated places

Other communities

National protected areas

Economy

Top employers

According to the county's 2021 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report,^[15] the top employers in the county are the following:

#	Employer	# of Employees
1	State of Hawaii	16,700
2	Kamehameha Schools, Hawai'i Island	3,380
3	Hawaii County	2,800
4	United States Government	1,300
5	Mauna Kea Beach Hotel	1,100
6	Four Seasons Resort Hualalai	1,003
7	KTA Super Stores	900
8	Hilton Waikoloa Village	850
9	The Fairmont Orchid	560
10	Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort	259