New Census data highlight state’s ethnic diversity

From the Statistics and Data Support Branch, Research and Economic Analysis Division
State Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism

The Census Bureau has released new, detailed information for the state of Hawaii. The total population of Hawaii on April 1, 2010 was 1,360,301. Among the “race alone and in combination” groups, the largest number of people in Hawaii were part of the Asian population with 780,968 people (57 percent of our state), followed by the White population with 564,323 people (42 percent of our state), and the Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander population with 355,816 (26 percent of our state).  

The smallest groups were the Black or African American population with 38,820 people (3 percent of our population) and the American Indian and Alaska Native population with 33,470 people (3 percent).  The residual, Some Other Race, population group had 34,199 people (3 percent). For brevity, race groups with less than 5 percent of an island’s population were not included in the highlights below.

What is the racial distribution of Hawaii by island?

> Oahu – The Island of Oahu had a total population of 953,207.  The largest major race group on this island was the Asian with 590,926 people and they comprised 62 percent of the population.  This meant that 6 out of every 10 persons claimed at least some Asian heritage in their racial background.  The next largest group was the White population, with 350,690 people or 37 percent of the island’s population, followed by the Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander race group with 233,637 people or 25 percent of Oahu’s population.  

> Hawaii – The Island of Hawaii had a total population of 185,079.  Of this population, 101,344 people claimed to be at least part-White and amounted to 55 percent of the area’s population.  The second largest group was comprised of people that were at least part-Asian.  This group contained 82,944 people (45 percent of the island’s population).  The third largest group was the Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander race group with 62,487 people. This meant that 34 percent of the island’s population was at least partially of Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander racial background.  

> Maui – The Island of Maui had a total population of 144,444. The White race group had the largest number of people with a count of 74,329 and they comprised 52 percent of the population; meaning that about 1 in every 2 persons was at least partially White on Maui. The Asian group was the next largest with 66,925 people or 46 percent of the island’s population. The last big group was the Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander race group which consisted of 36,971 people and made up 26 percent of this island’s population. This meant that about 1 in every 4 of the island’s population claimed to be at least partially Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander with regard to race.

> Lanai – The Island of Lanai had a total population of 3,135. A large majority of this island’s population was at least partially Asian, with 2,368 people in the race group and representing 76 percent of the island’s population. Three out of four persons on Lanai had at least some Asian in their racial background. The White race group was next with 870 people, making up 28 percent of Lanai’s population. The Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander race group followed with 705 people and were 23 percent of the island’s population.  

> Molokai – The Island of Molokai had a total population of 7,345. The largest race group on Molokai was the Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islanders with 4,642 people and they comprised 63 percent of the island’s population. That meant that about 6 out of every 10 persons on Molokai claimed to be at least partially a Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander. The second largest group was the Asian race group which contained 3,535 people (48 percent of the population). The third largest group was the White population, with 2,924 people or 40 percent of the total population.  

> Kauai – The Island of Kauai had a total population of 66,921. Of this population, the largest race group was the Asian with 34,253 people and was about 51 percent of the island’s population. The next largest group was the White population, with 34,152 (51 percent of the island’s population). There were also 17,225 people belonging to the Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander race group on Kauai, representing 26 percent of Kauai’s population.  

> Niihau – The Island of Niihau had a total population of 170.  It had the smallest population among all of the islands. As expected, a large portion of their population belonged to the Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander race group. There were 149 people in this grouping and they represented 88 percent of the island’s population. The Asian race group followed with 17 people (10 percent of the population) while the White race group included 14 people on the island which represented 8 percent of Niihau’s population.  

As can be seen from the above figures, many people in the mixed population are some combination of the Asian, White, and Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander race groupings. Therefore, they are counted in several of these race categories. Information from the 2010 Census on detailed race groups such as Filipinos and Native Hawaiians is expected to be released in the summer of 2011.

In Hawaii, people included in the “race in combination” category are called multi-racial, interracial, of mixed race, or hapa. About 23.6 percent of Hawaii’s population selected more than one major race on the 2010 Census form.  This translated to about 1 in every 4 persons in our State of Hawaii. 

The percentage of multiracial population for the entire U.S. in 2010 was 2.9 percent.  Among all the states in the U.S., Hawaii had the largest percentage of people in this “race in combination” category.  The state closest to Hawaii was Alaska which had 7.3 percent of their population in the “race in combination” category.        

The percentage of people in the “race in combination” category varied by island.  It ranged from a high of 41 percent on Molokai Island to a low of 6 percent on Niihau Island. The rest of the islands had percentages as follows:  Hawaii 30 percent; Kauai 25 percent; Maui and Lanai 23 percent; and Oahu 22 percent.  

Census Bureau percentages cited for our multi-racial population are actually low because they do not include people who were of two detailed races within the same major race category.  For example, a person who was of Japanese and Chinese racial background would be considered “one race” since both detailed races were within the “Asian” major race category.  

For more information, see the DBEDT webpage "Hawaii Census 2010" at: http://hawaii.gov/dbedt/info/census. Data are also on the Census Bureau Internet site at:  http://www.census.gov/.