Hawai‘i County Census Data Reveals Continued Growth

New census data released by the U.S. Census Bureau reveals consistent population growth in the County of Hawai‘i. The Hawai‘i Island population grew from 198,681 in July 2016 to 200,381 in July 2017. The changes between 2016 and 2017 reflect an increase of five people per day.

Resident head counts in the County of Hawai‘i fluctuated according to the following variables:

• Six births per day;
• Five deaths per day;
• Four more people moving into the County of Hawai‘i per day than those moving out (includes both movement from foreign countries and movement from other states in the U.S.);
• Two more people moving into the County of Hawai‘i per day from foreign countries
  than those moving out;
• Two more people moving into the County of Hawai‘i per day from other states in the
  U.S. than those moving out to other states.

The U.S. Census Bureau also released population estimates at the county level for population data from 2010 to 2017. Since 2010, Hawai‘i County has seen consistent growth of around 1.0 percent year-over-year.

Annual growth rates
Between July 1, 2010 and July 1, 2017, the statewide population grew at an annual rate of 0.7 percent. Growth rates for neighbor island counties were around 1.0 percent per year. The City and County of Honolulu growth rate was lower: 0.5 percent per year. The growth of the statewide resident population between July 1, 2010 and July 1, 2017 was primarily due to natural increase (births less deaths) and international migration.

Growth has slowed in all counties in recent years, with the exception of Hawai‘i County where growth has remained at roughly 1.0 percent annually. The City and County of Honolulu had negative growth in 2016 and 2017 due to out-migration of people leaving for the mainland.

County’s share of the state population
The City and County of Honolulu’s share of the population has seen a slight decrease over the past five years. Its share was 69.3 percent of the population in 2017, down from to 69.5 percent in 2016. The remaining counties had slight increases in their share of the population from 2016—Hawai‘i County, 14.0 percent; Maui County, 11.7 percent; and Kauai County, 5.1 percent.

Components of change
The average number of births in the state was 18,661 per year, and the average number of deaths was 10,981 per year. The result was an average natural increase of 7,680 persons per year between July 1, 2010 and July 1, 2017. There was an average of 7,537 net in-migrants coming from foreign countries, and an average of 6,014 net out-migrants going to the mainland. The result was a net gain of 1,523 people a year for the state from migration during the same period.

Births by county
The City and County of Honolulu accounted for 71.8 percent of births in the state between July 1, 2010 and July 1, 2017. Hawai‘i County had 12.9 percent, Maui County had 10.6 percent, and Kauai County had 4.7 percent of total births during the same time period.

Deaths by county
The City and County of Honolulu had 69.2 percent of deaths in the state between July 1, 2010 and July 1, 2017. Hawai‘i County had 15.0 percent, Maui County had 10.6 percent, and Kauai County had 5.2 percent of total deaths during the same time period.

Net migration by county
There was a net average of 6,853 people per year moving from the City and County of Honolulu to the mainland. There was a net average of 5,773 people per year moving to the City and County of Honolulu from foreign countries. Thus, the City and County of Honolulu saw a net loss of 1,080 people a year during the July 1, 2010 to July 1, 2017 period. The neighbor island counties had net in-migration from both the mainland and from foreign countries during the July 1, 2010 to July 1, 2017 period. Average net total migration per year during the period was 1,388 for Hawai‘i County; 806 for Maui County; and 409 for Kauai County.

The population data for the State of Hawai‘i as a whole showed a decrease in overall residents of more than 1,000. On July 1, 2016, the resident population for the State of Hawai‘i was 1,428,683.
On July 1, 2017, the resident population for the State of Hawai‘i was 1,427,538. Between July 2016 and July 2017, there was an average decrease of three people per day:

• 49 births per day;
• 34 deaths per day;
• 19 more people moving out of the State of Hawai‘i than those moving into the State
  of Hawai‘i per day (includes both movement from foreign countries and movement from other states in the U.S.);
• 18 more people moving into the State of Hawai‘i from foreign countries
  than those moving out of the State of Hawai‘i to foreign countries per day;
• 37 more people moving out of the State of Hawai‘i to other states in the U.S. than those moving into the State of Hawai‘i from other states per day.