Report: Maui Population Continues to Increase as Honolulu’s Declines

Keawakapu Beach in Kihei. PC: Nikki Schenfeld

A report released by the US Census Bureau of 2017 County and MSA Population Estimates showed Maui County’s population increased 0.5% or 876 people from July 1, 2016 to July 1, 2017.

As of July 1, 2017, the resident population for the County of Maui was 166,348, a 30% increase since April 2000 when the population was 128,241. In the past seven years, Maui’s population has increased by 11,423 residents.

The report states that from July 1, 2010 to July 1, 2017, there was a net average of 55 people per year moving to Maui County from the mainland. There was a net average of 752 people per year moving to Maui County from foreign counties.

From 2016 to 2017 alone, there were 820 net international migrations to Maui County. Since 2010, there have been 5,262 people that have moved to Maui County from foreign countries, opposed to 383 moving to Maui County from the mainland over the same amount of time.

On Maui, between July 1, 2016 and June 30, 2017, there was an average increase of 2 people per day; with an average of five births per day and four deaths per day.

Data showed that on average, one more person was moving into the County of Maui than those moving out of the County of Maui per day (includes both movement from foreign countries and movement from other US states). There was an average of two people moving into Maui County from foreign counties than those moving to foreign countries per day. There was one more person moving out of the County of Maui to other states in the US than those moving into Maui County into other states per day.

There were 1,878 births in Maui County from July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2017 a difference of +1 from the year before.

There were 1,310 deaths between July 1, 2016 and June 30, 2017. The data shows the natural increase from July 1, 2016 and June 30, 2017 was 568.

Statewide, the resident population decreased 1,145 people from July 1, 2016 to July 1, 2017. On July 1, 2017, the resident population for the State of Hawaii was 1,427,538, opposed to 1,428,683 on the same day in 2016.

The net domestic migration has deceased over the past seven years in every county except for Hawaiʻi County, which has averaged 753 domestic arrivals since 2010. Honolulu has seen an average of 6,853 departures to the US mainland.

The report stated that Honolulu ranked No. 6 in the Top 10 of counties with a numeric population decrease. Over the past 10 years, each county has seen a slight population increase except for Honolulu when the population began decreasing in July 2016.

In July 2017, Honolulu’s population was 988,650 a 0.4% decrease (-4,111 people) from the July 2016 population of 992,761. The report states Honolulu’s negative growth in 2016 and 2017 is due to out-migration of people leaving for the mainland. 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.

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 Hawaiʻi County; 806 for Maui County; and 409 for Kauaʻi County.

Hilo ranked No. 7 in the Top 10 of Largest-Gaining Micropolitan Areas with a 2017 population of 200,381, up 1,700 from the 2016 population of 198,681. Hilo also ranked No. 2 in the Top 10 of Most Populous Microplitan Areas.

Fast facts from the report:

• Between July 1, 2010 and July 1, 2017, the statewide population grew at an annual rate of 0.7%.
• Growth rates for neighbor island counties were around 1% per year.
• The growth of the statewide resident population between 2010 and 017 was primarily due to natural increase (births less deaths) and international migration.
• Each county’s overall population share is 69.3% for Honolulu, 14% for Hawaiʻi County, 11.7% for Maui County and 5.1% for Kauaʻi County.

Statewide on average, between July 1, 2016 and July 1, 2017, there was a decrease of 3 people per day:

• 49 births per day
• 34 deaths per day
• 18 more people moving into the State of Hawaiʻi from foreign countries than those moving out of the State of Hawaiʻi to foreign countries per day
• 37 more people moving out of the State of Hawaiʻi to other states in the US than those moving into the State of Hawaiʻi from other states per day
• 19 more people moving out of the State of Hawaiʻi than those moving into the State of Hawaiʻi per day (includes both movement from foreign countries and movement from other states in the US)