List of counties in Hawaii

There are five counties of Hawaii on the Hawaiian Islands in the United States. Counties are the only lower governments in the State of Hawaii. This is unusual in the United States. Most states include city governments, township governments, or other local authorities. The Hawaii State Department of Education is in charge of Hawaii's public education, because there are no local school boards to operate schools.[1] People in Hawaii pay property taxes and user fees to the county they live in to help pay for road maintenance, community activities, parks, garbage disposal, police, ambulances, and fire departments.[2] All the counties in Hawaii were formed in 1905 from unorganized territory, seven years after the Territory of Hawaii was created.[2][3] The county of Kalawao is very small because it used to be a leper colony, so it does not as have many elected officials as the other counties do.[4]

County information

The Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) code below is a code which is used by the United States government to keep track of all the counties. It can be used to find more information on that county. The FIPS code for each county links to census data for that county. The county seat is the city, town or village where the county government is actually located.

County
FIPS code[5] County seat[6] Established Meaning of name Population (2020)[7] Area[7] Map
Hawaii County 001 Hilo May 10, 1905 This county includes the whole Island of Hawai'i, but not the rest of the State of Hawaii. It is supposedly named after Hawaiʻiloa, a legendary Polynesian navigator. Island: Hawaii. 200,629 4,028 sq mi
(10,432 km2)
 
Maui County 009 Wailuku July 1, 1905 This county's largest island is Maui Island, which is named after Māui, a god from native mythology. Islands: Maui, Kahoolawe, Lānaʻi, Molokai (except for Kalawao County, which is on Molokai), and Molokini. 164,754 1,120 sq mi
(2,901 km2)
 
Kalawao County 005 Kalaupapa[4] November 10, 1905 This county includes the village of Kalawao on the island of Molokai. 82 52 sq mi
(135 km2)
 
Honolulu County 003 Honolulu April 30, 1907 "Honolulu" means "Sheltered bay" or "place of shelter" in the Hawaiian language,[8] Named after Honolulu, the capital and largest city in Hawaii. Island: Oahu. 1,016,508 597 sq mi
(1,546 km2)
 
Kauai County 007 Līhu'e July 1, 1905 The largest island in this county is Kauai Island. It was possibly named after Kaua'i, the oldest son of Hawaiʻiloa. Islands: Kauaʻi, Niʻihau, Lehua, and Kaʻula. 73,298 622 sq mi
(1,611 km2)
 

References

  1. Hawaii State Department of Education. "Hawai'i DOE, About". Retrieved 2007-04-26.
  2. 2.0 2.1 "Hawaii State: Facts & Figures - Des Osman Realty". Archived from the original on 2013-01-28. Retrieved 2007-04-26.
  3. "Foreword" (PDF). County Charter of the County of Hawaii. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-07-03. Retrieved 2007-04-26.
  4. 4.0 4.1 "Hawaii's 4 (or 5) Counties". 1999-09-01. Archived from the original on 2007-08-05. Retrieved 2007-07-23.
  5. "EPA County FIPS Code Listing". EPA. Retrieved 2007-04-09.
  6. National Association of Counties. "NACo - Find a county". Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2007-04-26.
  7. 7.0 7.1 "QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  8. "Honolulu Homes Guide". 2005. Archived from the original on 2007-08-09. Retrieved 2007-07-23.