Official Federal Data
Honolulu County, Hawaii
Urban Honolulu, HI · Population 1,001,146
10 Sources
Updated September 10, 2026
$106,195 up from the baseline named below
Median Income (nominal) vs 2019
$80,734 national
2.3% down from the baseline named below
Unemployment vs 2024
4.3% national
$87.1B up from the baseline named below
GDP (nominal) real change vs 2023
38.5% up from the baseline named below
Bachelor's+ vs 2019
35.7% national
Demographics & Population
Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 · 5-Year Estimates
Household Income
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median Household (nominal)
$106,195 up from 2019 vs 2019
Per Capita
$47,516 up from 2019 vs 2019
Mean Household
$136,601 up from 2019 vs 2019
Median Household (cost-of-living adjusted)
$95,671 metro RPP 111.0
Poverty Rate
9.2% up from 2019 vs 2019
Median Income Comparison
Honolulu County$106,195
Hawaii$100,389
National$80,734
Cost-of-living adjustment uses the BEA all-items regional price parity for Urban Honolulu, HI, 111.0 against a national average of 100 (2024). BEA publishes regional price parity at state and metropolitan level only; there is no county figure, so the metro index stands in for Honolulu County and the adjusted median is an approximation. Per capita and mean household income above are nominal and carry no adjustment.
Population Profile
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Table B01001, B02001, B03003
CohortsShare of total population
Under 18 · 20.6%
18-34 · 22.9%
35-54 · 25.1%
55-64 · 11.9%
65+ · 19.6%
Race & Ethnicity
Hispanic or Latino is an ethnic category and overlaps with the race categories above.
Educational Attainment
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · Population 25+
93.2%
High School+
National: 89.6%
up from national +3.6 pts vs national
38.5%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
up from national +2.8 pts vs national
14.3%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
up from national +0.2 pts vs national
Employment Overview
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
1,001,146
Population
484,193
Labor Force
Employed
461,470
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
2.3% down from 2024 0.2 pts vs 2024
Mean Commute
26.7 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
9.2%
Labor Force and Employed are ACS 5-Year survey estimates; the Unemployment Rate above comes from BLS LAUS, a separate monthly survey with its own methodology. The two won't reconcile by subtracting one from the other.
Key Takeaways
- Income premium: Households earn well above the national median, supporting strong retail and housing markets.
- Cost of living erodes income: Local prices run 11.0% above the national average, so the nominal median of $106,195 is worth $95,671 at national average prices. BEA publishes price parity at metro level, not county level.
Economy & Industry
Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis
$87.1B up from 2023 +2.6% vs 2023
Gross Domestic Product · 2024
+2.6% real (inflation-adjusted)
·
+5.5% nominal
· 2023 to 2024
Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis · level and nominal change from CAGDP2 (current dollars); real change from CAGDP9 (chained 2017 dollars), both all-industry total. The two series agree in 2017, the chain reference year, and diverge by the amount of price change since.
111.0
Cost of Living · metro · Above Avg
Key Takeaways
- Largest private-sector industry: Accommodation and Food Services employs 63,590 workers (20.9% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $42,145. Every industry figure on this page is private sector; government employs a further 93,864 and is counted separately.
- Economic scale: Regional GDP of $87.1B (2024).
- Wage stratification: Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services averages $103,501 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $42,145, a 2.5x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.
Source: BLS QCEW + BEA Regional GDP.
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Industry Concentration
Location Quotient measures regional specialization vs. national average. LQ > 1.0 = concentrated.
Cluster Depth
Source: BLS QCEW · Sub-sectors with LQ ≥ 1.5 indicate genuine cluster concentration
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
11 sub-sectors at LQ ≥ 1.5
Largest grouping among them is Accommodation & Food Services Cluster at 27.4% of the employment across all of them, which signals supply-chain fit for site selectors
61,217
Employment in the sub-sectors listed
16.90x
Peak sub-sector LQ
Sub-Sector Detail, Highest 10 By LQ
Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation
16.90x 1,399
Water Transportation
7.45x 1,370
Air Transportation
5.21x 7,976
Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar
4.66x 2,254
Accommodation
3.43x 17,786
Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional Orgs
2.64x 10,286
Transit and Ground Passenger Transportation
2.11x 3,113
Clothing, Clothing Accessories, Shoe, and Jewelry Retailers
2.00x 6,205
Construction of Buildings
1.82x 9,057
Motion Picture and Sound Recording Industries
1.73x 1,771
+ 1 more sub-sector at LQ ≥ 1.5, holding a further 3,687 jobs not counted in the total above. See the spider chart for the broader picture.
Attraction Opportunities
LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, screened against local siting constraints. Source: BLS QCEW
0.07x
Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing
254 employed
Energy-intensive sector in a state where industrial electricity costs 3.65x the national average. Freight-dependent sector with no rail-truck intermodal terminal anywhere in the state.
0.08x
Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing
217 employed
0.09x
Wood Product Manufacturing
100 employed
Energy-intensive sector in a state where industrial electricity costs 3.65x the national average. Freight-dependent sector with no rail-truck intermodal terminal anywhere in the state.
0.11x
Plastics and Rubber Products Manufacturing
224 employed
Energy-intensive sector in a state where industrial electricity costs 3.65x the national average. Freight-dependent sector with no rail-truck intermodal terminal anywhere in the state.
0.15x
Transportation Equipment Manufacturing
719 employed
Freight-dependent sector with no rail-truck intermodal terminal anywhere in the state.
0.20x
Furniture and Related Product Manufacturing
182 employed
Freight-dependent sector with no rail-truck intermodal terminal anywhere in the state.
Screened on industrial power cost, rail-truck intermodal access, land base; 2 further sub-sectors met the LQ test but conflict with a measured local constraint and are not listed.
Industrial electricity in Hawaii costs 31.46¢/kWh against 8.62¢/kWh nationally (2025).
Hawaii has 0 rail-truck intermodal terminals.
Land area 601 sq mi, larger than 50% of US counties.
Sources: EIA, BTS NTAD, Census Gazetteer.
Key Takeaways
- Top specialization: Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation concentrates at 16.90x the national norm, top-decile concentration, the kind of signature sector that defines a region's economic identity to site selectors.
- Cluster depth: 11 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, and no single source of demand accounts for more than 47.4% of the employment across them, the largest being visitor economy. Demand reaches this base from more than one market rather than from a single one.
- Attraction whitespace: 6 sub-sectors register LQ < 0.5 with at least 50 employed and clear the local siting screen on energy cost, freight access and land base, candidates for diversification or recruitment depending on labor-market fit.
Source: BLS QCEW sub-sector Location Quotients.
Housing & Affordability
Census ACS · HUD Fair Market Rents FY2026
Housing Overview
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates · Tables B25001, B25077, B25064, B25004
$897,500 up from the baseline named below
Median Home Value vs 2019
$2,083 up from the baseline named below
Rent/Mo vs 2019
59.8% up from the baseline named below
Owner-Occ vs 2019
9.5% down from the baseline named below
Vacancy vs 2019
2.7% available
for rent or sale
for rent or sale
8.5x
Home Value to Income Ratio - Stretched
vs. ~4.1x national average
HUD Fair Market Rents
HUD publishes these by FMR area, which may cover more than one county · Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026 · Affordability threshold and renter cost burden from Census ACS B25119, B25070
Studio
$1,877/mo
1 Bedroom
$2,016/mo
2 Bedroom
$2,642/mo
3 Bedroom
$3,674/mo
4 Bedroom
$4,432/mo
30% of monthly median renter household income (~$1,851/mo, from a renter median of $74,033) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Measured: 53.9% of renter households already pay 30% or more of income on rent, and 27% pay 50% or more.
Key Takeaways
- Stretched market: Home value to income ratio of 8.5x is well above the ~4.1x national average; attainable workforce housing may be a recruitment friction.
- Rent affordability gap: None of the 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom sizes sit below what a household on the median renter income of $74,033 can pay without cost burden (~$1,851/mo), and 53.9% of renter households are already cost-burdened, 27% severely so; workforce housing cost burden warrants attention.
Source: Census ACS housing tables + HUD Fair Market Rents.
Workforce Pipeline
Labor force readiness, commuting, and workforce composition
Labor Market Overview
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B23001, B23025, B08303, B08301
599,240 down from the baseline named below
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute
26.7 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
9.2%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
75.7%
of prime-age population
Prime-age rate numerator is civilian employed (B23001); the denominator is total population aged 25-54 (B01001), which also includes armed forces.
of population age 16 and over (816,681)
down from 2019 vs 2019
Education & Talent Pipeline
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard
Bachelor's+
38.5% up from 2019 vs 2019
HS Diploma+
93.2% up from 2019 vs 2019
Institutions in Honolulu County
Largest 6 of 14 by credentials awarded, in Honolulu County
Credentials awarded in Honolulu County
9,137/yr
4,692/yr
1,193/yr
943/yr
799/yr
772/yr
738/yr
Aging Workforce
Source: Census Bureau ACS · Derived from age & employment tables
19.9%
55-64 of working-age population (18-64)
Same cohort is 11.9% of total population, the basis used in the Demographics cohort chart.
Workforce by Occupation
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table C24010 · Civilian employed population 16+
Management / Professional
41.6%
Service
20%
Sales & Office
21.5%
Construction / Maint.
8.1%
Production / Transport
8.9%
Bars are drawn on a 0% to 60% axis, so bar length is proportional to actual share. Labels give each group's share of 461,470 employed workers.
Key Takeaways
- Healthy participation: 65.2% labor force participation reflects a steady, available local workforce.
- Talent pipeline: the 6 largest of 14 institutions in Honolulu County award 9,137 credentials a year. Employers drawing from a wider labor shed should read this alongside institutions outside the county, which this page does not aggregate.
Source: ACS workforce data and College Scorecard.
AI Insights
Sample output. Pulse AI analysis draws on 10 federal data sources.
Sample AI Insight
Honolulu County shows strong potential for scenic and sightseeing transportation attraction, with a 16.90x concentration and 1,399 jobs in this sub-sector. It ranks in the top decile nationally.
The concentrated base spans scenic and sightseeing transportation, water transportation, and air transportation, and no single source of demand accounts for more than 47.4% of the employment across them, the largest being visitor economy. Supply-chain recruitment has more than one demand base to work from.
Industry Shift Analysis
Manufacturing Automation Risk
High
Healthcare Growth Forecast
+4.2% CAGR
Remote Work Migration
67/100
Prospect Match Scores
Advanced Manufacturing
92/100
Life Sciences
84/100
Data Centers
71/100
Illustrative example
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Data Sources
Updated from official federal government data.
Census ACS 5-Year2024
BLS QCEW2024 annual
BLS LAUS2025 annual
BEA Regional GDP2024
BEA Regional Price Parity2024
Census CBP2023
HUD Fair Market RentsFY2026
FCC Broadband Map2024
USAspending.govFY2026
College ScorecardAY 2022-23
American Community Survey figures on this page are 2020-2024 five-year averages rather than single-year counts. A five-year estimate pools 60 months of survey responses, so each value describes the period as a whole.
Frequently Asked Questions
Key economic and demographic figures for Honolulu County, Hawaii, from federal data sources.
What is the population of Honolulu County, Hawaii?
1,001,146 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the median household income in Honolulu County, Hawaii?
$106,195 in nominal dollars (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates). Adjusted for local prices using the BEA all-items regional price parity for Urban Honolulu, HI (111.0 against a national average of 100), that is $95,671 at national average prices. BEA publishes regional price parity at metro level; there is no county-level figure.
What is the unemployment rate in Honolulu County, Hawaii?
2.3% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).
What is the GDP of Honolulu County, Hawaii?
$87.1B (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAGDP2).
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