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Islanders
on the move,
more feminine,
more gray

The Census Bureau confirms a
big migration to the mainland and
tells us more about ourselves

By Gregg K. Kakesako
Star-Bulletin

U.S. Census figures released today confirmed what many believed had happened -- nearly 100,000 people have left the state in the past decade, many bound for California and Las Vegas.

In July, the Commerce Department estimated that nearly 1.2 million people lived in Hawaii, the majority of them -- 864,571 -- in Honolulu. Females outnumbered males by a slight margin -- 593,460 to 592,037.

But, between April 1990 and July 1999, 99,371 people left for the mainland. Sam Davis, a researcher with the Census Bureau, said the agency wasn't surprised.

"We've seen a large stream of people leaving for the past few years," he said.

Marc Perry, another Census Bureau researcher, said the flow of residents to Clark County, where Las Vegas is located, has "snowballed over the past decade."

"The (lower) cost of living there has to be one of the factors," Perry said.

He also noted that Las Vegas and Hawaii have similar kinds of jobs. "The availability of service sector jobs in Las Vegas is similar to those in the islands, which is a tourist destination place."

Next to Oahu, which saw 112,708 residents move to the mainland or to another island, Kauai also registered a relatively large number of residents moving off-island -- 883.

At the other end, the biggest growth in population over the past decade was recorded on the Big Island, which picked up 9,085 transplants, followed by Maui, with 5,176.

Meanwhile, Hawaii is graying.

Perry noted that "Hawaii is aging faster than any other state. The only area which has shown a similar increase over the past decade was Washington, D.C."

The median age in Hawaii in 1990 was 32. By July 1999, that figure had climbed to 37, compared to the median age for the entire United States of 35.

During the past decade, Hawaii registered 173,388 births and 67,676 deaths. Nearly 55,000 people were recorded as migrating from foreign countries.

Most of the immigrants -- 42,716 -- settled on Oahu, followed by 6,216 on Maui, 3,429 on the Big Island and 1,868 on Kauai.

By counties, Maui registered the largest increase in overall population-- 21.5 percent -- over the past decade, topping off at 121,939 in July 1999.

The largest population decline was recorded at Kalaupapa, the Hansen's disease colony in Kalawao, Molokai, where the number of residents dropped from 130 in 1990 to 58 last July. Kalawao is considered a separate county for Census Bureau tabulation.

Honolulu reported the smallest growth -- 3.4 percent, climbing from 836,231 in 1990 to 864,571 in July.

Census Bureau Director Kenneth Prewitt today released the figures for all 3,141 counties in the 50 states and the District of Columbia.