U.S. census finds steady
isle growth

Estimated population increases by
1.1% from 2000 numbers

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By Pat Omandam
pomandam@starbulletin.com

Fifteen months after the last census was taken, Hawaii's population continues to grow at a steady pace, according to new population estimates released today by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The estimates, which for the first time use the April 1, 2000, census as a benchmark, showed the population grew by 1.1 percent, or 12,861 people, as of July 1, 2001, from when the last census was taken.

This year, the state has an estimated 1,224,398 people, compared with 1,211,537 counted in the 2000 census. The percentage increase nearly matches Hawaii's yearly growth between 1990 and 2000, when the population grew about 0.93 percent annually.

Overall, the nation grew by about 1.2 percent, or 3.4 million people, since the last census, to 284.8 million from 281.4 million.

Americans continue to move west. Nevada, Arizona and Colorado grew the fastest over the past year. Nevada has been the fastest-growing state in the country for the past 15 years, led by a booming Las Vegas.

North Dakota and West Virginia had the largest population declines.

Officials from Hawaii's research and economic analysis division said yesterday the population estimates are used by various government agencies and by private businesses for marketing strategies, financial planning, human resource development and other areas.

For example, the state Department of Transportation uses them to calculate federal funding for various state transportation projects, said Glenn Ifuku, branch chief of the statistics and data support branch.

Ifuku said his department also uses the new data to create economic models and forecasts, and the figures are useful in preparing Hawaii crime data so they can be compared with other states.

The federal government distributes millions of dollars in federal funds to the state for many social programs based on population head counts.