Census draws
isles by numbers

A new data book offers profiles
that will help in future planning

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By Pat Omandam
pomandam@starbulletin.com

Honolulu has a higher percentage of Asians than any major city in the nation. It also has the warmest January weather of any U.S. city.

It ranked 52nd in the country for percentage of renter-occupied housing units in 2000.

It was 63rd for the amount of average city taxes paid per capita in 2000.

These are just a few tidbits comparing Honolulu with the rest of the nation's 3,141 counties in the data book "County and City Book: 2000," released today by the U.S. Census Bureau.

"I'm sure we look at that (information) as it relates to how we do our long-range planning. So it's a resource book for us" said Lori Chee, deputy director of the city Department of Planning & Permitting.

"We use census data as it pertains to Oahu. And we have our own community profiles that give general demographic characteristics by different areas ... but when we're doing long-range planning, we are looking at a variety of reference sources to help us understand trends and to help us do projections," Chee said yesterday.

Wanda Cevis, the publication's statistician and technical coordinator, said the latest edition of the data book, which has been published intermittently since 1944, is full of useful information on people, businesses, taxes, federal government spending and health for all of the nation's counties.

"It also contains figures from retail sales to average annual temperatures and precipitation for the country's largest cities," Cevis said.

Weatherwise, Honolulu ranked first among all counties nationwide with an average January temperature of 71.4 degrees Fahrenheit, based on a 30-year period.

Fort Lauderdale, Fla., was the second-warmest January spot with an average temperature of 67.2 degrees. St. Paul, Minn., had the coldest average temperature for that month at 11.8 degrees.

Along with data from Census 2000, the data book includes statewide data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the FBI and private nonprofit organizations.

For example, Hawaii was listed as the 16th safest state in 1999 when it comes to serious crimes known to police and reported to the FBI.

The report lists 57,324 total cases of serious crimes in Hawaii in 1999, which was down from 67,676 reported cases in 1990.

About 95 percent of the 1999 cases were for property crimes, such as burglary, theft and motor vehicle theft. The remaining 5 percent were for violent crimes, such as murder, manslaughter, rape, robbery and aggravated assault.

Elsewhere, the book shows that Kalawao County, Hawaii, which consists of Kalaupapa, was the second-smallest county in 2000, with 147 people. Loving, Texas, population 67, ranked first.

Honolulu's average annual city taxes paid per resident, $603, was about one-eighth of the $4,988 paid by residents of Washington, D.C., rated No. 1 for city tax burden.

"People that have lived in Boston don't come here and say we're paying high taxes," said city Customer Services Director Carol Costa. "It depends on where you lived before and how you react to it."

Some local jurisdictions on the mainland provide education services, which in Hawaii are provided by the state government.

Many city agencies will find the information in the data book useful, she said.

The data book costs $68 and is available from the U.S. Government Printing Office, Stock No. 003-024-08862-2. Also, call 202-512-1800 in Washington, D.C. It also is available for $65 from the National Technical Information Service, stock no. PB2002-101674. Call 703-605-6000.

A CD-ROM version will be available later this year.