Honolulu in 2001 had
138 new residents daily
Honolulu ranks 43rd among 152 U.S. cities for the number of people who "in-migrate" from other cities and countries to become new residents, according to a 2001 survey released yesterday by the Census Bureau.
The report said Honolulu had 138 people who become residents every day that year.
The Los Angeles-Long Beach area topped the list with 782 new residents per day, followed by Chicago with 640; New York, 609; Riverside-San Bernardino, Calif., 557; and Atlanta, 502.
The report said Los Angeles also had the highest percent of in-migrants from abroad, at 32 percent. Honolulu was at 18 percent.
The data comes from the annual American Community Survey, which the bureau has begun using to replace the census long form given to some homes during the once-a-decade census. Another 30 cities with populations of more than 250,000 were not included in the rankings because they are not yet part of the survey.
"Planners and policy makers have told us they need demographic information more promptly," said Louis Kincannon, Census Bureau director, in a statement. "This is another example of how quickly things change, and why we can't wait 10 years to get important data for communities."
The survey, which sampled 820,000 households nationwide, showed Honolulu received 50,740 in-migrants in 2001, or about 138 a day. About 64 percent of them came from another large city, while 18 percent came from areas with a population smaller than 250,000. The remaining 18 percent came from aboard.
Further demographic breakdowns, such as out-migration, were not given.
Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris used the data yesterday to lobby for restoration of cuts to his proposed budget by the City Council. Harris said each of these 138 new residents a day will need basic city services, and the Council's attempts to trim millions from the mayor's $1.2 billion budget will hurt them.
Officials at the state Research and Economic Analysis Division, which receives, analyzes and distributes census data, said it is important to note is that the annual survey will begin to play a greater role in yearly demographic changes.
Kincannon noted these surveys will eventually be able to produce data such as household income and commute time to work for areas as small as census tracts of 4,000 people.