Isle population gain
is 10th highest in U.S.An expert warns
of development woes
Hawaii's population grew at the nation's 10th-highest rate over the past year, jumping more than 20 spots from the previous year largely because of migration to the islands, a U.S. Census Bureau report said yesterday.
The state's population increased by almost 17,000 people over the 12 months ending July 1, to about 1.3 million. More than half of the increase represents people who moved to the islands. About 5,835 people moved here from other countries, and 2,129 arrived from within the United States.
The remaining growth, 9,129 people, is the number of births in the state minus the number of deaths.
Last year, Hawaii's growth rate was 34th in the nation, behind Arkansas and Kansas.
Despite an increased growth rate in 2003, Hawaii's population ranked 42nd in the nation for the past two years, just below New Hampshire and Maine.
State economist Pearl Imada Iboshi attributes the migration figures to Hawaii's low unemployment rate and stable economy. Since 2002, Hawaii's unemployment rate has remained steady at about 4 percent, while the national average is at least 2 points higher, she said.
"I think over the years we've found that migration to Hawaii is to a large part dependent on relative economic conditions," said Iboshi, of the Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism. "Why wouldn't you live here?"
Hawaii's population growth rate increased from 1 percent in 2000 to 1.3 percent the following year and 1.4 percent over the past year.
Imada said the growth numbers are "not alarming by any means," given that the nation's average growth rate stands at 1 percent.
But Karen Umemoto, a professor of urban and regional planning at the University of Hawaii, said there is some danger in getting too many people too quickly.
"When you do have a sizable net population growth, it means that there is, and will continue to be for some time, more development, and one of the problems in Hawaii is really a lack of overall planning," she said.
"What often loses out is public space, and civic space is really vital to a healthy social community. It's often during those boom periods that we look back and say, 'Boy that's ugly,'" about a building or town.
Already, housing in Hawaii is costly compared with the rest of the nation, as the demand for homes is considerably higher than the supply.
And some residents, especially in new developments like Makakilo and Kapolei, have complained that new developments are so hurried that amenities -- like schools, shopping and adequate roads -- are incomplete or nonexistent.
"If we don't have the proper infrastructure for development, and some design guidelines and community planning for growth, then we often have a conflict between old-timers and newcomers, as well as urban sprawl," Umemoto said.
Hawaii's growth rate over the past year was 2 points below Nevada's, which was the nation's fastest-growing state for the 17th consecutive year, adding nearly 74,000 people to its population.
Arizona, Florida, Texas and Idaho rounded out the top five during a year when the U.S. population grew by 2.8 million to nearly 291 million people.
While the South had the largest numerical increase (1.3 million) in population among regions, the West recorded the fastest rate of growth (1.5 percent).
The 10 fastest-growing states, six in the West and four in the South, accounted for 57 percent of the nation's growth over the year, according to the Census estimates.
The most populous state, California, now has 35.5 million people.
Texas, with 22.1 million people, and New York, with 19.2 million, came in second and third in population. Every state except North Dakota, which lost about 74 people, grew in the past year.
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Rating states
Hawaii's population grew at the nation's 10th-highest rate in the past year, adding almost 17,000 people over the 12 months ending July 1. Nevada saw the nation's largest growth rate for the 17th consecutive year.
State Growth Rate Nevada 3.4% Arizona 2.6% Florida 2.0% Texas 1.8% Idaho 1.7% Georgia 1.6% Delaware 1.4% Utah 1.4% California 1.4% Hawaii 1.4% Source: U.S. Census
