HILO » Hawaii has one of the most stable populations in the nation, adding just 10,842 people last year, equal to less than 1 percent population growth, according to U.S. Census Bureau.

The numbers were 1,288,198 on July 1, compared with 1,277,356 at the same time last year, for growth of 0.85 percent, the Census Bureau said yesterday.

In comparison, Utah had the fastest-growing population, with 2.5 percent growth in a single year, resulting in a population of about 2.7 million. Coming in second was Arizona, adding 2.3 percent to its people numbers, for a total of around 6.5 million.

Texas, North Carolina and Colorado were also jackrabbits in the population race.

At the tail end were Michigan, losing 0.5 percent of its population, and Rhode Island, losing 0.2 percent, the Census Bureau said.

The longer-term numbers might tell a more consistent story.

Since the census of 2000, Hawaii's population has grown 6.3 percent. In the same eight-year period, Nevada grew 30.1 percent; Arizona, 26.7 percent; and Utah, 22.5 percent.

Hawaii ranked 42nd in total population this year, compared with No. 1 California, which had 36,756,666 people.

All of the numbers are estimates except the 2000 census, which are actual counts.

For a breakdown by county, the most recent numbers are for 2007. Honolulu County had 905,601; Hawaii County, 173,057; Maui County, 141,783; and Kauai County, 62,828. Kalawao County (Kalaupapa, Molokai) had 119.

Expressed in percentage of growth since 2000, the numbers were Honolulu, 3.5 percent; the Big Island, 16.4; Maui, 10.7; and Kauai, 7.5. Kalaupapa lost one person.

Oahu is further broken down into several “;census designated places,”; including the urban area of Honolulu. In 2007, the most recent year with data, the population there actually declined slightly to 375,571 from the 2006 figure of 376,765. Starting with a 2000 population of 370,995, the seven-year growth rate was just 1.2 percent for urban Honolulu.