Big Island tops 200,000 residents in latest count
Hawaii Island topped the 200,000 population mark and Oahu passed one million people in data released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau.
In the first count of the total population in a decade, the bureau found Hawaii’s four major counties experienced population increases, bucking the trend of more than half the nation’s 3,143 counties or equivalents losing population over the last decade. Instead, population growth over most of the United States was concentrated in cities and close suburbs.
The official count that sets the stage for political boundaries for the next 10 years also defied annual estimates the Census Bureau has released over the past decade, with the new numbers showing Oahu grew much more than estimated, which could torpedo Hawaii Island’s hopes for an eighth seat in the state House.
“The numbers released surprised me with the Honolulu number being higher and the Big Island number lower than I expected,” said Eugene Tian, research and economic analysis division administrator for the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.
Read more: https://www.westhawaiitoday.com/2021/08/13/hawaii-news/big-island-tops-200000-residents-in-latest-count/