Fact 5 of 50: Hawaii’s Diverse Population
Posted on Tue, Jul 7, 2009 by Sheila
Yesterday, we looked at Hawaii’s total population in comparison to the rest of the U.S. Today, we’ll drill down to look at the interesting demographics by ethnicity in comparison to the nation’s statistics. Per data from the U.S. Census Bureau, here is a comparison by race.
| Race | Hawaii | U.S. |
| White | 26.5% | 74.1% |
| Black or African American | 2.4% | 12.4% |
| American Indian & Alaska Native | 0.3% | 0.8% |
| Asian | 39.7% | 4.3% |
| Native Hawaiian & Other Pacific Islander | 8.5% | 0.1% |
| Some other race | 1.3% | 6.2% |
| Two or more races | 21.3% | 2.1% |
As you can see, Hawaii is quite a bit more diverse in comparison to the nation as a whole. Hawaii’s growth in the agricultural industry in the 20th century had a major influence on the population diversity. Immigrants came to Hawaii to find work in sugar, pineapple, coffee and macadamia nut farms.
As a visitor, you’ll find Hawaii’s racial diversity is evident wherever you go. It has influenced the arts, festivals, and certainly the cuisine in Hawaii. I’m not sure you’ll find a more harmonic mixture anywhere else on earth.
To see other posts in this series of 50 Facts about the 50th State, click this link for this growing collection.
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Everybody is a minority. The statistic on “Two or more races” is pretty interesting. (21.3%) Most people I know fall into that group.
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sheila Reply:
July 8th, 2009 at 12:48 pm
I agree that the “Two or more races” stat is an interesting one. If I have time, I may try to do some research to confirm my hunch, that Hawaii is probably tops in that category. It’s not too far fetched of a hunch considering the national average of two or more races is only 2.1%.
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It’s also influenced the racism here in Hawaii. Not good.
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@Gary. I haven’t experienced any racism. I’ve lived here for 10 years. It was much worse in other states that I’ve lived like California, New Mexico and Colorado. In fact… There’s no comparison.
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