Does Hawaii’s Big Island deserve it’s name? Is it really big at all? Well, let’s examine a few facts and see.
The Big Island of Hawaii has 4,028 square miles of land mass and it’s growing. The entire state of Hawaii has 6,422 square miles in total. The Big Island’s 4,028 square miles represents almost 63% of the state’s total land mass. So the Big Island is bigger than all the other island combined. The Big Island is even bigger than the states of Rhode Island and Delaware combined. So, I’d say the island of Hawaii deserves it’s big name, wouldn’t you?
While we’re talking about the Big Island’s size, let’s look at the sizes of the other islands to see how they stack up. I’ll list them in descending order of size.
| Island | Land Mass in Square Miles |
| Maui | 727 |
| Oahu | 597 |
| Kauai | 552 |
| Molokai | 260 |
| Lanai | 140 |
| Niihau | 70 |
| Kahoolawe | 45 |
Data source
Sheila Beal
5 comments
My name is brian and i am a truck driver. My dream would b to move to hawaii. How could i make a living there. Construction? Taxi or other form of driving?
Hi Brian – Construction might be a possibility. Since tourism is Hawaii’s biggest business, restaurant and hotel jobs are usually widely available.
Hay Brian
I’ve been here almost 50 years…
It’s not the place it use to be: one industry-Tourism, and it can completely be shut down in an instant..9/11 shut the islands down, CoVid shut down, traffic all the time, highest housing costs, basic food costs outrageous, homelessness increases every year, only one government “democratic”… no Republican representative for decades….
Just thought you should know
You don’t want to live in Hawaii. Ungodly expensive and hot all the time, very crowded, no yards and everything is two story. Climbing stairs all the time. Houses are very small. A small 3 br condo, about 1100 sq ft sells for over $600,000.
I love living in Hawaii! Yes it is expensive. But I live in a one story home, no stairs. I do not have a yard like I did living on the mainland, but this is really dependent on which island you live. The big island has lots of space between homes, a lot less traffic than Oahu. And personally, I like the democratic government!