Waikiki, Salt Lake stuffed with people

Population data released today by the U.S. Census Bureau reveals in fresh detail how Oahu’s tightly packed population is growing and growing older.

Today’s release for Hawaii and Alaska is a part of the bureau’s continuing reports of 2010 Census data. The latest summaries, which will be released state-by-state on a weekly basis through August, include cross-tabulations of age, sex, households, families, relationship to householder, characteristics of owners and renters, detailed race and Hispanic or Latino origin groups, and group quarters.

As previously reported, the state’s overall population increased 12 percent to 1,360,301 from 1,211,537 in 2000. While the population of Honolulu County increased 8.8 percent to 953,207 from 876,156 a decade earlier, it did not grow proportionately as much as the other counties.

Still, Honolulu remains the most densely populated county by far. As noted by Eugene Tian, acting administrator for the Research and Economic Analysis Division of the state Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism, the 25 most densely populated census tracts in the state are all on Oahu.

Hobron Lane in Waikiki reported the highest number of people — 87,816 — per square mile. Two other Waikiki tracts — No. 2 Tusitala Street and No. 4 Ena Road — also ranked in the top five, along with two Salt Lake tracts, Ala Ilima Makai at No. 3 and Ala Ilima Mauka, No. 5.

The state average is 211 people per square mile.

All of the top 25 tracts are residential areas with high-rise buildings, Tian noted.

Not surprisingly, Honolulu tractsalso accounted for 24 of the 25 highest averages for household size.

Niihau-Kaula in Kauai County topped the list with 6.3 people per household compared with the statewide average of 2.89 people. Gulick Avenue-Likelike (5.09) ranked second, followed by August Ahrens School (4.99), Nanakuli (4.98) and Kalihi Waena (4.93).

Honolulu also dominated the list of the state’s oldest census tracts. Twenty-two of the 25 tracts with the largest proportion of people age 65 or older were in Honolulu. The area around Maryknoll School (which includes the Arcadia Retirement Residence) topped the list with 46.5 percent of its population in the "aged" category, followed by Civic Center (37.9 percent) and Ala Lilikoi (36.4 percent).

The three non-Honolulu tracts included on the list were Kalawao (28.9 percent), Central Kahului, Maui, (27 percent) and Puainako, Hawaii, (25.5 percent). Overall, people age 65 and older make up 14.3 percent of the total state population.

The state’s group quarter population — which includes institutionalized populations in correctional or nursing facilities as well as non-institutional populations, such as those in college dorms or military quarters — grew by nearly 20 percent between 2000 and 2010.

The greatest increase occurred in the under-18 age group, which grew to 2,556 in 2010 from 1,339 in 2000. In contrast, there were fewer people age 65 and older in group quarters in 2010 (5,201) than in 2000 (5,754), a drop of 9.5 percent.

Overall, institutionalized populations grew faster (47 percent) than non-institutionalized populations (12.4 percent).

Tian’s analysis of the data again highlighted the rise of the Filipino population, which surpassed the Japanese population to become the second largest racial group (behind "White") in both pure and mixed-race categories.

Among people who described themselves by only one race, the Filipino population grew to 197,497 in 2010 from 170,635 in 2000, an increase of 15.7 percent. In the broader category of respondents who self-identified by one or more races, the growth in the Filipino population was 24.1 percent (564,323 people in 2010 versus 476,162 in 2000).