UPDATED 2/28/11 11:20 a.m.
Are you white? Asian? Native Hawaiian?
If you answered yes to more than one of the above, you’re not alone.
There are six distinct options when it comes to identifying race on the U.S. Census but the fastest-growing group in Hawaii between 2000 and 2010 was “two or more.”
Ten years ago, 259,343 of 1,211,537 island residents — 21.4 percent — identified as mixed-race. In 2010, that number jumped to 320,629 of 1,360,301 — 23.6 percent. The increase in mixed-race Hawaii residents — 61,286 — was almost as big as the gains made by Asian and white combined.
|
2000 |
2010 |
Change |
Race |
Number |
Percent of total population |
Number |
Percent of total population |
Number |
Percent |
Total population |
1,211,537 |
100.0% |
1,360,301 |
100.0% |
148,764 |
12.3% |
One Race |
952,194 |
78.6% |
1,039,672 |
76.4% |
87,478 |
9.2% |
Asian |
503,868 |
41.6% |
525,078 |
38.6% |
21,210 |
4.2% |
White |
294,102 |
24.3% |
336,599 |
24.7% |
42,497 |
14.4% |
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander |
113,539 |
9.4% |
135,422 |
10.0% |
21,883 |
19.3% |
Black or African American |
22,003 |
1.8% |
21,424 |
1.6% |
-579 |
-2.6% |
American Indian and Alaska Native |
3,535 |
0.3% |
4,164 |
0.3% |
629 |
17.8% |
Some Other Race |
15,147 |
1.3% |
16,985 |
1.2% |
1,838 |
12.1% |
Two or More Races |
259,343 |
21.4% |
320,629 |
23.6% |
61,286 |
23.6% |
Source: 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data [xls]
Of those Hawaii residents that are mixed-race, nearly 79.8 percent are part-Asian, 71 percent are part-white and 68.5 percent are part-Pacific Islander. Of the entire population, 57.4 percent are at least part-Asian, 41.5 percent are at least part-white and 26.2 are at least part-Pacific Islander.
The most common two-race combination is Asian and Pacific Islander — 72,607 Hawaii residents claim that mix. Residents who say they’re Asian and white numbered 66,456, while 37,904 say they’re Pacific Islander and white, and 85,723 more say they’re all three.
The following table shows every two-race combination. Where a race intersects itself, the number represents the residents who say they are only that race.1
|
Asian |
Native Hawaiian/ Pacific Islander |
White |
Black/ African American |
American Indian/ Alaska Native |
Some Other Race |
Asian |
525,078 |
72,607 |
66,456 |
2,694 |
1,343 |
4,500 |
Native Hawaiian/ Pacific Islander |
72,607 |
135,422 |
37,904 |
1,809 |
1,233 |
1,799 |
White |
66,456 |
37,904 |
336,599 |
3,883 |
7,932 |
3,394 |
Black/ African American |
2,694 |
1,809 |
3,883 |
21,424 |
834 |
386 |
American Indian/ Alaska Native |
1,343 |
1,233 |
7,932 |
834 |
4,164 |
215 |
Some Other Race |
4,500 |
1,799 |
3,394 |
386 |
215 |
16,985 |
Source: Civil Beat analysis of 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data [xls]
Young people are even more likely be mixed-race. Of the 303,818 Hawaii residents younger than 18 years old, 125,550 (41.3 percent) claim two or more races. That’s up from 110,084 of 295,767 (37.2 percent) in the 2000 Census.
For a full race data for Hawaii’s 131 towns in the 2009 American Community Survey, check out Race Breakdown: Hawaii Towns 2009.
Stay Up To Date On The Coronavirus And Other Hawaii Issues