Hawaii Counties
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Hawaii Counties

There five counties in Hawaiʻi. All the counties were created in 1905 from unorganized territory, seven years after the Territory of Hawaii was created.
 

Hawaii Counties: History and Information

Find a brief history of Hawaii CountiesBrief history of Hawaii Counties: Flags of Our Nation

The State of Hawaii is a state in the United States, located on an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of Australia. The state was admitted to the Union on August 21, 1959, making it the 50th state. Its capital is Honolulu on the island of Oahu.

This state encompasses nearly the entire volcanic Hawaiian Island chain, which is made up of hundreds of islands spread over 1,500 miles (2,400 km). At the southeastern end of the archipelago, the eight "main islands" are (from the northwest to southeast) Niʻihau, Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, Lanaʻi, Kahoʻolawe, Maui, and Hawaiʻi. The last is by far the largest, and is often called the "Big Island" or "Big Isle" to avoid confusion with the state as a whole. This archipelago is physiographically and ethnologically part of the Polynesian subregion of Oceania.

The five counties of Hawaii on the Hawaiian Islands enjoy somewhat greater status than many counties on the United States mainland. Counties in Hawaii are the only legally constituted government bodies below that of the state. No formal level of government (such as city governments) exists below that of the county in Hawaii. (Even Honolulu is governed as the City and County of Honolulu, a county that covers the entire island of Oahu.)

Find a brief history of Hawaii Counties
County 2000
Population
Square
Miles
County
Seat
Created
Hawaii County 148,677 4,028 Hilo 1905
Honolulu City and County 876,156 600 Honolulu 1905
Kauai County 58,463 622 Lihue 1905
Kalawao County 90 5.2 NA 1905
Maui County 128,094 1,159 Wailuku 1905


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