More Hawaii residents identify as mixed race

By William M. Welch, USA TODAY
Updated 18m ago |

Hawaii, the nation's most ethnically diverse state, has seen a big increase in residents identifying themselves as being of mixed race, according to Census data released Thursday.

Nearly one in four Hawaii residents identify as being of mixed race, according to new Census data.

Among adults 18 and older, those saying they are of two or more races rose 31% from 2000 to 2010. They make up 18.5% of the state's adult population.

Among all ages, the increase of those citing two or more races was 23.6%. Overall, almost one in four Hawaii residents are of mixed race.

Residents citing some Asian heritage make up 57.4% of the state's population. Their numbers grew by 11%, though other ethnic groups grew more rapidly.

Sarah C.W. Yuan, a demographer at the University of Hawaii's Center on the Family, said the racial trends reflect growth and acceptance of multiracial marriages and an increased willingness of people to claim more than one racial identity. She said the decline in people identifying with one race only, from 78.6% in 2000 to 76.4% in the 2010 Census, was expected.

"Hawaii's population has been more diverse over the years," she said. "There are many multiracial marriages, so we do see two-or-more-race groups increase over the years."

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Hawaii's overall population grew 12.3% to 1.36 million.

The largest portion of that population, 953,207, resides in Honolulu County, which is the island of Oahu. It grew almost 9%. Larger growth was seen on some other islands, which locals call "neighbor islands." The island of Hawaii, known as "the Big Island," grew 24.5% to 185,079. Maui saw its population grow 21% to 154,834.

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On Oahu, the biggest growth was in Pearl City, up 54%, and Ewa Gentry, up 359.4%. Both are developing areas west of Pearl Harbor and downtown Honolulu.

Kailua, the bayside community where President Obama and his family vacation, has a population of 38,635, up 5.8% over the decade.

The state's overall racial breakdown for the non-Hispanic population: white, 22.7%; black or African American, 1.5%; American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%; Asian, 37.7%; Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, 9.4%.

The Hispanic or Latino population, of any race, was 8.9%, an almost 38% increase.

Among those identifying as mixed race, the largest group was a combination of Asian with Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islanders, 5.3% of the state's population. People identifying with three or more races totaled 113,640 people, or 8.4% of the population.

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