Kapalua is a
census-designated place
A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only.
CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...
(CDP) in
Maui County
Maui County (), officially the County of Maui, is a county in the U.S. state of Hawaii. It consists of the islands of Maui, Lānai, Molokai (except for a portion of Molokai that comprises Kalawao County), Kahoolawe, and Molokini. The latter ...
,
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...
, United States. A resort development by the
Maui Land & Pineapple Company extends inland from Kapalua Bay and
Honolua Bay. The population was 495 at the
2020 census.
Geography
Kapalua is located along the northwest coast of Maui at
along
Route 30, known as the Honoapiilani Highway. The Hawaiian name for this area was Honokahua.
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the CDP has a total area of , of which is land and , or 17.41%, is water.
Kapalua has a view of the islands of
Molokai
Molokai or Molokai ( or ; Molokaʻi dialect: Morotaʻi ) is the fifth most populated of the eight major islands that make up the Hawaiian Islands archipelago in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It is 38 by 10 miles (61 by 16 km) at its g ...
and
Lānai.
Climate
Kapalua has a
tropical savanna climate
Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry "winter") and ''As'' (for a dry "summer"). The driest month has less than ...
, the rare dry-summer variant (
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
: ''As'';
Trewartha: ''Asaa'').
Recreation and leisure
Kapalua Resort offers accommodations, a variety of restaurants, a shop, and several
golf course
A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, tee box, a #Fairway and rough, fairway, the #Fairway and rough, rough and other hazard (golf), hazards, and ...
s.
The area has several
beach
A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from Rock (geology), rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle beach, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological s ...
es. Kapalua Bay is the resort namesake at . The name ''kapa lua'' means "two borders" in the
Hawaiian language
Hawaiian (', ) is a critically endangered Polynesian language of the Austronesian language family, originating in and native to the Hawaiian Islands. It is the native language of the Hawaiian people. Hawaiian, along with English, is an offi ...
.
Oneloa Bay at and Honokahua Bay are also backed by the resort. Mokuleia Bay and Honolua Bay are to the north in
Honolua and
Nāpili is to the south. Kapalua Bay was named "Best Beach in the World" by the readers of ''
Condé Nast Traveler
''Condé Nast Traveler'' is a luxury and lifestyle travel magazine published by Condé Nast. The magazine has won 25 National Magazine Awards.
The Condé Nast unit of Advance Publications purchased ''Signature'', a magazine for Diners Club me ...
'' magazine, "America's Best Beach" on the first annual list of
Stephen Leatherman's Top 10 Beaches in America, and the "Best Beach in America" by the
Travel Channel
Travel Channel (stylized as Trvl Channel since 2018) is an American pay television television channel, channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, who previously owned the channel from 1997 to 2007. The channel is headquartered in Manhattan, with ...
, among other honors.
During the
plantation
Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...
era, the Kapalua beach was known as Fleming Beach but was renamed after the resort. A public access site on Honokahua Bay about half a mile to the north was named
D.T. Fleming Park in 1975 to keep the tribute to David Thomas Fleming (1881–1955), Honolua Plantation manager of the area before the resort was built.
Transportation
The small
Kapalua Airport
Kapalua Airport , also known as Kapalua–West Maui Airport, is a regional airport in the district of Mahinahina, Hawaii, Mahinahina on the west side of Maui island in the state of Hawaii. It is located north of Lahaina, Hawaii, Lahaina, in Ma ...
was built to the south in
Honokōwai in 1987, replacing the even smaller
Kaanapali Airport.
Demographics
As of the
census
A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2000, there were 467 people, 186 households, and 132 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 831 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 59.31%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 0.43%
African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 11.35%
Asian, 13.28%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 0.21% from
other races, and 15.42% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or
Latino of any race were 3.43% of the population.
There were 186 households, out of which 25.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.9% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 4.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.5% were non-families. 12.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 2.74.
In the CDP the population was spread out, with 17.6% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 32.1% from 25 to 44, 27.2% from 45 to 64, and 16.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 108.1 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $57,292, and the median income for a family was $61,875. Males had a median income of $35,417 versus $32,321 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year.
In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the CDP was $75,992. About 5.1% of families and 7.2% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 5.6% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.
References
External links
*
*
Kapalua Resort official website
{{Authority control
Census-designated places in Maui County, Hawaii
Populated places on Maui
Populated coastal places in Hawaii