Maui County (), officially the County of Maui, is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

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 ...

. It consists of the islands of

Maui Maui (; Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ) is the second largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago, at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2). It is the List of islands of the United States by area, 17th-largest in the United States. Maui is one of ...

, Lānai,

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 ...

(except for a portion of Molokai that comprises Kalawao County), Kahoolawe, and Molokini. The latter two are uninhabited. As of the 2020 census, the population was 164,754. The

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is Wailuku. Maui County is included in the Kahului-Wailuku-

Lahaina Lahaina (; ) or Lāhainā is a census-designated place (CDP) in Maui County, Hawaii, United States. On the northwest coast of the island of Maui, it encompasses Lahaina town and the Kaanapali, Hawaii, Kaanapali and Kapalua, Hawaii, Kapalua beac ...

, HI Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Government

Maui County has a quasi- mayor-council form of municipal government. Unlike traditional municipal governments, the county government is established by the state legislature by statute and is not chartered. Executive authority is vested in the mayor, elected by the voters on a nonpartisan basis to a four-year term (with a limit of two consecutive full terms). Legislative authority is vested in the nine-member Maui County Council. All seats in the county council have residency requirements, but all Maui County voters may vote in elections for all nine seats regardless of residence. Members of the county council are elected on a nonpartisan basis to two-year terms (with a limit of five consecutive full terms). The mayor of Maui County is Richard Bissen, serving since January 2023. Richard Bissen formerly served as a Judge for the 2nd Hawaii State Circuit Court. The parade banner of the county, described simply as "parade banner of the County of Maui", this banner is vertically divided light blue-light green-light blue, by red stripes, with a seal in the center. The Maui County Police Department provides law enforcement services for the county. The current chief is John Pelletier.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (51.6%) is water. The islands that comprise Maui County correspond to the remnants of the ancient landmass of Maui Nui. The highest point in the county is the peak of

Haleakalā Haleakalā (; Hawaiian: ), or the East Maui Volcano, is a massive, active shield volcano that forms more than 75% of the Hawaiian Islands, Hawaiian Island of Maui. The western 25% of the island is formed by another volcano, Mauna Kahalawai, als ...

at . Haleakalā is a shield volcano located on the eastern side of the island of Maui.

Adjacent counties

Hawaii County, Hawaii Hawaiʻi County (; officially known as the County of Hawaiʻi) is a county in the U.S. state of Hawaii in the Hawaiian Islands. It is coextensive with the Island of Hawaiʻi, often called the "Big Island" to distinguish it from the state as a ...

– southeast * Kalawao County, Hawaii – north *

Honolulu County, Hawaii Honolulu County (), officially known as the City and County of Honolulu (formerly ''Oahu County''), is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Hawaii, one of five counties in the state. The city-county includes both Urban Honolulu ( ...

– northwest

National protected areas

Haleakalā National Park Haleakalā National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located on the island of Maui, Hawaii. Named after Haleakalā, a dormant volcano within its boundaries, the park covers an area of , of w ...

Kakahaia National Wildlife Refuge Kakahaia National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) was established in 1977 to permanently protect wetland habitat for endangered endemic waterbirds and wintering migratory wetland birds and to maintain the structural integrity of an ancient Hawaiian fishpo ...

Kealia Pond National Wildlife Refuge Kealia Pond National Wildlife Refuge is a coastal salt marsh along the south-central coast of Maui, Hawaii. The refuge is located between the towns of Kihei and Maalaea, on both sides of North Kihei Road, Route 31. The wetland is also a bi ...

Kalaupapa National Historical Park Kalaupapa National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park located in Kalaupapa, Hawaii, on the island of Molokai. Coterminous with the boundaries of Kalawao County and primarily on Kalaupapa peninsula, it was establish ...

Demographics

As of the 2000 Census, there were 128,094 people, 43,507 households, and 29,889 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 56,377 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 33.01% Asian, 28.90%

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 ...

, 22.24% from two or more races, 10.72%

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 ...

, 1.40%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

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 ...

, 0.37% Native American and 1.36% from other races. 7.8% of the population were

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. There were 43,507 households, out of which 33.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.90% 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, 12.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.30% were non-families. 21.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.91 and the average family size was 3.41. In the county, 25.50% of the population was under the age of 18, 7.70% was from 18 to 24, 30.90% from 25 to 44, 24.40% from 45 to 64, and 11.40% was 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.20 males.

2020 religious survey

Maui County is among the most religiously diverse counties in the US. A 2020 survey by the Public Religion Research Institute calculated a religious diversity score of 0.867 for Maui County, where a score of 1 represents complete diversity (each religious group of equal size), and 0 being a total lack of diversity. Only eight counties in the US had higher diversity scores than Maui County, four of which were

boroughs of New York City The boroughs of New York City are the five major governmental districts that comprise New York City. They are the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island. Each borough is coextensive with a respective Administrative divisions of ...

Economy

Top employers

According to the county's 2022 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, the top employers in the county are the following:

Transportation

Airports

Three airports provide air service to the island of Maui: * Hana Airport provides regional service to eastern Maui * Kahului Airport in central Maui is the island's busiest airport * Kapalua Airport provides regional service to western Maui There are also airports on Maui's smaller adjacent islands: * Lānai Airport provides regional service to Lānai * Molokai Airport provides regional service to

Major highways

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Communities

Census-designated places

* Ah Fong Village * Haiku-Pauwela * Haliimaile * Hana * Kaanapali * Kahului * Kapalua * Kaunakakai * Keokea * Kihei * Kualapuu * Kula *

* Lanai City * Launiupoko * Maalaea * Mahinahina * Makawao * Makena * Manele * Maunaloa * Napili-Honokowai *

Olinda Olinda () is a historic city in Pernambuco, Brazil, in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region. It is located on the country's northeastern Atlantic Ocean coast, in the Recife metropolitan area, Metropolitan Region of Recife, the state ca ...

* Olowalu * Paia * Pukalani * Ualapue * Waihee-Waiehu * Waikapu * Wailea * Wailuku

Unincorporated communities

Haiku is a type of short form poetry that originated in Japan. Traditional Japanese haiku consist of three phrases composed of 17 Mora (linguistics), morae (called ''On (Japanese prosody), on'' in Japanese) in a 5, 7, 5 pattern; that include a ''kire ...

* Kaumalapau * Keanae * Kīpahulu * Napili * Puunēnē * Spreckelsville * Waihee * Wailua

Former communities

* Waikola

Politics

Like all of Hawaii, Maui County is reliably Democratic. It has only been carried by the Republican presidential candidate three times since its statehood in 1959: in 1960, 1972 and 1984. Maui County was the only county in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

won by

Dennis Kucinich Dennis John Kucinich ( ; October 8, 1946) is an American politician. Originally a Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, Kucinich served as U.S. Representative from Ohio's Ohio's 10th congressional district, 10th congressional district fro ...

during his unsuccessful campaign for the Democratic Party nomination to the presidency in 2004.

Education

Hawaii Department of Education The Hawaii State Department of Education (HIDOE, ) is a statewide public education system in the United States. The school district can be thought of as analogous to the school districts of other cities and communities in the United States, ...

operates public schools in Maui County.

Sister cities

Maui County's

sister cities A sister city or a twin town relationship is International relations, a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there ar ...

are: *

American Samoa American Samoa is an Territories of the United States, unincorporated and unorganized territory of the United States located in the Polynesia region of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. Centered on , it is southeast of the island count ...

Arequipa Arequipa (; Aymara language, Aymara and ), also known by its nicknames of ''Ciudad Blanca'' (Spanish for "White City") and ''León del Sur'' (Spanish for "South's Lion"), is a city in Peru and the capital of the eponymous Arequipa (province), ...

, Peru * Bacarra, Philippines * Badoc, Philippines * Cabugao, Philippines *

Easter Island Easter Island (, ; , ) is an island and special territory of Chile in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle in Oceania. The island is renowned for its nearly 1,000 extant monumental statues, ...

, Chile * Embo, Scotland, United Kingdom * Fukuyama, Japan *

Funchal Funchal () officially Funchal City (), is the capital, largest city and a Municipality (Portugal), municipality in Portugal's Madeira, Autonomous Region of Madeira, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean. The city has a population of 105,795, making it ...

, Portugal *

Goyang Goyang (; ) is a city in Gyeonggi Province in the north of South Korea. It is part of the Seoul Metropolitan Area, making Goyang one of Seoul's Satellite city, satellite cities. It is one of the largest cities in the Seoul Metropolitan Area, w ...

, South Korea * Hachijō, Japan *

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

, Philippines * Pingtung, Taiwan *

Puerto Princesa Puerto Princesa (, American Spanish: , European Spanish: ), officially the City of Puerto Princesa (Cuyonon language, Cuyonon: ''Siyudad i'ang Puerto Princesa''; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in th ...

, Philippines *

Quezon City Quezon City (, ; ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read and pronounced in Filipino language, Filipino as Kyusi), is the richest and List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 c ...

, Philippines *

Saipan Saipan () is the largest island and capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, an unincorporated Territories of the United States, territory of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. According to 2020 estimates by the United States Cens ...

, Northern Mariana Islands * San Juan, Philippines * Santa, Philippines *

Sanya Sanya; Chinese postal romanization, also spelled Samah is the southernmost city on Hainan Island, and one of the four prefecture-level cities of Hainan, Hainan Province in Southeast China, South China. According to the Sixth National Populati ...

, China *

São Miguel Island São Miguel Island (; ), nicknamed "The Green Island" (), is the largest and most populous island in the Portugal, Portuguese archipelago of the Azores. The island covers and has around 140,000 inhabitants, with 45,000 people residing in Ponta D ...

, Portugal * Sarrat, Philippines *

Zambales Zambales, officially the Province of Zambales (; ; ; ; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon Regions of the Philippines, region. Its capital is Iba, Zambales, Iba, which is located in t ...

, Philippines

References

External links

* {{coord, 20.86774, -156.61706, format=dms, region:US-HI_type:adm2nd_source:wikidata, display=title Hawaii counties 1905 establishments in Hawaii Populated places established in 1905