Hawaii County

Hawaii County, Hawaii — key demographics (most recent U.S. Census Bureau estimates)

Population size

• 206,000 (2023 population estimate)
• 200,629 (2020 Census)

Age

• Median age: ~42 years
• Under 18: ~22%
• 65 and over: ~20–21%

Gender

• Female: ~49–50%
• Male: ~50–51%

Race and Hispanic/Latino origin

• White alone: ~33%
• Asian alone: ~22%
• Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone: ~13%
• Black or African American alone: ~1%
• American Indian and Alaska Native alone: ~0.4%
• Two or more races: ~31%
• Hispanic or Latino (of any race): ~15%

Households and housing

• Households: ~74,000 (ACS 2018–2022)
• Average household size: ~2.8 persons
• Owner-occupied housing rate: ~69–70%
• Family households: ~65–67% of households
• Households with children under 18: ~27–28%

Notes: Figures are rounded for clarity. Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Population Estimates; 2023 American Community Survey; ACS 2018–2022 5-year.

Hawaii County email usage snapshot

• Estimated users: ~160,000–170,000 residents use email regularly (about 80–85% of the total population; well over 90% of adults).
• Age distribution of email users (share of users): 13–17 ≈ 6%; 18–29 ≈ 17%; 30–49 ≈ 32%; 50–64 ≈ 23%; 65+ ≈ 22%. Usage is near‑universal among 18–49, high among 50–64, and modestly lower for 65+.
• Gender split: Approximately even, mirroring county demographics (~50% female, ~50% male among users).
• Digital access trends: About 91% of households have internet service; 85% have fixed broadband (cable/fiber/DSL). Roughly 12% are smartphone‑only for home internet, and about 9–10% have no subscription. Computer access in households is high (92–94%). Fixed broadband availability is strongest in Hilo and Kona; coverage is thinner in rural Puna, Ka‘ū, and Hāmākua. Mobile LTE/5G covers most coastal corridors and highways, with upland gaps.
• Local density/connectivity: The county spans 4,028 sq mi with ~205,000 residents (50 people/sq mi), making it the state’s largest and most rural county, which raises last‑mile costs and contributes to slightly lower broadband and email adoption than urban Honolulu.

Mobile phone usage in Hawaii County, HI — 2024 snapshot vs statewide

Overall adoption and user estimates

• Population and users: Hawaii County has roughly 205,000 residents and about 163,000 adults. Based on recent U.S. smartphone adoption rates and the county’s older age profile, an estimated 145,000–150,000 adults use smartphones in the county in 2024.
• Mobile-only households: Reliance on mobile as the primary or only home internet connection is higher than the state average. In Hawaii County, roughly one in five households are effectively mobile-only for home connectivity, several percentage points above the statewide share, driven by rural coverage gaps and fewer fixed-broadband options outside Hilo–Kona.
• Plan mix: Prepaid and budget MVNO plans have a larger footprint than on Oahu, reflecting income levels and spotty fixed-service availability in Puna, Ka‘ū, parts of Hāmākua, and on the Saddle corridor. Unlimited plans and hotspot add‑ons are more commonly used as a substitute for fixed broadband than statewide.

Demographic patterns (how usage differs from state-level)

• Age: The county is older than the state overall, which slightly lowers overall smartphone penetration but raises multi-line household penetration (multigenerational homes commonly pool plans and hotspots). Seniors are more likely to be voice/text‑first and to rely on LTE rather than 5G devices compared with seniors statewide.
• Rural vs urban: Residents outside Hilo, Kailua‑Kona, Waimea, and Waikōloa are more likely to be mobile-only and to report dead zones. This rural skew is more pronounced than the statewide pattern dominated by O‘ahu’s urban coverage.
• Income and housing: Lower median household income and higher shares of single‑family and off‑grid homes correlate with a higher dependence on mobile hotspots for home internet than the state average. The 2024 wind‑down of the Affordable Connectivity Program increased plan downgrades and mobile-only reliance more in Hawaii County than in Honolulu County.

Digital infrastructure and coverage

• Radio access networks: AT&T, T‑Mobile, and Verizon operate island‑wide. Mid‑band 5G (C‑band/2.5 GHz) is concentrated in Hilo, Kailua‑Kona, and resort corridors; Extended Range 5G and LTE blanket major highways (11, 19, 190). Coverage and capacity drop on the south and southeast flanks (between Nāʻālehu and Ocean View, and in lower Puna), in Volcano-area forests, upland Hāmākua, and along Saddle Road. These gaps are wider and more persistent than statewide averages dominated by O‘ahu’s dense grid.
• Backhaul: Fiber backhaul rings connect the Hilo and Kona coasts, but several rural cell sites still depend on microwave backhaul, limiting 5G capacity and uplink performance. Backhaul constraints are more common in Hawaii County than statewide.
• Capacity and performance: Peak speeds in Hilo/Kona with mid‑band 5G typically exceed LTE by 3–5x, but off‑peak variability and uplink limitations remain. Rural sites often fall back to LTE with narrower channels; latency and video quality degrade faster with load than on O‘ahu.
• Resiliency: Volcanic terrain, seismic activity, and long power-restoration times increase reliance on mobile networks during outages. Carriers have added portable generators and COLTs around Hilo and Puna, but time‑to‑restore after severe weather remains longer than state averages.
• Buildout pipeline: State and federal funds (e.g., BEAD/Capital Projects Fund) prioritize fiber and middle‑mile extensions to Puna, Ka‘ū, and upland Hāmākua. As fiber reaches more towers and communities, expect mid‑band 5G infill and fixed‑wireless replacements for DSL in 2025–2027.

Trends that diverge from the state

• Higher mobile-only dependence: A larger share of households use mobile as their primary internet compared with the state, reflecting rurality and fewer cable/fiber options.
• Wider urban–rural performance gap: Mid‑band 5G improvements are concentrated in Hilo/Kona; rural areas remain LTE‑heavy longer than the state overall.
• Greater prepaid uptake and plan downgrades: Price sensitivity and the ACP wind‑down are shifting more users to prepaid and lower‑tier plans than in Honolulu County.
• Device mix: Slightly older device base (more LTE‑only or early 5G phones) than the statewide mix, which dampens realized 5G speeds outside the main towns.
• Coverage gaps matter more: Terrain-driven dead zones have higher daily-life impact than on O‘ahu, increasing multi-SIM use, Wi‑Fi calling dependence, and adoption of phones with satellite SOS/messaging for backcountry travel.

Key takeaways

• Approximately 145,000–150,000 adults in Hawaii County use smartphones, with higher mobile-only home internet reliance than the state average.
• Usage patterns are shaped by rural geography: performance and availability differ sharply between Hilo/Kona and outlying districts, more so than the typical statewide experience.
• Continued fiber and backhaul upgrades are the main lever to narrow the county’s urban–rural mobile performance gap, enable denser mid‑band 5G, and reduce household dependence on hotspot-based home internet.

Hawaii County, HI social media snapshot (2024; modeled from U.S. Census ACS 2023 demographics for Hawaii County and Pew/DataReportal platform usage patterns)

User stats

• Residents: ~206,000
• Social media users: ~149,000 (≈72% of total population; ≈84% of residents age 13+)
• Average time on social: ~2 hours/day among users
• Primary access: mobile-first; usage concentrated around Hilo and Kona population centers with lower always‑on connectivity in rural districts shaping more asynchronous consumption

Most-used platforms (share of residents age 13+, monthly)

• YouTube — ~81%
• Facebook — ~71%
• Instagram — ~42%
• TikTok — ~31%
• Pinterest — ~28%
• Snapchat — ~22%
• X (Twitter) — ~20%
• Others with meaningful but smaller reach: Reddit (18%), LinkedIn (14%), Nextdoor (~9%)

Age groups (share using any social platform; in-county estimates)

• 13–17: ~95% use social; YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat dominate
• 18–29: ~96%; YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat lead; Facebook secondary
• 30–49: ~86%; YouTube and Facebook lead, Instagram mid-tier, TikTok/Pinterest meaningful
• 50–64: ~76%; Facebook and YouTube dominant; Instagram/Pinterest moderate
• 65+: ~55%; Facebook and YouTube primary; lighter use of others

Gender breakdown

• Overall users: ~52% female, ~48% male
• Platform skews: Facebook/Instagram/Pinterest skew female; TikTok moderately female; X and Reddit skew male; YouTube broadly balanced

Behavioral trends in Hawaii County

• Community-first Facebook usage: Heavy reliance on Groups and local Pages for neighborhood updates, disaster prep (vog/volcanic activity, storm/tsunami advisories), road closures, school and county notices, and mutual-aid coordination
• Local commerce: Facebook Marketplace and buy/sell/trade groups are highly active due to island logistics and preference for local transactions
• Tourism-linked cycles: Seasonal spikes in Instagram/TikTok/YouTube content tied to peak visitor periods; user-generated content heavily influences dining, tours, beaches, and Volcanoes National Park activities
• Video-forward consumption: Short-form vertical video (Reels/TikTok/Shorts) outperforms static posts; YouTube is key for local news, outdoor/fishing/surf content, homesteading, and how-tos
• Messaging networks: Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp widely used for family across islands and mainland; private group chats favored for coordination and cultural/community events
• Time-of-day patterns (HST): Engagement peaks evenings 6–10 pm; secondary peak around lunch; cross‑mainland audiences drive earlier morning feed activity
• Older-user privacy and reliability cues: 50+ audiences favor trusted Pages/Groups and informational posts; younger users favor ephemeral content and creator‑led recommendations
• Event-driven surges: County-wide conversation spikes around Merrie Monarch Festival (Hilo), Ironman events (Kona) and major weather/geologic incidents; real-time updates and live video see outsized engagement
• Geo-targeting effectiveness: Ads and organic reach perform best when localized to Hilo/Kona and specific districts; rural reach benefits from lightweight creative and off-peak scheduling

Notes on method and sources

• Figures are 2024 modeled estimates for Hawaii County by applying national platform usage rates (Pew Research Center Social Media Use studies; DataReportal Digital 2024: USA) to the county’s age structure from the U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023. Platform skews reflect Pew platform profiles and advertiser audience tools.