Hawaii County Map: All 5 Counties
Hawaii is the only state in the United States with no municipal governments. Its entire land area is divided into 5 island counties, including the City and County of Honolulu and the isolated Kalawao County health enclave on Molokai.
Hawaii at a Glance
Hawaii County Map
Counties of Hawaii with the state capital, Honolulu, marked. Hover a shape for its name or click it to jump to its row in the list below.
Printable Blank Map of Hawaii with All Counties
Download the Hawaii outline as SVG or PNG, or print it to PDF, in several variants: blank boundary, with counties lines, color-filled and labeled. Free to use (CC0).
Zero Municipal Governments: A Completely Unified System
Visitors to Honolulu, Hilo, or Lahaina might assume they are inside traditional American municipalities, but Hawaii has no incorporated cities.
Under the Hawaii State Constitution, municipal governance does not exist. There are no city councils, town halls, or village trustees. The entire island of Oahu constitutes the "City and County of Honolulu"—a consolidated government where the mayor and 9-member council govern both urban Waikiki skyscrapers and rural North Shore surf communities.
Similarly, the County of Hawaii covers the entire "Big Island" (seat: Hilo), Maui County encompasses the islands of Maui, Molokai (except Kalaupapa), Lanai, and uninhabited Kahoolawe, and Kauai County encompasses Kauai and Niihau.
Crucially, Hawaii is the only state in the US with a single, unified, statewide public school system. County governments have zero jurisdiction over public school budgets, school boards, or teacher hiring—all of which are managed by the Hawaii State Department of Education.
The centralized system stems from the Kingdom of Hawaii and the 1898 territorial organic act, which prioritized centralized civil authority across isolated oceanic islands rather than fragmented town corporations.
Kalawao County: A 12-Square-Mile Department of Health Enclave
Kalawao County on the Kalaupapa Peninsula of Molokai is the smallest county in the US by land area and the second-least populous.
In 1866, King Kamehameha V designated the isolated, cliff-bound Kalaupapa Peninsula on Molokai as a quarantine settlement for patients suffering from Hansen’s disease (leprosy). In 1905, the territorial government established Kalawao as a separate county.
Encompassing just 11.99 square miles, Kalawao County has no county council, no mayor, and holds no local elections. By state statute (Hawaii Revised Statutes § 326), it is administered directly by the Director of the Hawaii State Department of Health, who appoints a resident as local sheriff.
With only 82 residents recorded in the 2020 Census (and fewer than 10 surviving patient-residents today), entry into Kalawao is strictly regulated by state and federal park authorities, and no children under age 16 are permitted to visit.
Kalawao exists solely to support the remaining elderly patient-residents and preserve the historic Hansen’s disease settlement as Kalaupapa National Historical Park.
How Local Government Operates in Hawaii: Single-Tier Island County Council & Department of Health
In Hawaii, there are no independent city councils, mayors of towns, or school district boards. Public education is run statewide by the State Department of Education, while 4 county councils deliver all municipal and county services.
Hawaii County Rankings: Population & Land Area
Comparative demographic and territorial distribution across Hawaii's largest administrative subdivisions based on the 2020 US Census Decennial count.
Top 10 Most Populous Counties
| # | County | Seat | Population | % State |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Honolulu County | Honolulu | 1,016,507 | 69.8% |
| 2 | Hawaii County | Hilo | 200,635 | 13.8% |
| 3 | Maui County | Wailuku | 164,756 | 11.3% |
| 4 | Kauai County | Līhuʻe | 73,296 | 5.0% |
| 5 | Kalawao County | Kalawao | 80 | 0.0% |
Top 10 Largest Counties by Land Area
| # | County | Seat | Land Area | % State |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hawaii County | Hilo | 4,028.4 sq mi | 62.7% |
| 2 | Maui County | Wailuku | 1,161.5 sq mi | 18.1% |
| 3 | Kauai County | Līhuʻe | 619.9 sq mi | 9.7% |
| 4 | Honolulu County | Honolulu | 600.6 sq mi | 9.4% |
| 5 | Kalawao County | Kalawao | 12 sq mi | 0.2% |
Which county of Hawaii are you in?
Use your device location to see which county of Hawaii you are in right now.
List of All 5 Counties in Hawaii
Every county in Hawaii is listed below with its seat, 2020 Census population, land area and FIPS code. Search by name, seat or FIPS, sort any column, or export the full table as CSV.
County | Seat | 2020 Census Pop | Land Area (sq mi) | FIPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Honolulu County | Honolulu | 1,016,507 | 601 sq mi | 15003 |
Hawaii County | Hilo | 200,635 | 4,028 sq mi | 15001 |
Maui County | Wailuku | 164,756 | 1,162 sq mi | 15009 |
Kauai County | Līhuʻe | 73,296 | 620 sq mi | 15007 |
Kalawao County | Kalawao | 80 | 12 sq mi | 15005 |
Data Sources & FIPS Codes
Hawaii uses state FIPS code 15; each county adds a three-digit code to form the five-digit FIPS (now INCITS 31) identifiers in the table. Populations are 2020 Census counts and land areas come from the Census Gazetteer. The map above is drawn from the Census Bureau's generalized 2017 cartographic boundary file (1:10,000,000), so it suits overview and printing, not parcel-level or legal boundary questions; for those, check the local assessor or GIS office.
Questions About Hawaii Counties
Is Honolulu a city or a county?
Honolulu is a consolidated "City and County." The City and County of Honolulu encompasses the entire island of Oahu (597 sq mi) and approximately 1,300 miles of uninhabited reefs and atolls in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. There is no separate "city" government for downtown Honolulu.
Why doesn’t Hawaii have local school district taxes on property bills?
Hawaii is the only state in the Union with a single, statewide public school system. Public education is funded directly from the state general fund (primarily state general excise tax and income tax) and administered by the Hawaii Board of Education, not local county property taxes.
Can anyone move to Kalawao County?
No. Kalawao County on Molokai is a protected medical settlement and national historical park. Under Hawaii state law, only surviving Hansen’s disease patients, authorized Department of Health healthcare workers, and National Park Service personnel are permitted to reside there.
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