Today’s Hawaii counties did not always exist in the present form. They went through many different changes in the space of a few short years. Hawaii Counties were first formed while part of the Mississippi Territory, and after that the Hawaii Territory.
Hawaii Territorial Counties
The Hawaii Territory existed from May 2, 1890, until November 16, 1907. There were originally 7 Hawaii counties when it was first organized as the Hawaii Territory in 1890.
The State of Hawaii entered the union as the 46th state on November 16, 1907.
Hawaii Counties Today
Today, Hawaii is divided into 5 counties.
Fun Facts about Hawaii Counties
Counties by Year
- COUNTY Counties was the original 7 counties created on May 1, 1890.
- COUNTY County was the last county created on August 27, 1912.
County Size Facts
- COUNTY County (000 sq mi) is the largest county in Hawaii.
- COUNTY County (000 sq mi) is the smallest county in Hawaii.
County Population Facts
- Kalawao County (86) is the least populated county in Hawaii.
- Honolulu County (974,563) is the most populated county in Hawaii.
Hawaii City Facts
Hawaii’s 10 largest cities (2016 est.) are:
- Honolulu (337,256) is in Honolulu County
- East Honolulu (49,914) is in Honolulu County
- Pearl City (000) is in Honolulu County
- Hilo (43,263) is in Honolulu County
- Kailua (38,635) is in Honolulu County
- Waipahu (38,216) is in Honolulu County
- Kaneohe (34,597) is in Honolulu County
- Mililani Town (27,629) is in Honolulu County
- Kahului (26,337) is in Maui County
- Ewa Gentry (22,690) is in Honolulu County
Boundary Changes of Hawaii Counties from 1848-1965
This Interactive Map of Hawaii Counties show the historical boundaries, names, organization, and attachments of every county, extinct county and unsuccessful county proposal from 1848 to 1965.
List of Hawaii Counties
List of Old Former / Extinct Hawaii Counties
Hawaii contains some counties that no longer exist because they were discontinued, renamed or merged with another county. These are important for genealogy research purposes.
The below counties formerly within the area of the State of Hawaii no longer exist:
COUNTY County, Hawaii
Created on DATE from LAND. COUNTY County was renamed to COUNTY County on November 7, 1907.