Honolulu County
Consolidated city-county
City and County of Honolulu Kūlanakauhale a me ke Kalana o Honolulu (Hawaiian)
Downtown Honolulu, the city and county urban center
Flag Seal
Motto(s):  Haʻaheo No ʻO Honolulu (The Pride of Honolulu)[1]
Location in the state of Hawaii (Northwestern Hawaiian Islands not shown)
Country	United States
State	Hawaii
Incorporated	April 30, 1907[2]
Seat	Honolulu
Government
• Type	Mayor–council
• Mayor	Rick Blangiardi (I)
• Council	Members[3] 1. Andria Tupola (Floor Leader) 2. Heidi Tsuneyoshi 3. Esther Kiaʻāina (Vice-Chair) 4. Tommy Waters (Chair) 5. Calvin Say 6. Carol Fukunaga 7. Radiant Cordero 8. Brandon Elefante 9. Augie Tulba
Area
• Total	2,128 sq mi (5,510 km2)
• Land	601 sq mi (1,560 km2)
• Water	1,527 sq mi (3,950 km2)  71.8%
Population  (2020)
• Total	1,016,508
• Density	1,691/sq mi (653/km2)
Gross Domestic Product [4]
• Total	US$63.072 billion (2022)
Time zone	UTC-10 (Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time)
Area code	808
Website	www.honolulu.gov

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. The city-county includes both Urban Honolulu (the state's capital and largest community) and the rest of the neighborhoods on the island of Oʻahu, as well as several minor outlying islands, including all of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (islands beyond Niihau) except Midway Atoll.^[2]

The consolidated city-county was established in the city charter adopted in 1907 and accepted by the Legislature of the Territory of Hawaii.^[2] As a municipal corporation and jurisdiction it manages aspects of government traditionally exercised by both municipalities and counties in the rest of the United States.

As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 1,016,508.^[5] Because of Hawaii's municipal structure,^[6] the United States Census Bureau divides Honolulu County into several census-designated places for statistical purposes.

The mayor of Honolulu County is Rick Blangiardi. The county motto is "Haʻaheo No ʻO Honolulu (Honolulu Pride)".^[7] About 70% of the state's population lives in Honolulu County. Only Nevada has a higher percentage of its population living in its most populous county. 43.0% of residents identify as Asian or Asian American, the highest of any U.S. county.^[8]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,128 square miles (5,510 km²), of which 601 square miles (1,560 km²) is land and 1,527 square miles (3,950 km²) (71.8%) is water.^[9] However, the majority of this area is the Pacific Ocean that surrounds the islands. At over 1,380 miles (2,220 km) from end to end, it is by a significant margin the widest county in the United States.

Adjacent counties

• Maui County - southeast
• Kauai County - northwest of population center

National protected areas

• James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge
• Oʻahu Forest National Wildlife Refuge
• Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument
• Pearl Harbor National Wildlife Refuge
• USS Arizona Memorial

Government

Local government

Honolulu County is administered under a mayor–council system of governance overseeing municipal services: civil defense, emergency medical, fire, parks and recreation, police, sanitation, transportation, and water, among others. For 2013, the county has an annual operating budget of US$2.16 billion.^[10][11]

The government of Honolulu County has three major divisions of municipal power:

• The mayor of Honolulu is the principal executor of administrative authority. The mayor is elected on a non-partisan basis to a four-year term.
• The Honolulu City Council is the unicameral legislative body. Its elected members are responsible for drafting and passing laws, as well as budgets for various departments. The council is independent of the mayor. The nine council members each represent an administrative district (listed below) and are elected on a non-partisan basis to staggered four-year terms.
• The Prosecuting Attorney of Honolulu is charged with prosecuting criminal offenses committed within the county.^[12] The prosecuting attorney is elected on a non-partisan basis to a four-year term.^[13] The office is not charged with providing legal counsel to the other branches; that duty is a responsibility of the Department of Corporation Counsel, under mayoral jurisdiction.^[14]

Honolulu County is divided into 36 neighborhood boards. The office of neighborhood board member is an advisory position for public policy and civil investment. Members are elected to two-year terms.

County districts

Honolulu County has nine districts, each of which elects a member of the city-county council. The boundaries of each district are revised every ten years in conjunction with the U.S. Census.

• District I: ʻEwa, ʻEwa Beach, Honouliuli, West Loch, Kapolei, Makakilo, Kalaeloa, Honokai Hale and Nanakai Gardens, Ko Olina, Nānākuli, Waiʻanae, Mākaha, Keaʻau, Mākua.
• District II: Mililani Mauka, Wahiawā, Whitmore Village, Mokulēʻia, Waialua, Haleʻiwa, Waimea, Pūpūkea, Sunset Beach, Kahuku, Lāʻie, Hauʻula, Punaluʻu, Kahana Bay, Kaʻaʻawa, Kualoa, Waiāhole, Kahaluʻu, ʻĀhuimanu, Heʻeia.
• District III: Waimānalo, Kailua, Kāneʻohe.
• District IV: Hawaiʻi Kai, Kuliʻouʻou, Niu Valley, ʻĀina Haina, Wailupe, Waiʻalae-Iki, Kalani Valley, Kāhala, Wilhelmina Rise, a portion of Kapahulu, a portion of Kaimukī, Diamond Head, Waikīkī, Ala Moana.
• District V: Kapahulu, Kaimukī, Pālolo Valley, St. Louis Heights, Mānoa, Mōʻiliʻili, McCully, Kakaʻako, Ala Moana, Makiki.
• District VI: Makiki, downtown Honolulu, Punchbowl, Liliha, Pauoa Valley, Nuʻuanu, ʻĀlewa Heights, Papakōlea, Kalihi Valley, Kalihi.
• District VII: Kalihi, Kapālama (aka Pālama), Iwilei, Sand Island, Māpunapuna, Airport, Hickam, Pearl Harbor, Ford Island, Āliamanu, Salt Lake, Foster Village, Aloha Stadium, Hālawa Valley Estates.
• District VIII: Fort Shafter, Moanalua, Hālawa, ʻAiea, Pearl City, Seaview, Crestview.
• District IX: Waikele, Waipahu, Village Park, Kunia, Mililani, Waipiʻo Gentry.

Civic center

The civic center is coextensive with what is known as the Capitol District in downtown Honolulu. The official seat of governance for the Honolulu County is located within the district at Honolulu Hale, established in the 1920s as a city hall structure and houses the chambers of the mayor of Honolulu and the Honolulu City Council. In the 1960s and 1970s, Mayor Frank Fasi developed the modern civic center as it is known today. He took controversial and aggressive measures to reclaim property, demolish massive concrete structures in the area, construct underground parking facilities and open a green campus above ground with manicured lawns and specially commissioned sculpted artwork. He also oversaw the construction of new government buildings, to house the departments that fell within mayoral jurisdiction. The most prominent of those new buildings were the Honolulu Municipal Building and Hale Makaʻi, the headquarters of the Honolulu Police Department. Civic centers were also constructed off the Capitol District campus, including the Kapiʻolani Bandstand, Neal S. Blaisdell Center, and the Waikīkī Shell.

Municipal services

The Honolulu County collects various forms of taxes, including a property tax. Revenue from those taxes is used to provide several services for the residents.

Services include:

• Honolulu Board of Water Supply
• Honolulu Fire Department
• Honolulu Emergency Medical Services
• TheBus
• Honolulu Police Department
• The Liquor Commission regulates intoxicating liquors.

State representation

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (May 2010)

The Hawaii Department of Public Safety operates three prisons, including the Halawa Correctional Facility, the Waiawa Correctional Facility, and the Women's Community Correctional Center,^[15] on the island of Oʻahu in the City and County of Honolulu.^[16] In addition the Oʻahu Community Correctional Center, the jail on Oʻahu, is in the county.^[17]

Federal representation

The United States Postal Service operates post offices in Honolulu County. The main one is located by the Honolulu International Airport at 3600 Aolele Street.^[18] Federal Detention Center, Honolulu, operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, is in the CDP.^[19] The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Honolulu field office is in Kapolei.^[20] The Kunia Regional SIGINT Operations Center of the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Wheeler Army Airfield are in Honolulu County.

Honolulu County, like the rest of Hawaii, is a Democratic stronghold. Despite this, it tends to be the most Republican-leaning county in the state.