Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders: By the Numbers

AAPI Data Guide for a Fast-Growing Community

This resource guide is designed to provide key insights and perspectives pertaining to Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) communities. Drawing on disaggregated findings from AAPI Data’s surveys, data products, publications, and other sources, this resource is part of an ongoing series of resource guides that inspire data-informed insights of particular Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities.

Please check aapidata.com/resource-guides frequently for new resource guides like this one.

Last updated: August 6, 2025

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The Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander Electorate

Population Characteristics (National)

  • The 2020 Census counted 896,497 Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders who identify with more than one race, bringing the total who identify as NHPI to over 1.59 million. (AAPI Data’s AANHPI Community Counts Dashboard)

  • The three largest Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander groups in the United States are Native Hawaiian (680,442), Samoan (256,997), and Chamorro (143,947). (AAPI Data’s AANHPI Community Counts Dashboard)

Population Characteristics (State)

  • Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities tend to be highly concentrated in a handful of states, with 1 in 4 (25%) living in Hawaii, another 21% in California, and 7% in Washington. (Source: AAPI Data’s AANHPI Community Counts Dashboard)

Table 1. Top 5 states of residence for Native Hawaiians & Pacific Islanders

(Source: AAPI Data’s AANHPI Community Counts Dashboard)

StatePopulation
Hawaii394,102
California337,617
Washington114,189
Texas77,196
Utah59,247

Population Growth

  • The Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander population grew by 29% nationally between 2010 and 2020. (See Race Counts alone/combination 2010 and 2020 data in AAPI Data’s AANHPI Community Counts Dashboard)

  • The Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander population grew by 83% or more in five U.S. states between 2010 and 2020.

Table 2. U.S. States, by Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Pop. Growth (2010-2020)

(Source: AAPI Data’s AANHPI Community Counts Dashboard)

StatePop. Growth (2010-2020)
North Dakota167%
Iowa162%
Arkansas128%
Indiana88%
Oklahoma83%

Eligible Voters

  • There are an estimated 399,080 Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander adults eligible to vote and nearly 7,000 naturalizing over the latest four-year cycle. (American Community Survey 2022 5-Year File; AAPI Data’s analysis from the USCIS Statistical Yearbook). Note: the estimates are available only for the NHPI alone population, and not the NHPI population in combination with other racial groups.

Table 3. Top U.S. States for Eligible Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander Voters

(Source: AAPI Data’s analysis of the 2022 American Community Survey 1-Year File)

StatePop. of Eligible Voters
California109,818
Hawaii87,161
Washington30,404
Texas20,665
Utah19,907
  • When considering presidential battleground states, Native Hawaiian (1.1%), Chamorro (0.7%), and Other Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander (0.6%) are the three largest groups of eligible NHPI Voters. (AAPI Data’s analysis of the 2022 American Community Survey 1-Year File)

Voter Turnout

  • Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders had a low level of turnout among AAPI voters in 2020 at 56%. (AAPI Data analysis)
  • Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders had a somewhat low level of turnout among AAPI voters in 2024 at 54%. (AAPI Data analysis)

Native Hawaiians & Pacific Islanders in Elected Offices

Congressional Representatives

  • There are three Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander members of the Delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives: Congressman Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan (Northern Mariana Islands), Congressman James Moylan (Guam), and Congresswoman Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen (American Samoa).

The 2024 Election

Voter Intent & Method

  • 93% of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander voters are planning to vote this November — including 61% who say they are absolutely certain they will — according to the 2024 AAPI Voter Survey released in September.

Presidential Candidate Favorability

  • If the election were being held today — nearly 4 in 10 Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander voters (39%) indicated they would vote for Kamala Harris, just over half (52%) say they would vote for Donald Trump, and about 1 in 10 (9%) indicated they would vote for someone else — according to the 2024 AAPI Voter Survey released in September.

Table 4. Favorability of Kamala Harris Among Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander Voters

(Sources: 2024 AAPI Voter Survey and AAPI Data | AP-NORC Survey — October 2023)

OpinionAs of Oct. 2023As of Sep. 2024Percent Difference
Favorable (“somewhat” or “very”)40%50%10% (+)
Unfavorable (“somewhat” or “very”)37%47%10% (+)
Haven’t heard of / Don’t know enough about23%3%20% (—)

Policy Perspectives

Abortion & Reproductive Rights

  • A majority of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander adults (63%) believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases and want Congress to pass a law guaranteeing access nationwide (71%). (AAPI Data | AP-NORC poll)

  • About 8 in 10 NHPI adults support legal abortion in cases where a pregnant person’s health is at risk, for instances of rape or incest, or the presence of a fatal fetal abnormality — and about half (46%) support legal abortion for any reason. (AAPI Data | AP-NORC poll)

  • 1 in 3 NHPI adults (36%) believe that abortion is too difficult to access for people in their community. (AAPI Data | AP-NORC poll)

Climate Change

  • Overall, NHPI adults express greater concern about climate change’s impact on others than AAPI adults generally. A majority of NHPIs are extremely concerned about climate change’s impact on low-income people (69%), coastal communities (70%), and future generations (86%). (AAPI Data | AP-NORC poll)

  • When compared to AAPI adults generally, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander adults are significantly less likely to have: contacted their elected representatives regarding energy/climate policy (3% vs. 9%) or volunteered with or donated to environmental organizations (6% vs. 16%) in the last year. (AAPI Data | AP-NORC poll)

Gun Control

  • 70% of NHPI adults say they could not vote for a candidate with opposing views on gun policy. (AAPI Data | AP-NORC poll)

Immigration

  • Over half of NHPI adults (63%) say they could not vote for a candidate with opposing views on immigration. (AAPI Data | AP-NORC poll)

Sources:

  • AAPI Data’s analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data. (2023). American Community Survey (ACS), 2022 Five-Year Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS). https://data.census.gov/

  • AAPI Data’s analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data. (2022). American Community Survey (ACS), 2022 American Community Survey 1-Year File. https://data.census.gov/