MAUI PROFILE

The splendor of Maui lies in the diversity of its land and people

Iao Valley and Needle
©Ann Cecil

BIOLOGY Maui has a wide variety of plant and animal life. Many species are rare and endangered including the Nene Goose (the official state bird) and the Humpback Whale (the official state marine mammal). Vegetation zones include: coastal, dryland forest, mixed open forest, rain forest, subalpine and alpine.

CLIMATE Maui's average temperature range and annual rainfall varies by locale:

Hana 71.3 - 76.8(°F) - aver. 69 inches
Haleakala 42.6 - 50.0(°F) - aver. 44 inches
Kihei 70.9 - 78.4(°F) - aver. 13 inches
Lahaina 71.5 - 78.0(°F) - aver. 15 inches
Kahului Airport Average Temperature:
- Jan. - Feb. 71.5(°F)
- Aug. - Sept . 79.2(°F)

CULTURAL HISTORY Maui is a multi-cultural society with major immigration from:

Polynesia - 700 A.D.
United States - 1820
China - 1852
Japan - 1868
Portugal - 1878
Puerto Rico - 1900
Korea - 1903
Philippines - 1906

ECONOMY Healthy In 2006! Key indicators are positive for continuing growth in the second half of this decade. ¹ However, Hawaii's cost of living is among the highest in the nation and its 2004 per capita personal income below average. In fact, sources indicate a cost of living ranging from 30% above the national average to over 60% depending upon family size and circumstances - see the Price of Paradise!

2005 Visitor Arrivals to the State totaled 7.4 million (a record) ²
2005 Gross State Product was $54 billion ²

Major contributions to the State of Hawaii's economy include:

Visitor Expenditures: $11.8 billion (2005) - an all-time high* ²
Federal Defense Spending: $4.8 billion (2003) ³
Construction (Private Building Permits): $3.5 billion (2005) ⁴

* Visitor Expenditure figures are deceptive, since a certain percentage of tourism dollars do not remain in the Islands, but are returned to overseas investors.

With the demise of its sugar and pineapple industries in the 1990's, Hawaii is working to diversify its economy with a focus on industries such as science and technology, health and wellness tourism, diversified agriculture, ocean research and development, and film and television production. A Study currently being conducted by the State is looking at the extent to which the benefits from tourism can be maintained, while sustaining the quality of our social, economic and environmental assets.

EDUCATION Maui County:

K-12 students in public schools (2004): 20,839 (excluding Special & Charter Schools) ⁵
Number of Public schools (2005): 32 ⁶
Number of Private schools (2005): 17 ⁷

In 2004, there were 2,996 students enrolled at the Maui Community College, part of the University of Hawaii system.⁸

GEOGRAPHY Maui County includes the islands of Maui (the Valley Isle, 727.3 square miles with 120 miles of coastline), Molokai (the Friendly Isle, 260 square miles), Lanai (the Most Enticing Isle, formerly known as the Pineapple Isle, 140.6 square miles) and Kahoolawe (the uninhabited Forbidden Isle, 44.6 square miles, formerly used as a bombing practice range by the U.S. Navy and Air Force, it is now being restored and revegetated).

Maui is:

located in Polynesia
near the center of the Pacific Ocean
just below the Tropic of Cancer
one of the most remote spots on Earth
2,300 miles west of California
the second largest of the 8 main Hawaiian islands

GEOLOGY    Maui (the second youngest island in the Hawaiian chain) is made up of two volcanoes: East Maui's Haleakala (the world's largest dormant volcano); and the extinct Puu Kukui caldera (the West Maui Mountains). Both erupted many years ago and erosion over the years joined them into one island, giving Maui its nickname the Valley Isle.

GOVERNMENT    On Maui, as throughout the State, there are no separate municipal governments. The County of Maui is responsible for local government on Maui, Molokai and Lanai. The uninhabited island of Kahoolawe is managed by the state's Kahoolawe Island Reserve Commission. The County has a mayor elected for up to two four-year terms and a nine member council with two-year terms. Maui's county seat is located in Wailuku.

HEALTH    Practices (2004) Maui County (includes Molokai & Lanai): 284 Doctors, 76 Dentists, 994 Nurses and 87 Pharmacists.⁹

OFFICIAL COLORS AND FLOWERS

Island
Maui
Molokai
Lanai
Kahoolawe

Color
Pink
Green
Orange
Gray

Flower
Lokelani
Kukui
Kaunaoa
Hinahina

POPULATION    Maui County had a resident population of 138,347 in 2004.¹⁰

In 2003, Maui County's ethnic groups roughly broke down as follows:¹¹

Unmixed (except Hawaiian): 82,275 (61.35%)
  Caucasian - 45,936 (34.26%)
  Japanese - 13,817 (10.30%)
  Filipino - 20,686 (15.43%)
  Chinese - 489 (0.36%)
  Black - No data (sample size too small)
  Korean - 639 (0.48%)
  Samoan/Tongan - 515 (0.38%)
Mixed (except Hawaiian) - 21,482 (16.02%)
Hawaiian/Part Hawaiian - 30,341 (22.63%)

TOURISM    Maui County had approximately 2.4 million visitors in 2005.¹²

Data Sources

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