Hilo-Kailua, HI, Hawaii: Populist metro. In 2024, voted D+28%. Democratic peak: D+60 in 1964.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- D+28MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- PopulistAkashic typology
- Population
- 205,7692024 5-year
- Median household income
- $78,6392024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 30.9%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.8%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 11.7%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+60 in 1964MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+18 in 1972MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Hilo-Kailua, HI, HIOne cell per constituent county, colored by 2024 presidential margin from deep red (Republican) through neutral to deep blue (Democratic), ordered bluest first.
R+60D+60
One cell per constituent county. Ordered by 2024 D-vs-R margin (bluest first). Hover for county-level numbers.
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | 52,163 | 28,748 | 82,823 | ||
| D | 58,731 | 26,897 | 87,814 | ||
| D | 41,259 | 17,501 | 64,867 | ||
| D | 47,224 | 14,753 | 63,454 | ||
| D | 50,819 | 14,866 | 66,916 | ||
| D | 35,116 | 22,032 | 57,702 | ||
| D | 28,670 | 17,050 | 50,860 | ||
| D | 27,262 | 13,516 | 48,977 | ||
| D | 25,725 | 15,460 | 50,916 | ||
| D | 24,091 | 17,125 | 41,768 | ||
| R | 17,866 | 20,707 | 39,143 | ||
| D | 17,630 | 14,247 | 35,861 | ||
| D | 15,960 | 15,366 | 31,765 | ||
| R | 11,652 | 16,832 | 28,484 | ||
| D | 15,819 | 9,625 | 25,727 | ||
| D | 20,011 | 4,962 | 24,973 | ||
| R | 11,557 | 12,251 | 23,808 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
8.1%
English
8.0%
Irish
6.0%
Italian
2.5%
French
1.5%
Scottish
1.4%
American
1.1%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so these shares can total more than 100%. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 44.3 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
85+
75–84
65–74
55–64
45–54
35–44
25–34
18–24
5–17
<5
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Median household income
2024 inflation-adjusted dollars
$78,639
Hilo-Kailua, HI ranks near the middle of US counties.
Hilo-Kailua, HI$78,639
Hawaii$100,389
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
14.9%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1818.2%
Working age (18–64)14.6%
Seniors (65+)10.2%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
77.4%
speak English only
Asian & Pacific Islander15.9%
Other languages2.7%
Spanish2.3%
Other Indo-European1.7%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 58.1% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
The Big Island's largest metro blends Native Hawaiian communities, Japanese-American working-class neighborhoods, and a university town in Hilo — a mix that has delivered Democrats double-digit margins in most statewide contests.
The Democratic margin in Hilo-Kailua, HI peaked at sixty points in 1964. By 1988 the metro had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was twenty-eight points, the most Democratic-leaning result in the metro's modern history.
The economic context is the key. The median household income of $78,639 sits well below state and national norms, and 15% of residents live below the federal poverty line. The shift here is part of a broader realignment of working-class places across the country.
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Hilo-Kailua, HI, Hawaii — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/25900/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Hilo-Kailua, HI, Hawaii vote in 2024?
In 2024, Hilo-Kailua, HI, Hawaii voted Democratic by 28.3 points (D+28), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 82,823 votes cast, 52,163 went Democratic and 28,748 went Republican.
What is Hilo-Kailua, HI, Hawaii's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Hilo-Kailua, HI, Hawaii as a "Populist" metro based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the metro has voted Democratic 14 times, Republican 3 times, and other 0 times.
When did Hilo-Kailua, HI, Hawaii last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which Hilo-Kailua, HI, Hawaii voted Republican was 1984.
How many people live in Hilo-Kailua, HI, Hawaii?
Hilo-Kailua, HI, Hawaii has a population of 205,769 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Hilo-Kailua, HI, Hawaii?
Median household income in Hilo-Kailua, HI, Hawaii is $78,639 — below the national median of $80,734. The Hawaii state median is $100,389.
What is the political history of Hilo-Kailua, HI, Hawaii?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Hilo-Kailua, HI, Hawaii from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 14 went Democratic and 3 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Populist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.