1 In 10 Hawaiians Is Latino

One in 10 Hawaii in residence identifies as a Latino, according to a recent report, this represents an increase of 38% since the year 2000. The Latino population in Hawaii represents 9% of the population, 89% of them were born in the U.S., and tended to come seeking work.

Broken down this means there are 120,841 folks identifying as Latino, and this figure was just 87,693 in 2000. The Honolulu Star–Advertiser reported that Maui has the fastest growing population of Latinos, at just under 15,000; the island of Hawaii counts about 21,400.

This Latino population includes Mexicans (29%), Puerto Ricans (36%), Dominicans, Latin americans, Caribeños, and other ethnic sub-groups, But The Honolulu Star–Advertiser reported that because it’s expensive to live in this state, the community tends to gather “on a pan-Hispanic basis.”

As we reported, Latinos have been coming and going in Hawaii since the 1700s. Don Francisco de Paula Marin’s arrival there as a 20 year-old Spanish sailor in 1794, another Spaniard planted the first pineapple in 1813, then in the 1830s Mexican cowboys rounded up wild cattle on the islands. Puertorriqueños have been moving to Hawaii since the 1900s to work on sugar plantations.