Hilo/ˈhiːloʊ/ (Hawaiian pronunciation:[ˈhilo]) is the largest settlement in and thecounty seat ofHawaiʻi County,Hawaiʻi, United States,[1] which encompasses theIsland of Hawaiʻi, and is acensus-designated place (CDP). The population was 44,186 according to the2020 census.[2] It is the fourth-largest settlement in the state of Hawaiʻi, the largest settlement in the state outside ofOahu, and the largest settlement in the state outside of the Greater Honolulu Area.
Around 1100 AD, the first Hilo inhabitants arrived, bringing with themPolynesian knowledge and traditions. Although archaeological evidence is scant,oral history has many references to people living in Hilo, along theWailuku andWailoa rivers during the time ofancient Hawaiʻi.[5] Oral history gives the meaning ofHilo as "to twist".[6]
Originally, the name "Hilo" applied to a district encompassing much of the east coast of theisland of Hawaiʻi, now divided into the District of South Hilo and the District of North Hilo. WhenWilliam Ellis visited in 1823, the main settlement there wasWaiākea on the south shore ofHilo Bay.[7] Missionaries came to the district in the early-to-middle 19th century, foundingHaili Church.
Hilo expanded assugar plantations in the surrounding area created jobs and drew in many workers fromAsia. For example, by 1887, 26,000 Chinese workers worked in Hawai'i's sugar cane plantations,[8] one of which was the Hilo Sugar Mill. At that time, the Hilo Sugar Mill produced 3,500 tons of sugar annually.[9]
Hilo, Hawaii, 1907Hilo Iron Works, 1929
A breakwater across Hilo Bay was begun in the first decade of the 20th century and completed in 1929. On April 1, 1946, an8.6-magnitude earthquake near theAleutian Islands created a 46-foot-high (14 m)tsunami that hit Hilo 4.9 hours later, killing 159 total in the islands,[10] with 96 deaths in Hilo alone. In response, an early warning system, thePacific Tsunami Warning Center, was established in 1949 to track these killer waves and provide warning. This tsunami also caused the end of theHawaii Consolidated Railway, and instead theHawaiʻi Belt Road was built north of Hilo using some of the old railbed.[11]
On May 22, 1960, another tsunami, caused by a9.5-magnitude earthquake off the coast ofChile that day, claimed 61 lives,[12] allegedly due to the failure of people to heed warning sirens. Low-lying bayfront areas of the city onWaiākea peninsula and along Hilo Bay, previously populated, were rededicated as parks and memorials.
Hilo expanded inland beginning in the 1960s. The downtown found a new role in the 1980s as the city's cultural center with several galleries and museums opening; thePalace Theater reopened in 1998 as an arthouse cinema.
Closure of the sugar plantations (including those inHāmākua) during the 1990s hurt the local economy, coinciding with a general statewide slump.[13] Hilo in recent years has seen commercial and population growth.[14]
Hilo is on the eastern and windward side of the island.[15] It is classified by theU.S. Census Bureau as acensus-designated place (CDP), and has a total area of 58.3 square miles (151.0 km2), 53.4 square miles (138.3 km2) of which is land and 4.9 square miles (12.7 km2) of which (8.4%) is water.[16]
Hilo has atropical rainforest climate (Köppen:Af), with substantial rainfall throughout the year. Its location on thewindward coast (relative to thetrade winds), makes it the fourth-wettest city in the United States, behind thesoutheast Alaskan cities ofWhittier,Ketchikan andYakutat, and one of the wettest in the world. An average of around 126.72 inches (3,220 mm) of rain fell at Hilo International Airport annually between 1981 and 2010, with 272 days of the year receiving some rain.[17] Rainfall in Hilo varies with altitude, with more at higher elevations. At some weather stations in upper Hilo the annual rainfall is above 200 inches (5,100 mm).[18]
Monthly mean temperatures range from 71.2 °F (21.8 °C) in February to 76.4 °F (24.7 °C) in August.[17] The highest recorded temperature was 94 °F (34 °C) on May 20, 1996, and the lowest 53 °F (12 °C) on February 21, 1962.[19] The wettest year was 1994 with 182.81 inches (4,643.4 mm), and the driest was 1983, with 68.09 inches (1,729.5 mm). The most rainfall in one month was 50.82 inches (1,290.8 mm) in December 1954. The most rainfall in 24 hours was 27.24 inches (691.9 mm) on November 2, 2000.[20]
Hilo's location on the shore of the funnel-shapedHilo Bay also makes it vulnerable totsunamis.[21]
Source:NOAA (relative humidity, dew points and sun 1961−1990)[19][17][22]
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found onPhabricator and onMediaWiki.org.
^Mean monthly maxima and minima (i.e. the expected highest and lowest temperature readings at any point during the year or given month) calculated based on data at said location from 1991 to 2020.
As of thecensus of 2020, 44,186 people lived in 16,225 households in the census-designated place.[25] The population density was 796.7 inhabitants per square mile (307.6/km2). The 16,905 housing units reflected an average density of 311.3 per square mile (120.2/km2) in 2010 (No update on the Census for 2020).
21.1% of the households had children under the age of 18 living with them. The average household size was 2.71.[23]
The age distribution was 21.1% under age 18, 4.5% under age 5, and 21.10% 65 or older. The percent of females are 51.1%.[23]
The median household income on the 2020 census was $70,356, and the per capita income was $34,678. 16.1% of the population is under the poverty line.[2]
Hilo was served by the Hawaii Consolidated Railway from 1899 until 1946. The railway ran northbound toPaʻauilo and southbound toPāhoa, Glenwood (nearVolcano), andKamaili.
Hilo is home to a number of educational institutions, including two post-secondary institutions, theUniversity of Hawaiʻi at Hilo andHawaiʻi Community College, and the Hilo and Waiakea primary and secondary school districts. Charter schools in the area serve primary and secondary students.
Although sometimes called acity, Hilo is not an incorporated city, and does not have a municipal government. The entire island, which is between the slightly larger state ofConnecticut and smallerRhode Island in size, is under the jurisdiction of theCounty of Hawaiʻi, of which Hilo is the county seat. Hilo is home to county, state, and federal offices.
The oldest city in the Hawaiian archipelago, Hilo's economy was historically based on thesugar plantations of its surrounding areas, prior to their closure in the 1990s.[13]
While Hilo has a fairly significant tourism sector,[28] it gets less than half the annual visitors as the western coast of the Big Island, which has much sunnier weather and significantly less rain, with sandy and swimmable beaches and numerous major resorts.[13]
A main source of tourism in Hilo is the annual week-longMerrie Monarch Festival, the world's preeminenthula competition and festival, which brings in visitors and participants from all over the world.[28] It is held in the spring of each year beginning on Easter Sunday.
The local orchid society hosts the largest and most comprehensive orchid show in the state, the annual Hilo Orchid Show, which has been presented since 1951 and draws visitors and entrants worldwide.[29][30][31]
Hilo is home to most of theastronomical observatories onMauna Kea as well as theʻImiloa Planetarium and Museum. Astronomy has an economic impact of $100 million annually on the island.[33] Astronomy on Mauna Kea was developed at the invitation of the Hawaiʻi Chamber of Commerce following the collapse of thesugarcane industry.[34]
Hilo is served by KWXX (94.7FM Hilo/101.5FM Kona), B93/B97 (93.1FM Kona/97.1FM Hilo), The Wave (KHBC 92.7FM Hilo), and KPUA (970AM Hilo) radio stations.
Public Access television is provided throughNā Leo TV.
Hilo also referred to theDistrict of Hilo when the Big Island was divided into six districts by the traditionalmoku land division. Hilo is now divided in two: North and South Hilo Districts.[38]
^Johnston, Jeanne Branch (2003).Personal Accounts from Survivors of the Hilo Tsunamis of 1946 and 1960: Toward a Disaster Communications Model (M.A.).University of Hawaii at Manoa.hdl:10125/7104.
^abc"Station: Hilo INTL AP, HI".U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Monthly Climate Normals (1991–2020). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived fromthe original on June 18, 2023. RetrievedSeptember 11, 2021.
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