Aiea, Hawaii
‘Aiea is a town located in Honolulu County, Hawaii. As of the 2000 Census, the town had a total population of 9,019.
Although residents of "Aiea" claim that their town is the only town in the world that is spelled using only vowels, the ‘okina is not a vowel, so this claim is technically incorrect.
Geography
‘Aiea is located at 21°23'9" North, 157°55'51" West (21.385900, -157.930927)1. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 4.5 km² (1.8 mi²). 4.3 km² (1.6 mi²) of it is land and 0.3 km² (0.1 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 5.71% water. Although ‘Aiea as a census district may be only the small 4.5 km² noted above, most residents in Hawai‘i, when describing "‘Aiea," are referring to most of the northern shore of East Loch of Pearl Harbor to ‘Aiea Bay, including the associated uplands rising to the north into the Ko‘olau Mountain.
Kamehameha Highway (State Rte. 90) divides most of ‘Aiea from the shore of Pearl Harbor (mostly US government property), and the parallel major thoroughfare, interstate freeway H-1, further cuts the town's commercial district into two distinct areas. These east-west routes (and many other streets) connect ‘Aiea to Pearl City immediately adjacent on the west and the Halawa area adjacent on the east. The residential area known as ‘Aiea Heights extends up the ridgeline above the town.
History
‘Aiea was originally the name of an ahupua‘a, or Hawaiian land division. It stretched from ‘Aiea Bay (part of Pearl Harbor) into the mountains to the north. At the end of the 19th century, a sugar cane plantation was opened in the district by the Honolulu Plantation Company.
As ‘Aiea has several miles of shoreline on Pearl Harbor, the focus of the 7 December 1941 attack by the Japanese on military installations there greatly impacted the town. For example, one damaged ship, the USS Vestal, beached at ‘Aiea Bay to prevent sinking. Many photographers photographed the battle from the hills in ‘Aiea.
After World War II the plantation shut down and the mill was converted into a sugar refinery. Meanwhile, developers started extending the town into the surrounding former sugar cane fields. In the years since then, ‘Aiea has grown into an important suburb of Honolulu. The town's sugar history came to a close in 1996, when C&H Sugar closed the refinery. Then in 1998, the 99-year old sugar mill was torn down by the owners, amid protests from town residents and the County government.
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 9,019 people, 2,758 households, and 2,258 families residing in the town. The population density was 2,110.5/km² (5,463.5/mi²). There were 2,831 housing units at an average density of 662.5/km² (1,714.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 16.25% White, 0.85% African American, 0.14% Native American, 58.31% Asian, 5.08% Pacific Islander, 0.77% from other races, and 18.59% from two or more races. 5.47% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 2,758 households out of which 27.3% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.0% are married couples living together, 13.3% have a female householder with no husband present, and 18.1% are non-families. 13.9% of all households are made up of individuals and 7.7% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 3.24 and the average family size is 3.51.
In the town the population is spread out with 21.2% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 27.6% from 25 to 44, 23.1% from 45 to 64, and 21.7% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 42 years. For every 100 females there are 96.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 96.0 males.
The median income for a household in the town is $71,155, and the median income for a family is $75,992. Males have a median income of $41,384 versus $32,394 for females. The per capita income for the town is $25,111. 4.6% of the population and 3.4% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 8.1% are under the age of 18 and 4.0% are 65 or older.
