Most of what gets written about dating in Hawaii is vibes. This page is the numbers. We compiled the most useful statistics about singles, marriage, and relationships in the islands from public data sources, named and linked at the bottom, so journalists, researchers, and curious singles can cite them with confidence. Figures are the most recent available as of mid 2026, and we update this page as new data releases.
The quick numbers
- Hawaii's population is about 1.45 million (U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 American Community Survey).
- Hawaii recorded 12.5 marriages per 1,000 residents in 2023 (CDC National Center for Health Statistics), one of the highest rates in the nation. There is a catch, explained below.
- Hawaii sits in the lowest quartile of states for divorce, with roughly 10 divorces per 1,000 married women in research based on Census data (National Center for Family and Marriage Research).
- Hawaii is one of the only states where men outnumber women, and the surplus concentrates in the prime dating ages.
- About a quarter of Hawaii residents identify as two or more races (2020 Census), the highest share in the country.
- 7.6 percent of residents are veterans, about 1.3 times the national rate (ACS 2024).
The dating pool, island by island
The state's 1.45 million residents are spread very unevenly. Per the 2020 Census, Honolulu County (Oahu) holds just over 1 million people, Hawaii County (the Big Island) about 200,000, Maui County about 165,000, and Kauai County about 73,000. In practical terms, roughly seven of every ten potential matches in the state live on Oahu, which is why singles on the neighbor islands feel the small pool so acutely, and why distance settings on national dating apps mislead more here than anywhere else in the country.
The median age statewide is 41.5, a little older than the national 39.2 (ACS 2024), though the age mix varies sharply by island and district.
The gender ratio: Hawaii's quiet outlier
Nationally, women slightly outnumber men, about 98 men per 100 women. Hawaii runs the other way or close to even, with Census Bureau estimates in recent years ranging from about 99 to 101 men per 100 women statewide, and about 102 per 100 in Honolulu County.
The more interesting number hides in the age breakdown. In the 2010 Census, Hawaii counted 113.5 men per 100 women in the 20 to 29 age group, a skew driven largely by the military population, and the pattern of a male surplus in the younger cohorts persists in current estimates. What it means in practice: in the prime dating years, especially on Oahu, the numbers modestly favor women, and men face more competition than the mainland prepared them for.
Marriage: the destination wedding asterisk
Hawaii's 12.5 marriages per 1,000 residents (CDC NCHS, 2023) has ranked second in the nation behind only Nevada in recent years. Before anyone concludes that Hawaii residents are racing to the altar, the CDC notes that marriage rates reflect where the ceremony occurred, not where the couple lives. Hawaii's sky-high figure is substantially a destination wedding statistic, couples flying in to marry on a beach and flying home. The islands host far more weddings than they produce marriages.
Divorce: among the lowest in America
Hawaii is one of five states that do not report divorce counts to the CDC's vital statistics system, so you will not find it in the standard state rankings. Research based on Census survey data fills the gap: the National Center for Family and Marriage Research at Bowling Green State University found Hawaii among the states with the lowest divorce rates in the country, at roughly 10 divorces per 1,000 married women, placing it firmly in the bottom quartile nationally. Whatever else is true about dating here, the marriages that form in Hawaii tend to hold.
The most multicultural dating pool in America
About one in four Hawaii residents identifies as two or more races per the 2020 Census, the highest share of any state by a wide margin, and 18.6 percent of residents are foreign born (ACS 2024). Dating across cultures and ethnicities is not a topic here, it is the default condition. We wrote about what that actually looks like in practice in our guide to multicultural and interracial dating in Hawaii.
The military factor, quantified
Veterans make up 7.6 percent of Hawaii's population, 83,385 people, about 1.3 times the national rate (ACS 2024), and tens of thousands of active duty service members rotate through the bases on Oahu at any given time. For dating, the military presence explains two statistics at once: the male surplus in the younger age brackets, and the churn that every long-term resident learns to ask about early. The realities are covered in our guide to military dating in Hawaii.
LGBTQ+ couples in the islands
The Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, analyzing 2020 Census data, counted 6,038 same-sex couples in Hawaii, about 12.3 per 1,000 households, with 61.7 percent of those couples married. Notably, the highest density is not on Oahu: Hawaii County leads the state at 14.75 same-sex couples per 1,000 households, with Maui County close behind.
The economics behind every first date
Two ACS 2024 numbers explain a lot of Hawaii dating culture in one glance: the median household income is $100,745, about 25 percent above the national median, while the median owner-occupied home value is $875,900, more than double the national figure. Incomes are high and housing eats them. The practical result is a dating culture where modest, outdoor, low-cost dates are the norm rather than a compromise, where splitting costs is unremarkable, and where "my roommates" appears in conversations well into people's thirties. It is also part of why we keep our platform free. Our first date ideas in Honolulu lean heavily on the islands' greatest economic loophole: the world-class scenery is free.
What the numbers add up to
Put together, the statistics describe a dating market unlike anywhere on the mainland: a small pool split across islands, a rare male surplus in the prime ages, extraordinary diversity, heavy military churn, marriages that form carefully and last, and an economy that keeps courtship humble. It is exactly the market the national apps were not designed for, and exactly the one a free Hawaii dating site built around islands and neighborhoods was.
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 one year estimates, via Census Reporter: https://censusreporter.org/profiles/04000US15-hawaii/
- U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census state and county population counts
- CDC National Center for Health Statistics, Stats of the States, Hawaii: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/state-stats/states/hi.html
- CDC NCHS marriage rate rankings: https://blogs.cdc.gov/nchs/?p=7278
- National Center for Family and Marriage Research, Bowling Green State University, divorce rate geographic variation: https://www.bgsu.edu/ncfmr/resources/data/family-profiles/schweizer-divorce-rate-2017-fp-18-21.html
- The Williams Institute, UCLA School of Law, 2020 Census Snapshot for Hawaii: https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020-Census-Snapshots-HI-Sep-2025.pdf
Citing this page? Feel free to reference any statistic here with a link back to this page as the compilation source, or cite the primary sources directly using the links above. Questions about the data: support@hawaiidating.net.
