State food-access profile · 5 counties
Food access in Hawaii
How far Hawaii residents live from a supermarket, where the food deserts are, and the SNAP, poverty, and vehicle-access context, from the USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019) and the Census ACS (2024).
- 26.7%
- low-access pop.
- 32
- food-desert tracts
- 11.4%
- on SNAP
- 5
- counties
The statewide picture
About 363K Hawaii residents - 26.7% - live in a low-access area, and 32 census tracts across the state are USDA-designated food deserts.
- 363K
- low-access residents
- 73K
- food-desert residents
- 8.2%
- households, no vehicle
- 10.0%
- below poverty line
Shares are population-weighted across the state's tracts, not an average of county percentages. Low access = >1 mile (urban) / >10 miles (rural) from a supermarket.
Where Hawaii stands nationally
Every state colored by its population-weighted low-access share, Hawaii is ringed. Click any state to compare.
USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019), population-weighted · Census ACS 2024 context
The USDA Food Access Research Atlas evaluates every census tract in Hawaii against the same rule used nationwide: a tract is low-access when many residents live more than one mile from a supermarket in urban areas, or more than ten miles in rural areas. Across 5 counties and 1.4M residents, Hawaii's population-weighted low-access share is 26.7%.
A tract becomes a food desert only when its low-access residents are also low-income. That applies to 32 tracts in Hawaii, home to roughly 73K low-income, low-access residents. SNAP participation across the state averages 11.4% of households, and 8.2% of households have no vehicle, the transport gap that turns distance into a real barrier. The county table below is sorted with the highest low-access share first, so the top rows are where distance, income, and vehicle gaps most consistently overlap.
Highest low-access counties in Hawaii
Share of the population living in low-access areas, by county
- Kauai
Kauai County, HI
34.2 % low-access
- Hawaii
Hawaii County, HI
31.3 % low-access
- Maui
Maui County, HI
27 % low-access
- Honolulu
Honolulu County, HI
25.2 % low-access
- Kalawao 0
Kalawao County, HI
0 % low-access
All counties in Hawaii
| County | Low-access | SNAP |
|---|---|---|
| Kauai County | 34.2% | 11.3% |
| Hawaii County | 31.3% | 17.8% |
| Maui County | 27.0% | 10.4% |
| Honolulu County | 25.2% | 10.2% |
| Kalawao County | 0.0% | 7.5% |
Source: USDA ERS Food Access Research Atlas (2019) + U.S. Census Bureau ACS (2024 5-year). Sorted by low-access share, highest first. USDA ERS Food Access Research Atlas (2019) + U.S. Census Bureau ACS (2024 5-year). Sorted by low-access share, highest first.
What this means for the state
- 26.7% of Hawaii residents, about 363K people, live in a low-access area.
- 32 census tracts are USDA food deserts, home to roughly 73K low-income, low-access residents.
- 11.4% of households receive SNAP, and 8.2% have no vehicle.
- Kauai County has the state's highest low-access share at 34.2%.
USDA low-access figures reflect the 2019 Atlas (2010 tract populations); SNAP, poverty, and vehicle context is the Census ACS 2024 5-year estimates.
Frequently Asked Questions
What share of Hawaii has low food access?▼
How many food deserts are in Hawaii?▼
What is the SNAP participation rate in Hawaii?▼
Which county in Hawaii has the worst food access?▼
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service Food Access Research Atlas (2019 edition), 9,228 of roughly 71,700 U.S. census tracts meet the low-income, low-access food-desert threshold. The state and county figures on this page are aggregated from that tract-level data and joined to the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2024 5-Year Estimates, released in December 2025. See our methodology for how the population-weighted shares are computed.
Data current as of (most recent source-data vintage).