Signature · 32 LILA tracts (6.4/county)
Food access in Hawaii
Hawaii sits in the upper third nationally on low-access (26.7%, +4.6 pts vs U.S.), with USDA FARA 2019 + ACS 2024 context for 5 counties.
- 26.7%
- low-access pop.
- 32
- food-desert tracts
- 11.4%
- on SNAP
- 5
- counties
USDA FARA state access plate
State HI · Hawaii
LA-ELEVATED · ABOVE-NATIONAL · LILA-CLUSTER · SNAP-TYPICAL · VEH-TYPICAL · BOOK-THIN
- LA-ELEVATED 26.7% low-access
- ABOVE-NATIONAL +4.6 pts vs US
- LILA-CLUSTER 32 food-desert tracts
- SNAP-TYPICAL 11.4% SNAP
- VEH-TYPICAL 8.2% no vehicle
- BOOK-THIN 5 counties
Nearest low-access peer: Arizona (+ 0.1 pts)
Hawaii's slim county book (5)
Hawaii covers 5 counties among 51 states and DC (atlas inventory, not a food-access quality ranking). Orthogonal to the low-access / SNAP charts below.
Hawaii vs all states by county count
Where this state's county inventory sits among every tracked jurisdiction
5 49th of 51 higher than 2 of 51 states
Jurisdictions, banded by county inventory
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more states. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source USDA Food Access Research Atlas / Census county inventory · 2026-06-23
Upper-band statewide picture
According to USDA FARA, Hawaii is in the upper third on low-access (26.7%, #15 of 50; ~363K residents) - +4.6 pts vs the U.S. mean.
- #15
- among states by low-access
- 363K
- low-access residents
- 73K
- food-desert residents
- 8.2%
- households, no vehicle
Population-weighted tract shares (not a county average). Upper-band states often pair elevated low-access with clustered LILA tracts.
Hawaii among higher low-access states
Hawaii ringed at #15 of 50 by population-weighted low-access. Click any state to compare.
USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019), population-weighted · Census ACS 2024 context
Signature read: 32 LILA tracts (6.4/county) .
Hawaii sits in the upper third of states by population-weighted low-access share (26.7% , #15 of 50). The Atlas marks 32 food-desert tracts here (73K low-income low-access residents). Kauai County alone holds about 6.3% of the state's low-access residents.
States near Hawaii's elevated low-access or SNAP band
Two USDA/ACS-derived peer sets for Hawaii. Neighbourhood chart below is local poles; these panels are full-corpus nearest neighbours excluding this state.
Similar low-access share
Nearest population-weighted low-access rates (26.7% here).
- Arizona · 26.8% low-access
- Kansas · 26.4% low-access
- Louisiana · 26.4% low-access
- Mississippi · 26.4% low-access
Similar SNAP participation
Nearest household SNAP rates (11.4% here), deduped against the low-access panel.
- Texas · 11.6% SNAP
- Washington · 11.6% SNAP
- Wisconsin · 11.1% SNAP
- Connecticut · 11.8% SNAP
Source: USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019) + Census ACS 2024 SNAP. Floor county_count ≥ 5.
Hawaii vs nearby high low-access peers
Poles + nearest state peers, not a full national reprint
- NM
NM 31.7%
31.7 % low-access
- AZ
AZ 26.8%
26.8 % low-access
- HI
HI 26.7%
26.7 % low-access
- KS
KS 26.4%
26.4 % low-access
- LA
LA 26.4%
26.4 % low-access
- MS
MS 26.4%
26.4 % low-access
- DC 4.6
DC 4.6%
4.6 % low-access
Highest low-access counties in Hawaii
Kauai County ~6.3% of statewide low-access residents
- 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.
Figures from USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019) and Census ACS 2024 5-year. Compiled . Methodology · All states.
PlainFoodAccess renders this state summary directly from the USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019) and U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (2024 5-year estimates), no number is typed in by an editor. Statewide figures for Hawaii are population-weighted aggregates of county Atlas and ACS records. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-06-23. Primary sources: USDA Food Access Research Atlas and Census ACS 5-year estimates.