Walking the beach at Ka'a'awa. Click here:
Ka'a'awa is a town located in the windward district of Ko'olauloa, City & County of Honolulu on the Island of O'ahu, Hawai'i. As of the 2000 Census, the total population for Ka'a'awa was 1,324. In Hawaiian, ka'a'awa means "the wrasse (fish)". The word always delights visitors who stumble on pronouncing three as in a row. In Hawaiian spelling (Ka'a'awa), it is seen that each a is pronounced separately and distinctly, set apart by the two glottal stops (i.e., ka-'A-'AVA).

Ka'a'awa is north of Kāne'ohe Bay (north of Ka'ō'io Point, also Kalaeoka'ō'io), and the Pacific Ocean shore here is fronted by a broad fringing reef with a narrow, but quite inviting beach (Kanenelu Beach, Kalae'ō'io Beach Park, and Ka'a'awa Beach Park). The around-the-island-highway (Kamehameha Highway, State Rte. 83) and the houses and other buildings comprising the town, are confined to a relatively narrow belt along the coast. However, a long valley extends inland. Ka'a'awa Valley is part of Kualoa Ranch and used for various tourist activities as well as filming. Major films incorporating significant views of the valley include George of the Jungle and Jurassic Park.

The U.S. postal code for Ka'a'awa is 96730.

Geography

Ka'a'awa is located at 21°33'25" North, 157°51'19" West (21.557050, -157.855148)1. Ka'a'awa is north from Kualoa and directly southeast of Kahana Bay. The next place beyond Kahana is Punalu'u.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town had a total area of 2.8 km² (1.1 mi²). 1.5 km² (0.6 mi²) of it was land and 1.3 km² (0.5 mi²) of it was water. The total area was 46.36% water, a ridiculous statistic dependent only on how much of the ocean was included in the census tract (probaby high in this case for including Kahana Bay).

Demographics

As of the 2000 Census, there were 1,324 people, 469 households, and 323 families residing in the Ka'a'awa census tract. The population density was 866.4/km² (2,250.6/mi²). There were 550 housing units at an average density of 359.9/km² (934.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 35.88% White, 0.45% African American, 0.38% Native American, 8.76% Asian, 22.66% Pacific Islander, 1.13% from other races, and 30.74% from two or more races. 8.23% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 469 households out of which 31.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.5% were married couples living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.1% were non-families. 24.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size is 3.36.

In the town the population was spread out with 26.4% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 26.1% from 45 to 64, and 11.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 97.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.6 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $54,500, and the median income for a family was $60,156. Males had a median income of $42,500 versus $28,906 for females. The per capita income for the town was $21,881. 11.8% of the population and 9.0% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 20.2% were under the age of 18 and 3.0% were 65 or older.