Punalu'u is a rural community in the Ko'olauloa District on the Island of O'ahu, City & County of Honolulu. In Hawaiian, punalu'u means "coral dived for", or in the case of the fishpond once located here, possibly "spring dived for". There is a very small commercial center located beside Punalu'u Stream, and several condominium projects, including a high rise building, located at Haleaha Beach and Kaluanui Beach. As of the 2000 Census, the town had a total population of 881.
A fringing reef extends off the shoreline. There are several beaches and a beach park in Punalu'u, including Punalu'u Beach Park, Punalu'u Beach, Haleaha Beach, and Kaluanui Beach. Sugar cane was once grown on the narrow coastal plain inland from the highway.
The U.S. postal code for Punalu'u is 96717.
Geography
Punaluu is located at 21°35'33" North, 157°53'49" West (21.592600, -157.896989)1. The town is north of Kahana Bay and Ka'a'awa and south of Hau'ula along Kamehameha Highway (State Rte. 83). Kaluanui Stream and Sacred Falls is located between Punalu'u and Hau'ula.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 3.2 km² (1.2 mi²). 2.1 km² (0.8 mi²) of it is land and 1.1 km² (0.4 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 35.77% water, a meaningless statistic resulting from counting some portion of the nearshore waters in the census tract.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 881 people, 305 households, and 196 families residing in the town. The population density was 425.2/km² (1,106.0/mi²). There were 439 housing units at an average density of 211.9/km² (551.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 32.69% White, 0.57% African American, 0.23% Native American, 10.22% Asian, 24.06% Pacific Islander, 0.23% from other races, and 32.01% from two or more races. 6.02% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 305 households out of which 34.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.3% were married couples living together, 13.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.7% were non-families. 29.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.32.
In the town the population was spread out with 26.0% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 24.3% from 25 to 44, 25.0% from 45 to 64, and 16.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 94.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.4 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $32,143, and the median income for a family was $32,500. Males have a median income of $32,188 versus $21,719 for females. The per capita income for the town was $19,067. 19.9% of the population and 15.8% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 24.5% were under the age of 18 and 0.8% were 65 or older.
