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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Wednesday, August 6, 2003

Census reveals exodus

By Timothy Hurley
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hawai'i's economic struggles in the 1990s fueled an exodus to the Mainland at a rate that led all 50 states, according to census data released today.

More than 201,000 residents left the state between 1995 and 2000, the report said, while 125,000 moved here from elsewhere in the United States. That means Hawai'i lost 65.4 people for every 1,000 living here in 1995, a net rate that was first among states and exceeded only by the District of Columbia, which lost 81.7 people for every 1,000.

The Census Bureau also said California was the state of choice among people leaving the Islands. Nevada also saw a sizable Hawai'i migration. In fact, the Hawai'i-Nevada route was the most lopsided in the country, with the flow of people from Hawai'i to Nevada six times greater than the reverse flow.

The data did not include Hawai'i migration to and from foreign countries. It does include members of the military, but their numbers did not likely affect the overall population data because the number of service people based in Hawai'i was fairly constant in the years covered by the report.

The domestic numbers didn't surprise Mike Deming, who lived on Maui for 18 years before moving to Las Vegas about seven years ago. He said he left in 1996 after the economy stalled and his employer, Hawaiian Dredging, began laying off workers.

"If there was work, we'd still be on Maui," Deming said. "But it was just so slow."

Responding to a classified ad in a Las Vegas newspaper someone had sent him, Deming interviewed for a job over the phone and started work as a project manager for a commercial construction company as soon as he and his wife arrived in town.

"The economy here is just phenomenal," he said.

Leroy Laney, professor of economics and finance at Hawai'i Pacific University, said the migration figures are not surprising when comparing the weak Hawai'i economy in the 1990s to more robust conditions on the Mainland.

Hawai'i lost jobs from 1993 to 1996, he said, followed by two years in which job growth was flat. While 1999 was a better year and job growth achieved 3 percent in 2000, it apparently wasn't enough to deter those lured by opportunities on the Mainland, Laney said.

Gary Fuller, director of the University of Hawai'i's Population Studies Program, said that while it's not surprising a lot of people left the Islands, he said it's "astounding" that Hawai'i surpassed such rural states as South Dakota and West Virginia in net migration losses, since those places have been losing residents for years.

Fuller said the migration flow would be even more dramatic if the report counted the people who move here, have trouble adjusting and leave within a short time.

Sharon Park, managing director of Aloha International Moving Service, said two decades ago twice as many people were moving to Hawai'i than were leaving. But those numbers have evened out in recent years, she said.

The West, which includes Hawai'i and Alaska, had the highest percentage of any region in terms of people who changed residences between 1995 and 2000, according to the census. Fifty-one percent of people who lived in the 13 western states in 2000 were living somewhere else in 1995 — be it in a different state or another house just down the street.

The census report, based on sample data, found that 44,192 Hawai'i residents moved to California, the same state that provided the largest number of migrants to Hawai'i, 32,321.

Other top destinations for Mainland-bound residents were Nevada, Washington, Texas, Virginia and Florida.

Park said most of Aloha International's Mainland moves have been to California, Nevada, Washington and Florida. Lately, she said, it seems a lot more younger people are moving to Las Vegas.

Former Maui Community College professor Dick Mayer recalled how a number of students told him they were moving to Las Vegas and other Mainland locales because of the lower cost of living and better job opportunities.

Laney said the economy has improved in the past few years, and his guess is that Hawai'i's outmigration rate has eased somewhat, with population gains maybe even outpacing losses.

Don't tell Helen Pahukoa about Hawai'i's improving economy. Pahukoa, a construction secretary, sold her Pa'ia, Maui, house and arrived at her new Las Vegas home just two weeks ago. The single mother of four described life on Maui as a constant struggle.

"If my car broke down, we would struggle for two months just to make ends meet," she said.

Pahukoa quit her job, sold her Maui residence and, taking advantage of Nevada's low-interest rates and inexpensive housing prices, purchased a bigger house with a pool — and her mortgage payments are $300 less. She hasn't even looked for a job yet, but she has seen the classified ads and the pay scale for her type of job is higher than she was making in Hawai'i.

"I did this (move) for my kids, for more opportunities," she said.