Nāālehu ( haw, Nāālehu) is a community in

Hawaii County Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

, United States. is Hawaiian for "the volcanic ashes". It is one of the southernmost communities with a post office in the 50 states of the United States. (''See

List of extreme points of the United States This is a list of points in the United States that are farther north, south, east or west than any other location in the country. Also included are extreme points in elevation, extreme distances and other points of peculiar geographic interest ...

.'') For statistical purposes, the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

has defined Naalehu as a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

(CDP). The census definition of the area may not precisely correspond to local understanding of the area with the same name. The population was 866 at the 2010 census, down from 919 at the 2000 census.

Geography

Nāālehu is located near the southern tip of the island of

at (19.065925, -155.587528) in the Kaū District. It is bordered to the west by Waiohinu, and

Discovery Harbour Discovery Harbour is an unincorporated community and census-designated place on the island of Hawaii in Hawaii County, Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about fr ...

is to the southwest. (The two communities are

s but do not have post offices.) According to the

, the Nāālehu CDP has a total area of , all of it land.

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2000, there were 919 people, 290 households, and 209 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 332 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 8.38%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 0.33%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.11% Native American, 45.59%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 13.82%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...

, 0.33% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 31.45% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 5.44% of the population. There were 290

household A household consists of two or more persons who live in the same dwelling. It may be of a single family or another type of person group. The household is the basic unit of analysis in many social, microeconomic and government models, and is im ...

s, out of which 31.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.1% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 11.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.9% were non-families. 25.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.17 and the average family size was 3.77. In the CDP the population was spread out, with 30.6% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 23.4% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 16.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.3 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $31,750, and the median income for a family was $36,964. Males had a median income of $23,625 versus $20,125 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the CDP was $11,755. 20.4% of the population and 16.8% of families were below the

poverty Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse social, economic, and political causes and effects. When evaluating poverty in ...

line. Out of the total population, 22.0% of those under the age of 18 and 6.6% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Points of interest

Nāālehu is home to one of several ground communication stations operated by

Bigelow Aerospace Bigelow Aerospace is an American aeronautics and outer space technology company which manufactures and develops expandable space station modules. Bigelow Aerospace was founded by Robert Bigelow in 1998, and is based in North Las Vegas, Nevada. ...

that is used to communicate with its space modules in orbit. The southernmost church in the United States is Lighthouse Baptist Church.

Notable residents

* Shigeo Kikuchi, Buddhist missionary and memoirist

Climate

Gallery

Image:South Point Wind Farm.jpg, South Point Wind Farm

References

External links

{{Authority control Census-designated places in Hawaii County, Hawaii Populated places on Hawaii (island) Populated coastal places in Hawaii