Ewa Beach () or simply Ewa () is 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, suc ...

(CDP) located in Ewa District and the City & County of Honolulu along the coast of

Māmala Bay Māmala Bay or Mamala Bay is the near-shore area of the Pacific Ocean between Barbers Point and Diamond Head, Hawaii, Diamond Head on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. The entrance to Pearl Harbor and Honolulu Harbor are in Māmala Bay. Transair Flig ...

on the leeward side of

Oahu Oahu () ( Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over two-thirds of the population of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The island of O ...

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 ...

. As of the 2010 Census, the CDP had a total population of 14,955. The U.S.

postal code A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, PIN or ZIP Code) is a series of letters or digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, included in a postal ...

for Ewa Beach is 96706.

History and etymology

The word ''ewa'' means "stray" in Hawaiian. The name comes from the myth that the gods

Kāne In Hawaiian mythology, Kāne is considered the highest of the three major Hawaiian deities, along with Kū and Lono. He represented the god of procreation and was worshipped as ancestor of chiefs and commoners. Kāne is the creator and gives l ...

and

Kanaloa In the traditions of ancient Hawaii, Kanaloa is a god symbolized by the squid or by the octopus, and is typically associated with Kāne. It is also an alternative name for the island of Kahoolawe. In legends and chants, Kāne and Kanaloa are p ...

threw a stone to determine the boundaries, but it was lost and later found at Pili o Kahe. Hawaiian settlement on the Ewa Plain dates back at least to the 12th Century C.E., at which time

Kanaka maoli Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, First Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians) ( haw, kānaka, , , and ), are the indigenous ethnic group of Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawa ...

expanded the main channel of Puuloa (

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the ...

) before creating fishponds and terraced agricultural fields in the surrounding area. Scholars have recognized Ewa's ancient fishponds as exemplary evidence of Native Hawaiian ingenuity. Before Ewa Beach became a town it was first a huge plantation farm. With of land sublet by Benjamin Dillingham, W.R. Lowrie became the first plantation manager in 1891, when Hawaiʻi was under the rule of Queen Liliʻuokalani. Ewa Beach is significant for its association with Ewa Sugar Plantation. Throughout the twentieth century, it played a very influential role in Hawaii's culture, economy, and politics. Along much of the South Shore of

, Ewa is a reference to the direction of Ewa Beach, roughly westwards along the shore. Related terms are "mauka" (towards the mountains, roughly northwards), "makai" (towards the ocean, roughly South), and Diamond Head or Koko Head, roughly eastwards along the shore.

Geography

Ewa Beach is located at 21°18'56" North, 158°0'26" West. The main thoroughfare is Fort Weaver Road (State Rte. 76) which runs north (away from the coast) past Ewa to Waipahu, connecting there to Farrington Highway (State Rte. 90) and the H-1 freeway. According to 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 th ...

, the CDP has a total area of , of which is land and is water. The total area is 24.06% water, consisting entirely of the Pacific Ocean off the island shore. The Ewa Beach CDP does not include Ocean Pointe, Ewa Gentry, Iroquois Point, or Ewa Villages, though these are included within the postal service's ZIP code for the area.
2000 map: – Compare the maps to the addresses of schools.

Climate

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 inc ...

of 2010, there were 14,955 people, 3,298 households, and 2,891 families residing in the CDP. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

was 10,682.1 people per square mile (4,172.7/km²). There were 3,490 housing units at an average density of 2,492.8 per square mile (973.8/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 8.4%

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 ...

, 0.7%

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 ...

, 0.1% Native American, 50.6% Asian, 12.9%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 0.7% from other races, and 26.6% from two or more races. 11.1% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, 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 viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race. There were 3,298 households, out of which 50.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.8% 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 ...

living together, 17.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 12.3% were non-families. 8.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 4.50 and the average family size was 4.5. In the CDP the population was spread out, with 26.3% under the age of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 24.1% from 25 to 44, 24.9% from 45 to 64, and 14.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36.4 years. For every 100 females there were 97.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.1 males. As of the 2000 census, the median income for a household in the CDP was $57,073, and the median income for a family was $58,104. Males had a median income of $29,512 versus $23,839 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 $14,807. 9.9% of the population and 8.5% of families were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

. Out of the total population, 12.4% of those under the age of 18 and 6.5% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Government and infrastructure

The

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the ...

operates the Ewa Beach Post Office in Ewa Beach. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center is also headquartered here.

Education

Ewa Beach is served by the Hawai'i Department of Education. Elementary schools in the 'Ewa Beach CDP include Ewa Beach, Kaimiloa, and Pohakea. Ilima Intermediate School, and James Campbell High School are in 'Ewa Beach CDP. Schools nearby but outside the CDP include Iroquois Point Elementary School (near but not in the Iroquois Point CDP), Holomua Elementary School, Keone'ula Elementary and 'Ewa Makai Middle. The Hawaii State Public Library System operates the Ewa Beach Public & School Library. Established on the property of Campbell High on August 28, 1971, it is a dual purpose school library and community library.

Little League World Series

In 2005, the team from Ewa Beach, representing (locally) West Oahu and the United States, captured the

Little League World Series The Little League World Series is an annual baseball tournament for children—typically boys—aged 10 to 12 years old, held in the Eastern United States. Originally called the National Little League Tournament, it was later renamed for the Wor ...

crown, beating Curaçao 7–6 in an extra inning after a walk-off home run by Michael Memea.

Notable people

* Bretman Rock (born 1998), social media personality * Tua Tagovailoa (born 1998),

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Am ...

for the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ewa Beach Census-designated places in Honolulu County, Hawaii Beaches of Oahu Populated coastal places in Hawaii