Waialua () 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 ...

and North Shore community in the Waialua District on the island 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 ...

, City & County of Honolulu,

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. As of the 2020 census, the CDP had a population of 4,062. Waialua was one of the six original districts of ancient Hawaii on the island, known as ''moku''. Waialua is a former (sugar) mill town and residential area, quite different in its quiet ambiance from nearby

Haleiwa Haleiwa () is a North Shore community and census-designated place (CDP) in the Waialua District of the island of Oahu, City and County of Honolulu. Haleiwa is located on Waialua Bay, the mouth of Anahulu Stream (also known as Anahulu River). ...

, which is more commercial and tourist oriented. The Waialua Sugar Mill is the center of this town and the historical base of its plantation history. 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 Waialua is 96791.

Geography

Waialua is located at 21°34'31" North, 158°7'46" West (21.575300, -158.129457), southwest of

, reached on Waialua Beach Road (State Rte. 82) or Kaukonahua Road (State Rte. 830). Kaukonahua Road turns eastward and, as State Rte. 803 then 801 runs up into the central plateau of Oahu to Wahiawā or (as 803) to Schofield Barracks. Farrington Highway (State Rte. 930) runs westward to Mokulēia. 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 8.30% water.

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 2000, there were 3,761 people, 1,128 households, and 882 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 1,219 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 15.34%

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 ...

, 0.37%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

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 ...

, 0.05% Native American, 51.85% Asian, 3.96%

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 ...

, 1.04% from other races, and 27.39% from two or more races. 6.54% 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 1,128 households, out of which 29.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.4% 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, 14.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.8% were non-families. 17.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.31 and the average family size was 3.71. In the CDP the population was spread out, with 23.9% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 26.4% from 25 to 44, 23.1% from 45 to 64, and 18.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 104.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.3 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $46,763, and the median income for a family was $51,801. Males had a median income of $29,607 versus $23,716 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 $17,220. 11.7% of the population and 8.9% 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, 15.0% of those under the age of 18 and 9.0% 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 Waialua Post Office at 67-079 Nauahi Street. The postal code is 96791. In 2017, the state approved NRG Energy, Inc., to build a 49 megawatt solar farm project near Waialua called Kawailoa Solar. HECO will buy electricity from this solar farm at 11 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for 22 years. On September 10, 2019, the 49 megawatt Kawailoa Solar developed by Clearway Energy Group began its operation. Originally started by the developer SunEdison, Hawaiian Electric broke its ties to the firm in February 2016 before SunEdison's bankruptcy proceedings. San Francisco-based Clearway's predecessor, NRG Energy's Community Solar division, took over the project at the end of November 2016. On January 22, 2019, the Clearway Energy Group obtained NRG Community Solar's assets.

Education

Hawaii Department of Education operates public schools. Waialua Elementary School and Waialua High & Intermediate School are in the CDP. The

Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu The Catholic Diocese of Honolulu ( la, Diœcesis Honoluluensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church that comprises the entire state of Hawaii and the unincorporated Hawaiian Islands. The Diocese of H ...

operates St. Michael School, a K-8 school. Hawaii State Public Library System operates the Waialua Library.

History

Many of the current families living in Waialua are the results of agricultural industry which began in the early 20th century. There was an increased demand for workers as the industry grew, resulting in workers being brought in from China, Portugal, Japan, Korea, Puerto Rico, Philippines, Spain and other areas. Upon arriving in Hawaii, many of these workers were assigned to work in the

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus '' Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalk ...

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Th ...

s in Waialua. During the late 1980s and into the 1990s, the sugar production decreased as increasing labor and production costs caused producers to move overseas. Many of the families brought to Waialua during the sugar rush remained here and many of their descendants reside there today. During World War II the twin guns from USS Saratoga were installed off Kamehameha Highway near Waialua for use as gun batteries attached to Hawaiian Pineapple Company Camp Brodie 4.

References

{{Authority control Census-designated places in Honolulu County, Hawaii Populated coastal places in Hawaii