HI · GEOID 15005

Kalawao County area

Kalawao County, Hawaii covers 52.8 square miles: 12 square miles of land and 40.8 square miles of water.

Official Census measurements2026 Gazetteer · retrieved September 27, 2026
Land area12 mi²
Water area40.8 mi²
Total area52.8 mi²
National land rank#3200

County outline

Generalized outline of Kalawao County, Hawaii
2025 Census cartographic boundary, fitted to this frame. County maps are not at a common scale. The 2026 area measurements below come from the separate Gazetteer release. Map source and limitations.

Where Kalawao County is located

Kalawao County highlighted on a map of all U.S. county equivalents. Hawaii is repositioned as an inset at the common scale. About the maps

Area breakdown

Land accounts for 22.7% of Kalawao County’s measured area and water for 77.3%. Its combined area converts to 136.8 square kilometers or approximately 33,809 acres.

Green: land · blue: water

MeasurementSquare milesSquare kilometersAcres
Land11.99131.0577,674.2
Water40.836105.76526,135
Total52.827136.82133,809.3

How Kalawao County compares

By original Census land area, Kalawao County ranks #5 of 5 in Hawaii and #3200 of 3,222 nationally. National rankings include the 50 states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

Its land area is 0.019 times the Hawaii county-equivalent median of 619.8 square miles. It accounts for 0.2% of the combined county land area in the state.

See the complete Hawaii ranking · What counts as a county equivalent?

What stands out about Kalawao County?

Kalawao County has more land than 22 of the other 3,221 county equivalents in the dataset.

Land area compared with the typical county equivalent
Kalawao County12 mi²
Hawaii median619.8 mi²
National median604.5 mi²

A median is the middle county-equivalent measurement, not the average of the largest and smallest. All three bars use the same linear scale. Very small areas may appear as a thin sliver; the labels retain their values.

Does including water change its rank?

Using land plus water places Kalawao County at #3,153 nationally by total area, 47 places closer to the top than its land rank. The water assigned to this geography moves it ahead of some county equivalents with more land.

Its water share is 77.3%, compared with a national county-equivalent median of 1.2% — 76.1 percentage points higher. This describes the statistical geography’s land/water mix, not flood exposure or developable land.

Closest positions in the national land ranking

These entries sit immediately beside Kalawao County in the national ranking. They can be in different states and are not necessarily geographic neighbors.

Land rankCounty equivalentLand mi²Comparison
#3199Bristol city, Virginia12.9Compare
#3200Kalawao County, Hawaii12This county
#3201Culebra Municipio, Puerto Rico11.6Compare

Calculated from the same Census release as the area table. Total-area order uses original ALAND + AWATER; water shares and chart labels use published square miles. Calculation details.

Representative coordinates

The Census internal point is 21.218764, -156.974010. It represents a location inside the geography; it is not necessarily the centroid or the address of a courthouse.

Source and precision

U.S. Census Bureau, 2026 Gazetteer Files, Counties. Original ALAND: 31,057,603 m²; AWATER: 105,764,468 m². Rankings use ALAND; exact ties use ascending GEOID. Tables preserve Census-published square miles to three decimals, with conversions based on those values.

Download the official county source ZIP ↗ · Methodology

Common questions

How many acres of land are in Kalawao County?

The land measurement converts to approximately 7,674 acres. Including water, total area is approximately 33,809 acres. One square mile equals 640 acres.

Why might another source show a different area?

Check whether it reports land or total area, its Census vintage, and its rounding. Our guide explains how to reconcile county area figures.

Can this establish a property boundary?

No. Statistical measurements and generalized maps do not establish property lines. Consult the relevant local surveying or land-records authority.

Cite this county

Download the complete CSV or JSON dataset