Languages Spoken in Hawaii: Map and County Data
Languages Spoken Across Hawaii Counties
According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2011–2015 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, about 332,000 people age 5 and older in Hawaii speak a language other than English at home, representing 25.2% of the state’s population age 5+. Other Pacific Island languages are the most spoken non-English language group, with about 115,000 speakers, followed by Tagalog / Filipino and Japanese.
Most Spoken Non-English Languages in Hawaii
The most spoken non-English languages in Hawaii are other Pacific Island languages, Tagalog / Filipino, and Japanese. Other Pacific Island languages are spoken at home by about 115,000 people, or roughly 8.8% of the state’s population age 5+.
Key Language Findings for Hawaii
About 332,000 people in Hawaii speak a language other than English at home, representing 25.2% of residents age 5 and older.
The most spoken non-English languages in Hawaii are other Pacific Island languages, Tagalog / Filipino, and Japanese.
Other Pacific Island languages are the most spoken non-English language group in Hawaii, with about 115,000 speakers, representing roughly 8.8% of residents age 5 and older.
Honolulu County has the largest population speaking other Pacific Island languages in Hawaii, with about 76,900 speakers.
Honolulu County has the largest population speaking a language other than English at home, with more than 252,000 residents.
While other Pacific Island languages are the most spoken non-English language group statewide, Vietnamese is the leading non-English language in Kalawao County.
How Language Use Varies Across Hawaii Counties
Language patterns differ sharply by county. Other Pacific Island languages are the leading non-English language group across most of Hawaii, but county-level rankings show large local communities speaking Tagalog / Filipino, Japanese, Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese, and other languages.
Honolulu County has the largest number of residents speaking a language other than English at home, while Kalawao County has the highest share relative to its age-5+ population, at 32.1%. In Kalawao County, Vietnamese is the leading non-English language, showing how statewide rankings can differ substantially at the local level.
English Proficiency and Language Access in Hawaii
Speaking a language other than English at home does not necessarily mean someone has limited English proficiency. Census table B16001 also separates language groups by whether residents report speaking English "very well" or less than "very well," providing additional context for organizations planning language access services. For a broader look at limited English proficiency across the country, explore Boostlingo's LEP State Map.
Plan Language Access Around the Communities You Serve
Boostlingo helps healthcare, government, education, legal, and business organizations connect people with interpreting and translation services across hundreds of languages.
Explore Interpreter ServicesSearch or sort the full county dataset to compare the share of residents speaking a language other than English at home and the six most spoken non-English languages in each county.
| County | % Other Language | Other-Language Speakers | #1 Language | #2 Language | #3 Language | #4 Language | #5 Language | #6 Language | Population Age 5+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kalawao County | 27 | Vietnamese 9 | Other Pacific Island 9 | Chinese 5 | Spanish 3 | Japanese 1 | — | 84 | |
| Honolulu County | 252,192 | Other Pacific Island 76,932 | Tagalog / Filipino 45,389 | Japanese 38,133 | Chinese 31,120 | Spanish 16,899 | Korean 16,485 | 919,700 | |
| Maui County | 32,799 | Other Pacific Island 16,652 | Tagalog / Filipino 6,189 | Spanish 3,895 | Japanese 2,220 | French 636 | German 466 | 150,780 | |
| Kauai County | 13,962 | Other Pacific Island 6,594 | Tagalog / Filipino 2,971 | Spanish 1,040 | Japanese 971 | Chinese 592 | German 408 | 65,159 | |
| Hawaii County | 32,697 | Other Pacific Island 15,021 | Tagalog / Filipino 5,078 | Spanish 3,939 | Japanese 3,865 | Korean 1,147 | Chinese 608 | 179,519 |
About the Data
Data on this page comes from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey 2011–2015 5-Year Estimates, table B16001, Language Spoken at Home by Ability to Speak English for the Population 5 Years and Over. Statewide and county estimates use the same Census table so the figures can be compared consistently across the page.
The estimates describe languages spoken at home among residents age 5 and older. Census estimates include margins of error, particularly for smaller counties and less common language groups.