Hawaii has five counties. Four of them — Hawaii, Honolulu, Maui, and Kauai — operate as ordinary local governments with elected mayors and councils. The fifth, Kalawao, exists on paper and on a small peninsula on Molokai, but it has no elected officials and is run by the state Department of Health. Those five counties are the only layer of local government in the state, because Hawaii has no incorporated cities or towns at all.
The Five Counties and the Islands They Cover
Hawaii Revised Statutes § 4-1 lays out the five counties and assigns the islands to each.1Justia. Hawaii Code 4-1 – Districts, Generally
- Hawaii County covers the entire island of Hawaii, the Big Island. It is divided into nine administrative districts, including Hilo, Kona, and Puna.
- Honolulu County, officially the City and County of Honolulu, covers the island of Oahu plus various small, mostly uninhabited northwestern islands.
- Maui County covers Maui, Lanai, Kahoolawe, and most of Molokai.
- Kauai County covers Kauai, Niihau, and Kaula.
- Kalawao County covers only the Kalaupapa Peninsula on Molokai’s north shore.
Several counties govern multiple islands separated by open ocean. Maui County alone administers communities on four of them. That physical separation shapes service delivery and political representation across the state.
How the Four Functioning Counties Are Set Up
The Hawaii Constitution lets each county write and adopt its own charter without needing approval from the state legislature.2Justia. Hawaii Revised Statutes 46-1.5 – General Powers and Limitation of the Counties All four functioning counties use a mayor-council form of government. An elected mayor runs the executive branch. An elected council passes ordinances and sets the budget.
Mayors serve four-year terms in every county. Council sizes and election cycles vary by charter. Hawaii County, for example, has a nine-member council on two-year terms. Because no city or town government sits below the county, the county mayor is the highest-ranking local official any Hawaii resident deals with.
No Cities, No Towns Anywhere in the State
Hawaii is the only state where every populated place is unincorporated. The U.S. Census Bureau recognizes 151 places in Hawaii, all of them census-designated places rather than incorporated municipalities.3U.S. Census Bureau. Hawaii Honolulu, Hilo, Lahaina, and the rest are geographic areas, not self-governing cities. None of them has a city council, a municipal budget, or a city police force.
Honolulu’s official name confuses people on this point. The city and county were consolidated in 1907 into a single entity governing all of Oahu.4City and County of Honolulu. City and County of Honolulu The mayor of the City and County of Honolulu is the mayor of Oahu. There is no separate city government underneath.
To give neighborhoods a voice without creating city councils, Honolulu set up 33 neighborhood boards across Oahu. The boards are advisory. They review proposed developments and make recommendations, but they cannot pass ordinances or spend money.5Neighborhood Commission Office. Neighborhood Commission Office The other counties don’t use this system.
What Hawaii’s Counties Handle
With nothing below them, counties take on work that would be split among cities, towns, and special districts in most states. Chapter 46 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes gives them broad authority over local affairs.6Justia. Hawaii Revised Statutes Chapter 46 – General Provisions
Each county runs its own police department, fire department, parks system, refuse collection, and sewage treatment. Counties build and maintain local roads, operate public transit, and manage harbors. Water supply is also a county function. On the Big Island, the Department of Water Supply is a semi-autonomous county agency operating 23 separate water systems.7Department of Water Supply. Ka Wai A Kane – Water, Our Most Precious Resource
County planning departments handle zoning, building permits, and the Special Management Area permits Hawaii requires for development near the shoreline.8Maui County, HI. CP Special Management Area (SMA) Assessment Counties also assess and collect real property taxes, with each council setting its own rates for its budget needs.9City and County of Honolulu. Real Property Tax Rates for Tax Year July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026
Two more functions catch newcomers off guard. Liquor licensing runs through a county Department of Liquor Control on each island.10Hawaii County, HI. Department of Liquor Control Vehicle registration and driver licensing are also county-level, not run by a statewide DMV.11Hawaii County, HI. Vehicle Registration and Licensing Moving between islands means dealing with a new county office for both.
Policing is a county job. Hawaii has no county sheriffs. The state keeps a Sheriff Division under the Department of Public Safety for state buildings, courts, and airports, but every island’s day-to-day policing is handled by its county department.
One major area counties do not touch is public education. The Hawaii Constitution requires a single statewide school system, which makes Hawaii the only state with one unified school district.12Justia. Hawaii Constitution Article X Counties play no role in funding or running K–12 schools.
Why Kalawao Is Counted Differently
Kalawao is a county in name and statute, but it has none of the usual county machinery. No mayor. No council. No county departments. Hawaii Revised Statutes § 326-34 places it under the jurisdiction of the state Department of Health and specifically provides that general county laws do not apply there.13Justia. Hawaii Code 326-34 – County of Kalawao; Governance
The arrangement traces back to 1866, when the peninsula became an enforced settlement for people with Hansen’s disease. A small number of former patients still live there. The site is also now Kalaupapa National Historical Park, with access tightly controlled: state law requires a permit for every visitor, caps daily visitation at 100 people, and bars anyone under 16.14National Park Service. Basic Information – Kalaupapa National Historical Park With fewer than 100 residents and no prospect of growth, Kalawao functions less as a working government than as a legal designation that preserves the settlement’s history and the state’s health care obligations to the people who remain.
So the headline count is five, but the practical answer most people need is four: four counties with mayors, councils, police, and tax bills, plus one small peninsula the state looks after on its own.