The modern state of Hawaii is a small island chain 2,000 miles away from the “contiguous 48” states. It is the only part of the US that isn’t in North America, and the only one in the tropics. It is also a member of a very small club—US states that were once independent nations. The only others are Vermont, Texas, and California. 

The Hawaiian Archipelago composes 137 volcanic islands—not all of which are part of the state—in a curving line some 1,500 miles long. It has the 4th longest coastline in the US at just under 750 miles. 

The 8 main islands are the ‘big island’ of Hawai’i, Maui, Kaho’olawe, Lana’i, Moloka’i, O’ahu, Kaua’i, and Ni’ihau. To the northwest lies the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, the third largest such protected zone in the world. 

Is there land for sale on ‘Big Island Hawaii’? Plenty. But you might get better deals looking at less densely populated islands in the chain.

Hawaii has had a human population for just about 1,000 years, the archeologists and cultural historians tell us. It was settled by several peoples, initially from the Marquesas Islands, and then later from Bora Bora and Raiatea. It is believed the ancient Hawaiians had a caste-based society similar in some ways to that of India. 

James Cook may have been the first European to contact the Hawaiians in 1778. Having typical European respect for already-named places, he called the chain The Sandwich Islands, after the Earl of Sandwich who funded the expedition. Cook’s second contact with the locals went…. badly. Cook was killed, and the ships left. Still, Hawaii was known to Europe, and explorers, traders and whalers all paid call from time to time from then on. That wouldn’t be a serious problem for almost 100 years.

Not long later, in 1795, the various chiefdoms of the Hawaiian Islands were subjugated Under King Kamehameha the Great. The House of Kamehameha ruled the Kingdom of Hawaii until 1872. By 1874, a new king was chosen by US and British powers, and the powers of the King were gradually ceded to overseas business interests. A company of US marines forcibly removed the elected leader from power in 1893. By 1898, it was officially US territory. It remained a territory for some 60 years, largely because the business owners who really ran the territory did not want their workforce to have the protections and rights of full US citizens. The Clinton administration formally apologized for this early bout of “nation building” in 1993.

The naval base at O’ahu played a big part in WW2, of course. By 1959, after a landslide vote, the people of the territory were finally granted statehood. After that, the new state began to modernize quickly. 

By 2020, Hawaii had a population of just under 1.5 million permanent residents. Some 150,000 of them identify as unmixed indigenous Hawaiian, and another 371,000 identify as multiracial, including indigenous ancestry. 

In 2018 alone, nearly 17,000 people moved to Hawaii from elsewhere. This includes around 30,000 people immigrating to Hawaii from outside the US, and 13,000 more people moving from Hawaii to another US state. 

Does this have implications for the availability of land in Hawaii? Yes, but mostly only in the cities. Developed, beachfront land for sale in Hawaii is of course at a tremendous premium. Hawaii land for sale farther from the ‘tourist Meccas’ is much more reasonable. Indeed, there is even farm land in Hawaii for sale. Many start-ups form every year with the intention of growing pineapples, hemp, or other cash crops. 

Hawaii has a typical tropical climate, which is one of the reasons land for sale in Hawaii is so popular. However, the Trade winds ensure that almost all of the weather comes from the east, making the eastern sides of the islands lush jungles where the western sides can be much more sparsely forested. Land in Hawaii for sale on the west side of the mountains far from the sea won’t be expensive, but it might not be what you imagine. 

The high temperatures in summer typically reach around 88F, and rarely drop below 75F even at night. In winter, there is very little difference. Highs tend to be around 83F and night-time lows around 65F. 

Most of the precipitation is rain, and there is plenty of it. However, many of the volcanic mountains that form the cores of the islands are tall enough to receive snowfall. Not much, though. Hawaiian land for sale up in the mountains isn’t suitable for a ski resort, for example.

The highest temperature recorded in Hawaii was only 100F, though. This is the same record high temperature as Alaska. Its lowest recorded temperature was 12F, at the top of Mauna Kea. It has never experienced true sub-zero temperatures. 

One of the things you should consider before looking seriously at land for sale in Hawaii is the school system. Whether you want to love and study in paradise or want to raise a family there, you want to be sure you have access to quality education. Well, land in Hawaii might not be cheap, but it does come with access to some very good schools:

University of Hawaii - Manoa is number 162 out of all US national universities. It is located on Oahu Island, in Honolulu. U Hawaii Manoa enrolls just over 13,000 students per year, and in-state tuition is very reasonable indeed. Its student-to-teacher ratio is just 10:1, and it is well known for its business, biology, and social sciences programs. 

University of Hawaii at Hilo has just under 3,000 pupils most years, with an excellent student-to-teacher ratio. Just under half of its classes have fewer than 20 students. The school was founded in 1947 and is known for health and biomedical studies, social sciences business, and journalism. 

Brigham Young University Hawaii in Lai,e Oahu is a private school whose fees are nevertheless lower than those of many of the Archipelago’s state schools. They enroll around 3000 undergraduate students each year.