Honolulu, which is the capital of Hawaii is a cosmopolitan city located on the south coast near the Koolau mountains in Oahu. It is one of the top destinations to live and visit due to the famous Pearl Harbor facility, which means "protected harbor" in the Hawaiian language. It has a population of over 370,000 people. It can be expensive to live in Honolulu, but most of the residents would never live anywhere else. The Koolau mountain range is also home to a volcano that has been extinct for thousands of years. Honolulu has a diverse array of different nationalities ranging from a large Asian community, Hispanic, white non-Hispanic, and native Pacific Islanders, as well as a range of ages from 43 to 65 years of age. Twelve percent of Honolulu has experienced poverty, and the average household size contains two or more people with most homes being occupied by married families.
The income in Honolulu is much higher than the United States, but the cost of living and housing is also higher. Most median income range over $50,000 a year with a Per Capita of over $25,000. There was a thirty two percent range for Social Security. The food industry, hotel industry, and tourism were the top related jobs. Pearl Harbor and other military establishments make up a large percent of employment in Honolulu, which keeps the unemployment rate down. Honolulu is the main hub for culture, business, and politics. Before the fall of the Hawaiian monarchy sugar was a main source of industry, and many plantations and fields have been turned into Commercial development. The average prices for homes have been in the $450,000 range, and more affordable property taxes which can be a huge benefit for people moving to Honolulu. Rental costs for many homes were in the range of $900 per month while the cost of a monthly mortgage was in the $1,500 range.
The unified school system, which is the only one in Hawaii compared to the rest of the United States, has seventeen students to every one teacher, and the funding rate for a student is over $7,000. Hawaii has the lowest drop out rate for students with only a one percent drop out rate. There were a total of 82,000 students enrolled in the Honolulu schools, and the number of college students was over 30,000. Thirty four percent of the Honolulu population has a bachelor or masters degree for people over the age of 25. The colleges in Hawaii are Hawaii Pacific Univerity, University of Hawaii at Manoa, and Brigham Young University.
The lolani Palace is the only royal palace located in the United States and it still has a large cultural influence to the previous monarchy that prevailed the Island hundreds of years ago. The last part of the twentieth century seen the end of Hawaiian rulers after they were expelled, which then gave rise to making Hawaii the fiftieth state in the United States. Hawaiians are proud of their native heritage and enjoy being acknowledged along with native Alaskans and Indians.
The capitol building is a large tourist destination for its symbolism of a volcano. Other top tourist attractions are the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial, Pearl Harbor, the National Cemetery of the Pacific, and the Battleship Missouri Memorial. The most popular beaches in Honolulu are Waikiki Beach due to its warm climate, and many opportunities for surfing, sailing, kayaking, scuba diving, outrigger canoeing, and snorkeling.
When the temperatures become too warm in Honolulu there are climatic winds that bring much needed relief to balance the warm summers. Most residents in Honolulu do not even notice the weather changes throughout the different seasons since the weather seems to stay the same all year round with average temperatures at a nice 77 degrees and the summers reach no more than 81 degrees. Even the winter months have manageable temperatures of 73 degrees. Honolulu gets less precipitation than the rest of the Hawaiian islands. The most popular seasons for game fishing are spring and summer where anglers can catch plenty of tuna and marlin.
