Honolulu covers almost the whole area of Oahu. Popularly labeled as “The Gathering Place”, Oahu is third largest island in Hawaii and is also where 75% of the state’s population resides. Being the capital city of Hawaii, it is also the largest city in the state. Because of its magnificent harbors and long stretches of coastline, the city became Hawaii’s cultural, economic, political and educational center.
Situated on the southern side of Oahu, Honolulu is the center of economic activities in Hawaii. Many tourists often have the misconception that it is just another small area, although many of the locals actually call the place “downtown”. If you happen to hear locals say that they are heading into “town”, this usually means that they will be visiting bustling commercial centers such as the business district and Waikiki.
Other places in Honolulu, which are not generally classified as a “town”, are usually referred to as suburban areas. Examples of these are Manoa, Diamond Head, Dowsett and Kahala. Although these locations carry Honolulu real estate in their address, no resident will actually say that they are residing in town.
Honolulu is generally referred to as both city and county, which can also be quite confusing at times. For example, your location is still in Honolulu even though you are actually in Kailua. In the event that you decide to reside here, you would probably be residing in “town”, at the “windward side” or in Ewa Beach. Despite that, your place of residence will still remain as long as you live in any area of Oahu.
To further complicate matters, it is not uncommon to hear the term “City and County of Honolulu”, which is primarily used to refer to the governing body of Oahu Island, despite the fact that you don’t actually reside in Honolulu City! For locals though, we don’t mention anything about being in Honolulu not unless we are actually in the downtown area. You don’t really need to worry much about this since many of the small cities and communities are just within the Honolulu real estate market. This means that residents are quite specific in pinpointing their place of residence. More info
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Listing courtesy of List Sotheby's Int'l Realty.
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Listing courtesy of Keller Williams Honolulu.
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Based on information from the Multiple Listing Service of Hicentral MLS, Ltd. Listings last updated on . Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Copyright: 2026 by HiCentral MLS, Ltd. IDX information is provided exclusively for consumers' personal, non-commercial use. It may not be used for any purpose other than to identify prospective properties consumers may be interested in purchasing.
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American Dream Realty
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