1. Skip to navigation
  2. Skip to content
  3. Skip to sidebar

Chart Gallery

The Chart Gallery provides a sample of charts we find useful for understanding Hawaii's economy

Statewide Construction Spending vs Jobs

During the boom and bust cycles in the construction industry, real construction spending and contracting jobs move closely together.  (Real spending is measured by the general excise contracting tax base deflated by the Honolulu single-family home construction cost index.)  For more data on construction in Hawaii, visit the UHERO Data Portal Construction table.

Single Family Median Resale Prices

Important determinants of  home prices are of course household income and mortgage interest rates. This chart compares median single family home prices on Oahu to an " affordable mortgage "  For more data  visit the UHERO Data Portal Residential Real estate table.

Real GDP per capita

The growth rate of real Gross Domestic Product per capita is one measure of changes in living standards.  This chart compares data for the US and Hawaii, where Hawaii nominal GDP is deflated using the Honolulu Consumer Price Index.  Unfortunately there are no GDP deflators for states.  The basic story here is that Hawaii has significantly underperformed compared to the US economy over the past 20 years.

2012 Visitor Arrivals Mix

The mix of visitors to Hawaii is changing, with  Japanese visitors to the Islands declining since the late 90s, Canadian visitors nearly doubling in number since 2001, and more recently significant growth in visitors from China, Korea, and other parts of the Pacific Rim.   

Total Air Seats Outlook (Seasonally Adjusted) Statewide

An important leading indicator for visitor arrivals to the state is the number of air seats airlines expect to fly.  This data (provide by the Hawaii Tourism Authority) is available monthly, but each month represents the number of air seats for a three month period including the reference month.  The dramatic drop in air seats that occurred in the Fall of 2008 with the collapse of Aloha airlines and ATA airlines is only gradually being replaced by Hawaiian, Alaska and others.

Real Visitor Spending

Total visitor spending deflated by the Honolulu Consumer Price Index  (an admittedly rough proxy for a tourism cost index)  shows the  lack of growth in visitor spending to Hawaii's economy since the late 1980s.

If you would like to see a specific chart or have questions, drop us an email.