Elevation of Honolulu
19ft
above sea level · 6 m
Honolulu is the capital of Hawaii and its most populous city, with 345,482 people. Of the 50 state capitals, it’s the 2nd lowest.
By the Mapsfera Team
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Place facts
- Coordinates
- 21.31° N · 157.86° W
- In degrees, minutes and seconds: 21° 18′ 25″ N · 157° 51′ 30″ W
- UTM coordinates
- 4Q · 618,414 E · 2,356,547 N
- Zone 4 · NAD83, the official US datum
- Time zone
- Hawaii-Aleutian Time
- UTC−10 all year: no daylight saving time
- Population (2020–2024)
- 345,482 people
- 60.6 sq mi of land · 5,699 people/sq mi
- Elevation model
- USGS 3DEP, 1 m grid
- Lidar from August 2023: the ground height at the city’s reference point.
Population
Honolulu has 345,482 residents according to the Census Bureau’s 2020–2024 American Community Survey. For the Census it isn’t an incorporated city but a census-designated place (CDP) inside the City and County of Honolulu, so it has no annual estimate. Its 60.6 sq mi of land work out to 5,699 people/sq mi.
It’s the most populous of the 163 places the Census counts in Hawaii (cities, towns and CDPs), and holds 24% of the state’s population.
It lies entirely within Honolulu County. Its reference point in the USGS gazetteer is 1.4 mi from the geographic center the Census gives for the city.
Compared with other state capitals
Honolulu sits at 19 ft (6 m) above sea level. Of the 50 state capitals, the highest is Santa Fe (6,997 ft) and the lowest is Providence (9 ft). The average is 1,098 ft: Honolulu is 1,079 ft below it.
The highest point in Hawaii is Mauna Kea, at 13,796 ft according to the USGS: 13,777 ft above Honolulu, 186 mi away in a straight line.
- 49 Honolulu 19 ft
Each color band is 500 m (1,640 ft), the same colors as the map. See the full list
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Frequently asked questions
What people most often ask about the elevation of Honolulu.
What is the elevation of Honolulu?
Honolulu is 19 feet (6 m) above sea level. That’s the ground height from the USGS 3DEP elevation model at the city’s reference point in the official gazetteer (GNIS). The city doesn’t have a single elevation: it rises and falls from one neighborhood to another.
What are the coordinates of Honolulu?
Latitude 21.30694 and longitude -157.85833, in decimal degrees (21° 18′ 25″ N · 157° 51′ 30″ W). In UTM, zone 4: 618,414 E and 2,356,547 N, on NAD83.
How does Honolulu rank among the highest state capitals?
It’s the 2nd lowest of the 50 state capitals. The highest is Santa Fe (6,997 ft) and the lowest is Providence (9 ft).
What county is Honolulu in?
Honolulu County, Hawaii.
Which is higher, Honolulu or San Francisco?
San Francisco. Honolulu sits at 19 ft and San Francisco at 55 ft: a difference of 36 ft, 2,395 mi apart in a straight line.
How is elevation measured?
Elevation is the height above mean sea level. In the US the official reference is the NAVD88 vertical datum. Summits are surveyed on the ground, with leveling and precise GPS. The USGS 3DEP is an elevation model of the whole country, largely from 1-meter lidar: it gives the ground height at every point. That’s why it can differ by a few feet from the official figure of a sharp summit.
Sources
- USGS 3DEP (EPQS service) The elevation: the ground height at the reference point. Public domain.
- USGS GNIS (official gazetteer) The city’s reference point (“Populated Place”). Public domain.
- U.S. Census Bureau, 2020–2024 ACS Population, land area (2025 Gazetteer) and counties. Public domain.
- TIGERweb (U.S. Census Bureau) Which county and city the point falls in. Public domain.
- timezone-boundary-builder The point’s time zone (ODbL, © OpenStreetMap contributors).
- Terrain Tiles, OpenStreetMap and OpenFreeMap The relief shading and the base map (ODbL).
Methodology and sources · Spotted a mistake? Let us know