What’s on the minds of Hawai‘i residents?
Pacific Resource Partnership asked in its Winter 2025 Hawai‘i Perspectives survey and more than 900 residents across the Islands answered.
PRP is a nonprofit founded in 1987 that represents the Hawai‘i Regional Council of Carpenters, the largest construction union in the state with nearly 6,000 members, and more than 250 contractors.
This is the fifth iteration of the survey, which was conducted by Honolulu-based Anthology Research from July 1 to Aug. 10, 2025.
Here’s what the survey found:
- When it comes to the state of the state, pessimism prevails — but the outlook is improving, at least compared to the previous year. Some 47% of respondents say that Hawai‘i is still “on the wrong track,” which is down from 53% last year. Only 36% say the state is on the “right track,” but that number is up from 28%. The remaining 17% are unsure of which track the state is on. Looking at the nation, 63% of the surveyed residents believe the U.S. is on the wrong track. Meanwhile, 28% believe the country is headed in the “right direction,” up from 21% last year.
- Households earning under $75,000 were less likely to say they were better off than a year ago. Only 14% reported an improvement, compared to 36% of households earning more than $150,000.
“If you’re local here, just trying to make ends meet, you’re basically working four jobs or you’re forced to live with someone. That’s how you make ends meet,” a focus group participant is quoted as saying in the report. - The affordability and availability of housing, longstanding concerns in Hawai‘i, continues to be a top issue concerning residents across the Islands.
When presented with potential solutions to remove longstanding building roadblocks, respondents were willing to make hard calls about land use, permitting and approvals, density and development near transit stations,” the report states. “Expediting housing for local families will require new approaches and fresh thinking." - The survey found that 75% of respondents agree that government red tape is a barrier to more housing while 11% disagree; 75% agree that time should be limited for permitting, environmental or cultural review for new housing while 10% disagreed; 71% agree that Hawai‘i needs to build more housing as quickly as possible and 24% disagree; 60% agree that government should use the power of condemnation to enable development of affordable housing, infrastructure or transit-oriented communities while 24% disagree; and 51% agree that lawmakers have placed too much emphasis on environmental protections and not enough on building homes for residents, while 37% disagree.
- Infrastructure like roads, water lines, sewer and power, are essential for housing, but if homebuilders pay for those costs, it’s passed on to individual homebuyers, “often adding hundreds of thousands of dollars to the price of a home,” the survey notes.
But residents surveyed are divided on who should foot the bill, with 53% saying the government should pay for infrastructure while 46% say that homebuilders should bear the cost. Meanwhile, 52% of those surveyed say they’re in favor of changing the state constitution to allow for a new type of infrastructure financing through bonds, 14% are opposed and 35% don’t know.
In an emailed response to questions, PRP Executive Director Nathaniel Kinney told Aloha State Daily that cities and states throughout the country have put infrastructure for new housing into place by using future tax receipts to pay for bonds.
“With this type of creative financing, you’re able to build housing that’s more affordable while also growing the revenue pie for local governments without increasing taxes,” he says. “In the Hawai‘i Perspectives survey, 53% of local residents say government should pay for infrastructure and 52% support changing the state constitution to allow this new type of infrastructure financing through bonds. Another 35% were unsure about infrastructure financing through bonds, so there’s plenty of room for additional education on the topic. Here on O‘ahu, if we truly plan to build transit-oriented communities along the city’s Skyline [rail system], this type of infrastructure financing through bonding can play a crucial and pivotal role." - On O‘ahu, 51% of those surveyed show continued support for the Skyline rail. That number is 59% on Neighbor Islands.
- 89% of residents agree that the military is important to the state’s economy. 68% agree that the benefits of military presence outweigh the drawbacks while 19% disagree. Meanwhile, 44% agree that the military shows respect for Native Hawaiian culture and lands while 43% disagree.
Want to learn more about resident sentiments? You can download the full report here.
Kinney says that one of the biggest surprises from the new survey is “how much residents in all four counties want our policymakers to act on creating more housing and do so quickly.”
“The theme of this survey is ‘hard calls’ because residents are willing to make tough decisions on policy issues and want our elected leaders to follow suit,” he told ASD.
Kinney notes that, for example, 55% of respondents say the height limits of buildings in certain areas should be increased to create more housing and 75% say the amount of time allowed for permitting and environmental reviews should be limited.
“Meanwhile, more than 7 out of 10 residents agree Hawai‘i should build more housing as quickly as possible,” he continued. “It’s clear our residents have moved beyond the question of whether we need to build more housing, but rather how we do it as fast and efficient as possible.”
But one of the biggest changes noted in this year’s survey compared to 2024 is that residents “feel more optimistic about the direction of our state,” Kinney says, noting that 36% of residents feel Hawai‘i is on the right track compared to 28% in 2024.
“This growing optimism could be the result of our policymakers taking decisive action on affordability, for example the historic state income tax cut passed by the state Legislature in 2025 and other legislation that helps make new homes more affordable.”
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Stephanie Salmons can be reached at stephanie@alohastatedaily.com.
