UHERO Analytics
Consensus and Conflict: A Data-Driven Look at the Biggest Bills in Hawai‘i’s 2025 Legislature
By Trey Gordner and Colin Moore In our last post, Bills, Backers, and Blocs, we analyzed the positions Hawai‘i’s politically active organizations took on nearly 2,000 bills in the 2025 legislative session, revealing patterns in lobbying strategy, frequency, and intensity. This companion post uses the same Legislative/Administrative Action Report (LAAR) data to examine lobbying at […]
Read MoreProgress and Vulnerability Two Years After the Wildfires: A Data-Driven Update from the Maui Recovery Survey
Two years after the devastating August 2023 wildfires, thousands of fire-affected people continue to navigate a long and complex path to recovery. While many are still facing hardship — including displacement, financial uncertainty, and unmet needs — others have regained stability in many aspects of their lives. This report presents findings from the Maui Recovery […]
Read MoreBills, Backers, and Blocs: A Data-Driven Look at Lobbying in Hawai‘i
By Trey Gordner and Colin Moore When the Hawaiʻi State Legislature mandated the Legislative/Administrative Action Report (LAAR) beginning in 2025, it launched one of the country’s most detailed state-level lobbying datasets. The final filing for the 2025 session (due June 2) revealed 7,188 positions taken by 340 organizations on 1,747 bills. What we found Figure […]
Read MorePublic Health Report: Hawai‘i’s Health and Wellbeing Journey Over Time — Monitoring Equity and Access
The UHERO Rapid Health Survey is a statewide longitudinal study offering one of the most comprehensive real-time assessments of health equity in Hawai‘i. Launched in 2022, the survey has completed four major waves, with the most recent concluding in December 2024. It tracks over 2,000 adults and provides disaggregated data on physical and mental health, […]
Read MoreMaui’s Recovery 1½ Years After the Wildfires
By Daniela Bond-Smith, Trey Gordner, Caleb Wood Eighteen months after the August 2023 wildfires, Maui’s fire-impacted households continue to face significant economic and housing instability. While some indicators suggest limited progress, the latest findings from the Maui Recovery Survey: Housing & Jobs show that many challenges remain. The survey, launched by the University of Hawai‘i […]
Read MoreCity partners with UHERO to launch Subsidized Housing Tracker
Addressing Oʻahu’s housing shortage and its impact on affordability, the City and County of Honolulu’s Office of Housing, in partnership with the University of Hawaiʻi Economic Research Organization (UHERO), has unveiled the Subsidized Housing Explorer, a first-of-its-kind tool for the island. This interactive tracker consolidates data on government-subsidized housing units across Honolulu County, offering an […]
Read MoreMaui Short-Term Rentals, the Minatoya List, and Housing Supply
By Justin Tyndall and Emi Kim Recent state legislation has given counties new powers to regulate Transient Vacation Rental (TVR) properties. A proposal on Maui would significantly reduce the number of TVRs by withdrawing permission to operate for over 7,000 properties. Below, we briefly summarize the policy proposal and discuss the characteristics of the units […]
Read MoreThe Hawaii Housing Dashboard
The high cost of housing in Hawaiʻi imposes significant financial and emotional burdens on residents, making it a pressing concern across the islands. Comprehensive data and analysis serve as critical tools to inform discussions and policy decisions. In response to this need, UHERO launched the Hawaiʻi Housing Factbook project. The first edition of the Factbook, […]
Read MoreShort-term Vacation Rentals and Housing Costs in Hawaiʻi
By Rachel Inafuku and Justin Tyndall Of the state’s 565,000 total housing units, 30,000 are listed as Short-term Vacation Rentals (STRs), meaning roughly 5% of local housing units operate as tourist accommodations. In a tight housing market with high prices and barriers to creating new supply, removing supply from the long-term housing market could harm […]
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