From ancient times, Kāne'ohe was important as an agricultural area, owing to an abundance of rainfall. Today, Kāne'ohe is mostly a residential community, with very little agriculture in evidence. The only commercial crop of any consequence in the area is banana. Features of note are Ho'omaluhia Botanical Garden and the new Hawai'i National Veterans Cemetery. Access to Kāne'ohe Bay is mainly from the public pier and boat ramp located at nearby He'eia Kea. Access to Coconut Island (restricted) is from the state pier off Lilipuna Drive. Marine Corps Base Hawaii lies across the south end of Kāne'ohe Bay from Kāne'ohe.
The U.S. Postal Code for Kāne'ohe is 96744.
Geography
Kāne'ohe is located at 21°24'33" North, 157°47'57" West (21.409200, -157.799084)1. Nearby towns include Kailua to the east, reached either by Kaneohe Bay Drive (State Rte. 630) or Kamehameha Highway (State Rte. 83), the former also providing a connection to Marine Corps Base Hawaii, and the latter connecting to Interstate H-3 and (at Castle Junction) Pali Highway (State Rte. 61) to Honolulu. Likelike Highway (State Rte. 63) runs southwest over and through the Ko'olau to Honolulu. Likelike provides connections to Kahekili Highway and He'eia, and H-3 southbound to Halawa. The first three exits on the windward side of Interstate H-3 east (north) bound access Kāne'ohe. Following Kamehameha Highway northward from Kāne'ohe (State Rte. 830) leads through He'eia to He'eia Kea.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 22.0 km² (8.5 mi²). 17.0 km² (6.6 mi²) of it is land and 5.0 km² (1.9 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 22.80% water, although this is merely a portion of Kāne'ohe Bay included in the census tract.
Demographics
As of the 2000 Census, there were 34,970 people, 10,976 households, and 8,682 families residing in the town. The population density was 2,055.1/km² (5,320.7/mi²). There were 11,472 housing units at an average density of 674.2/km² (1,745.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 20.49% White, 0.81% African American, 0.20% Native American, 38.48% Asian, 11.44% Pacific Islander, 0.68% from other races, and 27.90% from two or more races. 7.21% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 10,976 households out of which 32.7% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.4% were married couples living together, 13.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.9% were non-families. 15.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.5% had someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.14 and the average family size is 3.48.
The population was spread out with 24.6% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 29.0% from 25 to 44, 23.4% from 45 to 64, and 14.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 96.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.2 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $66,006, and the median income for a family was $71,316. Males had a median income of $40,389 versus $31,504 for females. The per capita income for the town was $23,476. 6.1% of the population and 4.4% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 7.3% were under the age of 18 and 4.2% were 65 or older.