- Native Hawaiians are increasingly settling in Utah due to affordability issues in Hawaii.
- Community leaders maintain cultural traditions through businesses like Side of Aloha and Budda’s Bakery.
- Music and dance projects like the Paʻina Project help preserve Hawaiian culture in Utah.
SALT LAKE CITY — For the first time in history, a majority of native Hawaiians live outside Hawaii, priced out of their home state.
Many are trading the islands for the mountains of Utah, and they brought their aloha with them.
The Hawaiian community in Utah runs deep, with more than 11,000 Native Hawaiians calling Utah home — the fifth largest outside of Hawaii, according to a 2025 “community of contrasts” report by Empowering Pacific Islander Communities, or EPIC…