U.S. Census Bureau

Survey of Business Owners

Native Hawaiian- and Other 

Pacific Islander-Owned 

Businesses: 2007

Census Bureau Economic Data

April 5, 2011
Presenters

Host Stanley J. Rolark

Chief, Public Information Office

U.S. Census Bureau 

Survey findings Thomas L. Mesenbourg, Jr. Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer

U.S. Census Bureau

Survey uses Alejandra Castillo

Deputy Director

Minority Business Development Agency

View from Dirk Soma

Hawaii President

Native Hawaiian Chamber of Commerce

April 5, 2011 2
Resources for Today’s News 

Conference

Come to www.census.gov and click on the icon 

at the top left corner to obtain –

• Today’s PowerPoint Presentation

• News Release – and More!

• Link to Survey of Business Owners Home 

Page

• Link to Guidance on Accessing SBO Data in 

the American FactFinder

www.census.gov/econ/sbo April 5, 2011 3
About the Survey

• Part of the Economic Census taken every 5 

years for years ending in “2” and “7”

• The only comprehensive, regularly collected 

data for businesses and business owners by 

- Minority status

 Race 

 Ethnicity (Hispanic origin of any race)

- Gender

- Veteran status

www.census.gov/econ/sbo April 5, 2011 4
Business Ownership by Race

• Categories of ownership are based on the 

race of the person or persons who owned 

51% or more of the stock or equity in the 

business in 2007.

• “Native Hawaiian- and Other Pacific IslanderOwned” is defined as any firm with Native 

Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander (NHOPI) 

owners holding a 51% or larger stake in the 

business.

www.census.gov/econ/sbo April 5, 2011 5
Business Ownership by 

Detailed Group

Native Hawaiian- and Other Pacific Islanderowned businesses are further classified into 

the following detailed groups:

• Native Hawaiian-owned

• Guamanian- or Chamorro-owned

• Samoan-owned

• Other Pacific Islander-owned 

[for example, Fijian or Tongan]

www.census.gov/econ/sbo April 5, 2011 6
A Look at the 2007 Statistics

for Native Hawaiian- and Other

Pacific Islander-Owned 

Businesses in the United States

www.census.gov/econ/sbo April 5, 2011 7
Native Hawaiian- and Other Pacific IslanderOwned Businesses Compared to All U.S. 

Businesses by Employer Status: 2007

NHOPI-owned 

businesses

All U.S. 

businesses

Firms

(number)

Sales and 

receipts

($ billions)

Firms 

(number)

Sales and 

receipts

($ billions)

All firms1 37,957 6 27,097,236 30,033

Employer firms 4,172 5 5,739,890 29,061

Nonemployer 

firms 33,785 1 21,357,346 973

www.census.gov/econ/sbo April 5, 2011 8

1 Includes firms with paid employees and firms with no paid employees.

Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding.
Native Hawaiian- and Other Pacific IslanderOwned Business Ownership Increased More 

Than the National Rate: 2002 to 2007

NHOPIowned

firms in 2007

(number)

% change for 

NHOPI-owned 

firms,

2002 – 2007

% change for 

all U.S.

firms,

2002 – 2007

All firms1 37,957 31 18

Employer firms 4,172 13* 4

Nonemployer

firms 33,785 34 22

www.census.gov/econ/sbo April 5, 2011 9

1 Includes firms with paid employees and firms with no paid employees.

Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding.

* The % change in NHOPI-owned employer firms is not statistically different than zero.
Native Hawaiian- and Other Pacific IslanderOwned Business Revenues Compared to 

the National Rate: 2002 to 2007

NHOPI-owned 

firms’ sales 

and receipts

in 2007

($ billions)

% change for 

NHOPI-owned 

firms’ sales and 

receipts,

2002 –2007

% change for 

all U.S. firms’ 

sales and 

receipts,

2002 –2007

All firms1 6 52 33

Employer firms 5 54 33

Nonemployer

firms 1 39* 27

www.census.gov/econ/sbo April 5, 2011 10

1 Includes firms with paid employees and firms with no paid employees.

Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding.

* The % change in NHOPI-owned nonemployer receipts is not statistically different than zero.
Native Hawaiian- and Other Pacific IslanderOwned Businesses and Their Proportion of 

All U.S. Firms by Employer Status:

2002 to 2007

% of U.S. businesses that are NHOPI-owned 

Year

2007

Year

2002

All firms1 0.1 0.1

Employer firms 0.1 0.1

Nonemployer 

firms 0.2 0.1

www.census.gov/econ/sbo April 5, 2011 11

1 Includes firms with paid employees and firms with no paid employees.
Growth in Business Ownership in U.S. 

by Detailed Native Hawaiian and Other

Pacific Islander Group: 2002 to 2007

Firms

in 2007 

(number) 

% change, 

2002 – 2007

% of all

NHOPI

firms 

Native Hawaiian and Other 

Pacific Islander1 37,957 31 100

Native Hawaiian 21,111 26 56

Guamanian or Chamorro 3,650 - 4* 10

Samoan 3,029 37 8

Other Pacific Islander 9,321 47 25

www.census.gov/econ/sbo April 5, 2011 12

1 Includes firms with paid employees and firms with no paid employees.

Note: Detail does not add to total because of firms that are NHOPI-owned, but have not been 

assigned to a detailed NHOPI group or have ownership by more than one detailed NHOPI group.

* The % change in firms for this detailed group is not statistically different than zero.
Growth in Business Revenue in U.S.

by Detailed Native Hawaiian and Other

Pacific Islander Group: 2002 to 2007

Sales and 

receipts

in 2007

($ billions) 

% change, 

2002 – 2007

% of all

NHOPI

sales and 

receipts 

Native Hawaiian and Other

Pacific Islander1 6.5 52 100

Native Hawaiian 4.2 47 64

Guamanian or Chamorro 0.6 - 8* 10

Samoan 0.4 28* 6

Other Pacific Islander 1.4 229 21

www.census.gov/econ/sbo April 5, 2011 13

1 Includes firms with paid employees and firms with no paid employees.

Note: Detail does not add to total because of firms that are NHOPI-owned, but have not been 

assigned to a detailed NHOPI group or have ownership by more than one detailed NHOPI group.

* The % change in receipts for this detailed group is not statistically different than zero.
Distribution of Firms by

Receipts Size of Firm: 2007

Receipts size

% of NHOPI-owned 

firms

% of all 

U.S. firms

Less than $50,000 78 65

$50,000 to $99,999 7 10

$100,000 to $249,999 7 10

$250,000 to $499,999 3 5

$500,000 to $999,999 2 4

$1,000,000 or more 2 5

www.census.gov/econ/sbo April 5, 2011 14

Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding.
Distribution of Employer Firms

by Employment Size of Firm: 2007

Employment size % of NHOPI-owned 

firms

% of all

U.S. firms

0 to 4 employees1 63 61

5 to 9 employees 20 18

10 to 19 employees 8 11

20 to 49 employees 5 7

50 employees or more 4 4

www.census.gov/econ/sbo April 5, 2011 15

1 Includes firms with payroll at any time during 2007. Employment reflects the number of paid 

employees during the March 12 pay period.

Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding.
Number of Native Hawaiian- and Other

Pacific Islander-Owned Firms for

Selected Industries: 2007

www.census.gov/econ/sbo April 5, 2011 16

Business sectors

Firms 

(number)

% of all 

NHOPI

firms

Sales and 

receipts 

($ billions)

% of all 

NHOPI

sales and 

receipts

Total for all sectors 37,957 100 6.5 100

Construction 4,991 13 1.6 24

Retail trade 3,909 10 1.3 20

Professional, scientific, and

technical services 3,655 10 0.7 11

Health care and social assistance 3,723 10 0.3 4

Repair and maintenance, and

personal and laundry services 5,320 14 0.2 3
www.census.gov/econ/sbo April 5, 2011 17

States With the Largest Number of

Native Hawaiian- and Other Pacific IslanderOwned Firms: 2007 

States and 

equivalent area

NHOPIowned 

firms in 

2007

(number)

% of

firms in 

state that 

are NHOPIowned

% change 

for NHOPIowned firms 

in state,

2002 – 2007

Hawaii 11,383 9 36

California 9,255 < 1 31
www.census.gov/econ/sbo April 5, 2011 18

Counties With the Largest Number of 

Native Hawaiian- and Other Pacific

Islander-Owned Firms: 2007 

NHOPIowned 

firms in 

2007

(number)

% of firms in 

county that 

are NHOPIowned

% change 

for NHOPIowned firms 

in county,

2002 – 2007

Honolulu, HI 6,721 9 33

Los Angeles, CA 2,804 < 1 S*

Maui, HI 2,111 11 78

Hawaii, HI 1,722 9 11**

*S – Suppressed. The % change in firms is unavailable because the 2002 statistics did not meet publication standards.

** The % change in firms for this county is not statistically different than zero.
www.census.gov/econ/sbo April 5, 2011 19

Metropolitan Areas With the Largest Number of 

Native Hawaiian- and Other Pacific

Islander-Owned Firms: 2007 

Metropolitan and 

equivalent areas 

with a population of 

at least 500,000 

NHOPIowned 

firms in 

2007

(number)

% of firms in 

metropolitan 

area that are 

NHOPIowned

% change for 

NHOPI-owned 

firms in 

metropolitan 

area,

2002 – 2007

Honolulu, HI 6,721 9 33

Los Angeles-Long 

Beach-Santa Ana, CA 3,675 < 1 S*

*S – Suppressed. The % change in firms is unavailable because the 2002 statistics did not meet publication standards.
Growth in Business Ownership in Hawaii by 

Detailed Native Hawaiian and Other 

Pacific Islander Group: 2002 to 2007

Firms

in 2007 

(number) 

% of firms in 

state by 

detailed group 

% change for 

firms by 

detailed group,

2002 – 2007

Native Hawaiian and Other 

Pacific Islander1 11,383 9.5 36

Native Hawaiian 10,518 8.7 39

Guamanian or Chamorro 135 0.1 S*

Samoan 444 0.4 96**

Other Pacific Islander 484 0.4 18**

www.census.gov/econ/sbo April 5, 2011 20

1 Includes firms with paid employees and firms with no paid employees.

Note: Detail does not add to total because of firms that are NHOPI-owned, but have not been assigned

to a detailed NHOPI group or have ownership by more than one detailed NHOPI group. 

* S – Suppressed. The % change in firms is unavailable because the 2002 statistics did not meet publication standards.

** The % change in firms for this detailed group is not statistically different than zero.
Growth in Business Revenue in Hawaii by 

Detailed Native Hawaiian and Other

Pacific Islander Group: 2002 to 2007

Sales and 

receipts 

($ millions)

% of sales and 

receipts in 

state by 

detailed group 

% change for 

sales and 

receipts by 

detailed group,

2002 – 2007

Native Hawaiian and Other 

Pacific Islander1 2,378 2.4 66

Native Hawaiian 2,274 2.3 67

Guamanian or Chamorro 4 < 0.1 S*

Samoan 31 < 0.1 31**

Other Pacific Islander 100 0.1 122**

www.census.gov/econ/sbo April 5, 2011 21

1 Includes firms with paid employees and firms with no paid employees.

Note: Detail does not add to total because of firms that are NHOPI-owned, but have not been assigned

to a detailed NHOPI group or have ownership by more than one detailed NHOPI group. 

* S – Suppressed. The % change in firms is unavailable because the 2002 statistics did not meet publication standards.

** The % change in receipts for this detailed group is not statistically different than zero.
Accessing SBO Results

• SBO Web site: www.census.gov/econ/sbo

• For access to prepackaged data products and 

the ability to build custom tables, visit

American FactFinder (AFF), the Census

Bureau’s online, self-service data access

tool at www.factfinder.census.gov

www.census.gov/econ/sbo April 5, 2011 22
www.census.gov/econ/sbo April 5, 2011 23

Data Release date

Preliminary Company Summary - Estimates of 

Business Ownership by Gender, Ethnicity, 

Race, and Veteran Status 

July 13, 2010

Hispanic-Owned Businesses September 21, 2010

Women-Owned Businesses December 7, 2010

Black-Owned Businesses February 8, 2011

American Indian- and Alaska NativeOwned Businesses March 11, 2011

Native Hawaiian- and Other Pacific IslanderOwned Businesses April 1, 2011

Asian-Owned Businesses April 26, 2011

SBO Release Schedule
www.census.gov/econ/sbo April 5, 2011 24

Data Release date

Veteran-Owned Businesses May 17, 2011

Company Summary June 7, 2011

Characteristics of Businesses June 14, 2011

Characteristics of Business Owners June 14, 2011

SBO Release Schedule

(continued)
Native Hawaiian & Other 

Pacific Islander-Owned Firms 

Outpace Growth of 

Non-Minority-Owned Firms

U.S. Department of Commerce 

Minority Business Development Agency

Alejandra Castillo, National Deputy Director
26

The Big Picture

The Native Hawaiian & Other Pacific Islander business community continues to grow 

in number at a fast rate, yet their true economic potential is still unrealized. 

The fast growing trend of Native Hawaiian & Other Pacific Islander-owned firms 

continued into the most recent five year period outpacing once again the growth of 

non-minority-owned firms in number of firms (31% Native Hawaiian & Other Pacific 

Islander growth). Native Hawaiian & Other Pacific Islander firms also grew faster in 

gross receipts (52%) and employment (32%) between 2002 and 2007.

Native Hawaiian & Other Pacific Islander firms are also an engine of job creation, with 

paid employment growing by 32% from 29,319 workers to 38,750 workers, 

compared to less than 1% growth for non-minority-owned firms.

Average employment per firm with employees also went up from 8 employees per 

Native Hawaiian & Other Pacific Islander firm with employees in 2002 to 9 employees 

per firm with employees in 2007. 

The Native Hawaiian & Other Pacific Islander firms paid competitive wages to their 

employees. Average payroll per employee increased by 17 percent from about 

$28,000 in payroll per employee in 2002 to $33,000 in payroll per employee in 2007. 

The average payroll per employee for non-minority firms was $35,000 in 2007.
27

Native Hawaiian & Other Pacific IslanderOwned Firms Outpace Growth of NonMinority-Owned Firms

52%

21%

32%

0.03%

31%

9%

13%

1%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Gross Receipts Employees Number of Firms Population 

Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander Non-Minority

2002-2007
28

Upside of $1 Million Plus Firms 

While smaller in number, Native Hawaiian & Other Pacific Islander firms with 

receipts of $1 million or more generate a much larger percentage of all Native 

Hawaiian & Other Pacific Islander revenues and paid employment than firms with receipts under $1 million. 

Native Hawaiian & Other Pacific Islander with receipts of $1 million or more 

represented 2 percent of all the Native Hawaiian & Other Pacific Islander firms 

but generated 70 percent of all Native Hawaiian & Other Pacific Islander firms’ 

gross receipts and 69 percent of all their paid employment. 

There were 884 Native Hawaiian & Other Pacific Islander firms with gross receipts of $1 million or more in 2007. These firms generated combined gross 

receipts of about $4.6 billion and employed nearly 27,000 workers.

Average gross receipts of Native Hawaiian & Other Pacific Islander firms with 

sales of $1 million or more grew by 31 percent from $3.9 million per firm in 2002 to $5.2 million in 2007.
29

Native Hawaiian & Other Pacific 

Islander-Owned Firms With $1 Million 

and Above in Sales

2007

2%

98%

70%

30%

69%

31%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Number of Firms Gross Receipts Paid Employees

NHPI Firms ($1 million and above) NHPI Firms (Under $1 million)
30

Entrepreneurial Parity

At MBDA, we measure entrepreneurial parity of minority-owned firms. 

Unfortunately, there is still an entrepreneurial parity gap between Native 

Hawaiian & Other Pacific Islander firms and the share of the Native Hawaiian & 

Other Pacific Islander adult population, which was 0.3 percent in 2007. 

If Native Hawaiian & Other Pacific Islander-owned firms would have reached 

parity with their share of the adult Native Hawaiian & Other Pacific Islander 

population in 2007, there would have been 83,000 firms (instead of 37,957) 

generating $34.6 billion in gross receipts (instead of $6.5 billion), and creating 

179,000 jobs (instead of 38,750).

The faster growing Native Hawaiian & Other Pacific Islander population 

increased by 13% during this period, compared to only 1% growth for non- minorities. We have to encourage further the growth of Native Hawaiian & Other 

Pacific Islander firms to keep up with the growth of the population.
31

Entrepreneurial Parity Remains Elusive 

for Native Hawaiian & Other Pacific 

Islander Businesses

38

83

0

20

40

60

80

100

2007 Actual 2007 Parity

Number of Firms (in thousands)

39

179

0

50

100

150

200

2007 Actual 2007 Parity

Paid Employment (in thousands)

$6.5

$34.6

$0.0

$5.0

$10.0

$15.0

$20.0

$25.0

$30.0

$35.0

2007 Actual 2007 Parity

Gross Receipts (in $ billions)
32

The Downside

While Native Hawaiian & Other Pacific Islander-owned firms outpaced the growth 

of non-minority-owned firms in gross receipts (52% Native Hawaiian & Other Pacific Islander growth), employment (32%) and number of firms (31%), only 11 

percent of these firms (4,172) had paid employees and just 884 had revenues 

greater than $1 million.

In addition, the average gross receipts for Native Hawaiian & Other Pacific 

Islander-owned firms increased by 16 percent from $148,000 in 2002 to $171,000 in 2007, but it is still well below that of non-minority-owned firms 

($490,000). 

There are approximately 38,000 sole proprietorships in the Native Hawaiian & 

Other Pacific Islander business community. MBDAs goal is to help grow those in 

emerging industries and with the potential for size and scale, as well as 

encourage job creation among these firms.

As the Native Hawaiian & Other Pacific Islander population increases in the U.S., 

the success of the Native Hawaiian & Other Pacific Islander community becomes 

critical for job creation.
33

Minority-Owned Firms Gross Receipts 

Average Gross Receipts

2007

Native Hawaiian 

& Other Pacific 

Islander-owned 

businesses

Asian-owned 

businesses*

Minority-owned 

businesses*

Non-minorityowned 

businesses*

$171,000 $331,000 $179,000 $490,000

* Average gross receipts for Asian, minority and non-minority-owned businesses are based on Preliminary data from 

the 2007 Survey of Business Owners released in July 2010. 
34

The Future

MBDA is committed to making sure the growth and 

competitiveness of the minority business community continues 

to be a national priority.

MBDA is creating the foundation for the next generation of $100 

million minority-owned firms capable of employing the growing 

minority and U.S. population, expanding the national tax base, 

and securing our position as a global leader.

In fiscal year 2010, MBDA assisted minority owned firms in 

accessing more than $3.8 billion in contracts and financings, 

and creating more than 6,200 jobs. 

To grow more minority-owned firms in size and capacity, MBDA 

encourages minority businesses to consider growth by mergers 

and acquisition, joint ventures and strategic partnerships.
35

Contacting MBDA Public Affairs

For more information, please contact:

Email: public_affairs@mbda.gov

Phone: 202.482.6272
THE NATIVE HAWAIIAN 

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

www.nativehawaiianchamberofcommerce.com
History and Mission

 Founded in 1974, the Native Hawaiian Chamber 

of Commerce strives to encourage and promote 

the interests of Native Hawaiians engaged in 

business and the professions. NHCC members 

participate in a variety of areas, including 

economic, social and public affairs.

 NHCC’s mission is “to strengthen Native 

Hawaiian businesses and professions by building 

on the foundation of relationships, resources and 

Hawaiian values: Aloha, `Imi `ike, Lōkahi, Pono, 

Ha`a ha`a, `A`a, Ala ka`ina, Po‘okela, Ho`okō and, 

Ha`aheo.” 
Challenges and Opportunities

 Current reliance of off-shore goods and supplies.

 Finite land base for growing population (local and 

external demands).

 Economic Development initiatives on multiple 

levels (CBED, Micro-enterprises, SBA 8(a)).

 Emerging sectors for ground-floor participation 

(Energy, Health, Agriculture).

 Perpetuating Hawaiian cultural values within 

everyday business practices.

He ali’i ka ‘aina, He kaua ke ali’i
Questions?

www.census.gov/econ/sbo April 5, 2011 39
Key Upcoming Press Events from 

the U.S. Census Bureau

• April 28 Webinar on 2007 Business 

Ownership Data for Asian-Owned 

Businesses

• May 17 Webinar on 2007 Business 

Ownership Data for VeteranOwned Businesses

www.census.gov/econ/sbo April 5, 2011 40
www.census.gov/econ/sbo April 5, 2011 41

Contact Information

• U.S. Census Bureau

Public Information Office

Phone: 301.763.3030

www.census.gov

• Minority Business Development Agency

Public Affairs Office

Phone: 202.482.6272

www.mbda.gov

• Native Hawaiian Chamber of Commerce

Phone: 808.531.3744

www.nativehawaiianchamberofcommerce.com