Survey Reveals Virus’s Impact on Hawai‘i’s People

Almost half of Hawai‘i households have lost income during the COVID-19 pandemic and about 1 in 4 have fallen behind on some of their bills.

Those are among the dire findings from a survey released Thursday by the Bank of Hawaii Foundation called “COVID-19 in Hawaii: Facts and Insights.” The telephone and online survey of 1,096 Hawai‘i residents statewide was conducted May 14 to 22 by the research division of the Anthology Marketing Group.

Peter Ho, chairman, president and CEO of Bank of Hawaii, says many local families were already struggling with Hawai‘i’s high cost of living before the pandemic. “The research findings illustrate just how much the pandemic has exacerbated hardships for residents. Many are adding to their existing credit card debt or selling personal items to make ends meet,” he says.

The survey revealed many drastic effects on Hawai‘i’s households:

• 45% say they have lost income.
• 1 in 4 are delinquent on some of their bills.
• 1 in 5 have had “issues with food security,” while 13% have sought food from a food drive or food bank.
• 81% worry about contracting COVID-19 and 71% consider the coronavirus a threat to themselves or others living with them.
• 83% received or expect to receive an economic impact payment.

The survey found that 81% of respondents said they found the federal stimulus payments to be valuable; 49% found them to be very valuable.

Read the full report and its methodology here.