The Hilo Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Hawaii County.

Legislative authority is vested in the nine-member Hawaii County Council.

41.3% of the people on Hawaii island are religious, meaning they affiliate with a religion.

[citation needed] Executive authority is vested in the mayor of Hawaii County, who is elected for a four-year term.

Members of the County Council are elected on a nonpartisan basis to two-year terms from single-member districts.

[7] As of December 2016, Hawaii County Council has a female supermajority for the first time, with six women and three men.

[8] Administrative districts were originally based on the traditional land divisions called Moku of Ancient Hawaii.

[9] County council districts do not directly match the property tax districts because of the variation in the population density of voters in urban areas to rural areas; Hilo & Kailua (Kailua-Kona) towns are densely populated areas, while other districts such as Kaʻū, Puna, Hāmākua, and North & South Kohala are more sparsely populated.

[12] In 2009, the Hawaii Department of Public Safety announced that Kulani Correctional Facility would close.