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DHistory
History · Leilani Estates

Half of Leilani Estates’ homes were built after 1996

More historic than 12% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Leilani Estates was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1996. Below: maps from 1924 on.

0on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

About Leilani Estates’ history

How historic is Leilani Estates?

D

More historic than 12% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
History grade

What drives Leilani Estates’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Leilani Estates is more historic than 12% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Leilani Estates’ overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19402.2% of homes (±1.5) · typical HI town 1.7% · U.S. 8.4%C−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical HI town 0.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 12%
NewerOlder

Few Hawaii towns list much on the Register (a typical Hawaii town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Leilani Estates’ 0.0 sits below most of its state (28% of Hawaii towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±1.5 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: our sources. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Leilani Estates’ past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Leilani Estates are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19244 editions of the USGS map, 1924 to 1994. Watch Leilani Estates change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Leilani Estates’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Leilani Estates’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

Leilani Estates on the map, 1924 to 1994

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Leilani Estates. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Leilani Estates on the 1924 USGS mapLeilani Estates on the 1966 USGS mapLeilani Estates on the 1980 USGS mapLeilani Estates on the 1994 USGS map1924Kalapana sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Leilani Estates.

The story so far

Leilani Estates, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Leilani Estates yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Leilani Estates is a census-designated place (CDP) in Hawaiʻi County, Hawaii, United States located in the District of Puna. The subdivision was formed in 1964. The population was 1,139 at the 2020 census, down from 1,560 at the 2010 census, and up from 1,046 at the 2000 census. The 2018 lower Puna eruption of Kīlauea Volcano, which occurred within and around the subdivision, claimed many homes and displaced an unknown number of Leilani Estates residents. Accessing the entire resulting solid lava rock flow field has been prohibited, as per the Mayor's 12/6/18 Emergency Proclamation, with fines up to $5,000 for violations. As of January 2019, in further effort to prevent the private subdivis…

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,560 to 1,139 (-27%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

Leilani Estates, decade by decade

Today6 recent
20180519 USGS Leilani Estates Hawaii Volcanic EruptionDSC 0411 medium201820180519 USGS Leilani Estates Hawaii Volcanic Eruptio…Rattus Norvegicus 03-17-20132013Rattus Norvegicus 03-17-2013White Hibiscus2012White HibiscusWhite Hibiscus - panoramio (2)2012White Hibiscus - panoramio (2)White Hibiscus - panoramio (1)2012White Hibiscus - panoramio (1)Flower - panoramio (29)2012Flower - panoramio (29)
Famous people

Famous people close to Leilani Estates

Nobody well known was born in Leilani Estates itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Robert KiyosakiAmerican finance author and investor · b. 1947
Kamehameha IIMonarch of the Hawaiian Islands · b. 1797
Ryan HigaAmerican Internet personality and actor · b. 1990
KapiolaniQueen consort of the Hawaiian Islands · b. 1834
J
Jimmy FeigenAmerican swimmer · b. 1989
Pat SaikiAmerican politician · b. 1930
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

KamailiIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Leilani Estates’ history

How does Leilani Estates rank for history?

Leilani Estates is more historic than 12% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

How old are the homes in Leilani Estates?

2% of Leilani Estates’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.5 points), against a typical 1.7% for a Hawaii town; the median home was built in 1996.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (6), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.