Half of Mililani Town’s homes were built after 1978
More historic than 7% of U.S. towns · #72 of 93 in Hawaii. What drives it
Most of Mililani Town was built recently: 0.2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. Below: 11 old photos and papers and maps from 1954 on.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Mililani Town is more historic than 7% of U.S. towns, #72 of 93 in Hawaii. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Mililani Town’s overall grade.
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 Mililani Town’s 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 (±0.2 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 →
Mililani sits on former plantation fields owned by Castle & Cooke, which began planning for its development in 1958 under its Oceanic Properties subsidiary. Castle & Cooke's plan was to collaborate with planners and architects on making Mililani Town a satellite city that would satisfy Oʻahu's pent-up demand for housing with a new affordable community. It was planned to eventually support a population of 75,000 people. Architect and developer Al Boeke, who would later create the planned community of Sea Ranch, California, was the development director of Mililani. The first homes in Mililani went on sale on June 23, 1968.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Mililani Town. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1954Waipahu sheet · 1:24,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Mililani Town.
Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this view"NEW TOWN" GROWS WHERE PINEAPPLES USED TO THRIVE. PINEAPPLE GROWERS ARE DEVELOPING THEIR OWN "SURPLUS LAND." THIRTEEN..…, 1973
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Mililani Town’s page.
Mililani Town is more historic than 7% of U.S. towns, #72 of 93 in Hawaii. 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 Mililani Town?
0.2% of Mililani Town’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 1.7% for a Hawaii town; the median home was built in 1978.
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 (12), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
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