Maunaloa, HI

Maunaloa is a census-designated place on western Molokai, at about 889 feet above sea level. The 2020 census counted 435 residents within a compact, all-land footprint. The village grew around Molokai Ranch, which once controlled about a third of the island and combined cattle, pineapple, lodging, golf, and other enterprises. The ranch's headquarters remain part of Maunaloa's landscape, while its former 22-room hotel has been closed since 2001. Pineapple cultivation and ranch work give the settlement a history organized around one large landholding.

That history still shapes how Maunaloa sits within Molokai. The former ranch hotel, gas station, and golf course belonged to one large operating landscape, and the closure of its tourism businesses in the 2000s left the town's buildings and surrounding land within ongoing community and land-use discussions. Maunaloa's western setting and elevation distinguish it from Kaunakakai's central-town role. Its current outline remains closely tied to the island's largest landholding and to the industries that once organized work around the village.