Here’s What Hawai‘i Business Leaders Say about Their Companies, Life, Communities and Local Politicians

The Performance Index – based on changes in employment, gross revenue and profit before taxes at the 357 companies surveyed – fell for the third consecutive survey.

The Optimism Index  – based on those same business people’s feelings about the direction of Hawai‘i’s economy in the next year or two – rebounded from the low score in the previous survey.

We Asked: How Good is Your Life and Community in Hawai‘i?

This chart compares the results from a survey of 357 local businesspeople and a separate survey of 413 members of the general public from across the Islands. How would you answer these questions?

Each respondent was asked to rate aspects of their personal lives and communities using a four-point scale (“Great!” is 4 points and “Awful” is 1). An average score was also computed; the higher the average, the more positive the overall perception. The lowest possible score is 1.00. Percentages do not always total 100 due to rounding and because some businesspeople did not answer each question.

That’s interesting: Business People surveyed rate local businesses overall more poorly than the general public.

How Do You Rate the Governor’s and Legislature’s Work?

Answers were ranked using a four-point scale (“Great!” is 4 and “Awful” is 1). An average score was also computed; the higher the average, the more positive the overall perception. The lowest possible score is 1.00. Percentages do not always total 100 due to rounding and because some businesspeople did not answer each question.

That’s interesting: Green scored higher than the Legislature on each of these questions in both surveys.

Methodology

The BOSS Survey of local businesspeople and the 808 Poll of the general public are conducted twice a year for Hawaii Business Magazine by the research division of Anthology/Finn Partners. See the methodology for the two surveys at hawaiibusiness.com/bossmethod2025.