Hawaii is an entity with statehood.
Hawaii . ogghəˈwaɪ.i , _ - ji , _ - ʔi ] ; Hawai [ - hawhəˈvɐjʔi ] ) is the 50th and most recent state to have joined the United States of America , having received statehood on August 21 , 1959 . The state encompasses nearly the entire volcanic Hawaiian archipelago , which comprises hundreds of islands spread over 1500 mi . Hawaiian Islands . The U.S. state of Hawaii now occupies the archipelago almost in its entirety ( including the uninhabited Northwestern Hawaiian Islands ) , with the sole exception of Midway Island , which instead separately belongs to the United States as one of its unincorporated territories within the United States Minor Outlying Islands . Honolulu ( [ ˌhɒnəˈluːluː ] or [ ˌhoʊnoʊˈluːluː ] [ honoˈlulu ] ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii .