The ʻakiapōlāʻau occurs mainly in old-growth mesic and wet forests in Kaʻū and Hamakua. Koa (Acacia koa) and ʻōhiʻa lehua (Metrosideros polymorpha) are dominant canopy species in its habitat. Disease-carrying mosquitoes have restricted it to elevations of between . It formerly inhabited māmane (Sophora chrysophylla) -naio (Myoporum sandwicense) dry forests at elevations of on Mauna Kea, but this population was extirpated in 2002.