101,095 new population figure, Mat-Su

The US Census released a new number on the Mat-Su Borough population yesterday, increasing us by another 1,000 to 101,095. In January, the Research & Analysis Section with the Alaska Dept. of Labor and Workforce Development had shown that Mat-Su had broken through the 100,000 ceiling with 100,178 residents, surpassing Fairbanks sometime in 2015 as the second largest community in Alaska, according to Demographer Eric Sandberg.

See the newly released US Census numbers for Alaska communities at this link.

See the Alaska Dept. of Labor and Workforce Development population figures for Mat-Su communities at an attached screenshot.

Read the article "Settlement of the Mat-Su: How Alaska's Fastest Growing Borough Came to Be" by Demographer Eric Sandberg.

In the last 25 years, Mat-Su has averaged 3.4 percent growth per year versus 1.2 percent for the state, Sandberg writes.

The Knik-Fairview area, with 17,617 residents, is growing the fastest in the Borough, more than 6 percent in 15 years, adding some 10,000 residents in that timeframe along Knik-Goose Bay Road. Knik-Fairview is twice the size of our largest city of Wasilla. If Knik-Fairview were a city, it would be the 5^th largest in the state, Sandberg said.

The Point MacKenzie area also grew at that fast rate, however, the Goose Creek Correctional Facility added most of the new population.

The Gateway area, south of the Parks Highway, the Tanaina, and the Fishhook areas grew 4 percent to 6 percent in 15 years. Since 2010,

Gateway added 1,351 residents, Tanaina added 876 residents, and Fishhook gained 821 residents.

Mat-Su has gained more than 1,000 people per year from Anchorage since 1990, except in 1993 when 900+ arrived from Anchorage, Sandberg wrote.

Some 30 percent of us commute to Anchorage. A third of all new housing construction in the state was built in the Mat-Su in 2014, according to State Economist Neal Fried. Fried also showed that the Borough school district grew by 6 percent in the last five years as compared to Anchorage, which shrank by five percent.

The average home price in the Mat-Su is $255,055 while Anchorage’s average is $322,512, according to Fried’s 2015 presentation. 

Patty Sullivan, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.