Alaska’s Population Grows Slightly for the First Time in Five Years
©ROBIN BEAN | DREAMSTIME.COM
Alaska’s population increased for the fiscal year ending July 2021, with net births outpacing out-migration, but only barely.
Natural Increase
The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development estimates an increase of 932 people, or 0.1 percent, from April 2020 to July 2021. This was the first increase since 2016.
Despite slight overall growth, net migration (in-migrants minus out-migrants) accounted for a loss of 4,398 people. Alaska has lost more movers than it’s gained every year since 2013, but losses slowed during the pandemic as fewer people moved nationwide.
Current Issue
August 2026
Twenty-one of Alaska’s thirty boroughs and census areas lost population over the period. Fairbanks grew the most, gaining 1,860 people, followed by the Matanuska-Susitna Borough (1,724). Anchorage lost the most, down by 1,550 during the fiscal year.
Alaska’s under-18 and 18-to-64-year-old populations each declined 1 percent, and the 65-and-older group grew 6 percent. The state’s highest median age was 49 in the Hoonah-Angoon Census Area. The Kusilvak Census Area in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta was the youngest at 24.2.
ALASKA DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND WORKFORCE
Complete estimates for the state, boroughs/census areas, cities and census-designated places are available on the Department of Labor website. Also available are estimates for census tracts, school districts and Alaska Native Regional Corporations and estimates by age and sex for each borough and census area and for places with populations of 1,000 or more.
