Alaska Had A Population Increase of 2,645 People In 2016
The population of Alaska has been a source of concern lately. People are wondering if there's an exodus going on. A population "bust."
Major ebbs and flows have long been part of Alaska history, of course. In 1974, as the construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline began, 30,235 people arrived in Alaska. The next year, almost 20,000 more entered the state. Then, several years later, in 1977, the post-Pipeline bust began. In the 1977-78 year, 13,356 people left Alaska. The year after that, 5,234 people abandoned us.
So what's happening now? Not as much as you might think.
Actually, the overall population of Alaska is growing. It increased by 2,645 people in 2016. Many of the additional residents come from the Mat-Su Borough, which provided a large number of new "Alaska Grown" babies to the mix.
There was a loss of people in Alaska between the ages of 18 and 64 (the group considered by the State of Alaska to be "the working age population.") A total of 2,774 people in that age group left the state – or about 1/3 of 1% of the current state population. Countable, but not yet earth-shattering.
(Note: Because the Alaska population in 1974 was less than half of what it is now -- it numbered around 340,000 residents back then, and stands at 740,000 today -- these figures are a little tricky to compare accurately across the board. 30,000 people entering Alaska 40 years ago would translate, percentage- and impact-wise, to over 60,000 incoming residents if the Pipeline happened today!)
In 2016 Southeast lost 494 residents – the most of any section of Alaska. Which was a lot for Southeast, but in solid numbers a very small fraction of the total current Alaska population.
So there are some changes going on, but the changes are well within normal, steady, slow growth through natural births and nothing yet like the dramatic up-and-down spikes of a good old fashioned genuine Alaska boom and bust cycle.
SOURCE: State Of Alaska Department Of Labor official statistics, January 12, 2017
