Borough still fastest growing

Average household income among highest in the country

February 2, 2007

By Russell Stigall/Frontiersman

MAT-SU - Once again, as it has for the past 16 years, the Mat-Su Borough is Alaska's fastest growing region.

From 2000 to 2006, the borough grew at an average annual rate of 4.2 percent, up from 4.0 percent growth in the 1990s, according to a report by Greg Williams, state demographer with the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

The two largest towns in the borough are Wasilla and Palmer. Wasilla is ranked 12th in the state with 6,775 inhabitants, and 5,574 residents placed Palmer 17th.

However, the fastest growing region in the borough and the state is the Knik-Fairview area, with 7.3 percent annual growth. The Knik-Fairview area had 11,238 residents as of July 2006.

&#8220Indeed, if it incorporated, Knik-Fairview would become the fifth largest city in the state,” Williams said.

The borough's total population was 77,174, as of July 2006.

But how will the Mat-Su accommodate its continued growth?

Patty Sullivan, Mat-Su Borough public affairs manager, said the borough has accommodated the new growth with help from its voters. They have voted to approve school bonds to build new elementary schools, to build a $12 million nutrition center and the nearly completed career center, she said.

Growth is not without it pains. Sullivan said the borough has dealt with tensions in the community in regard to rules about planning. Some people want more rules, and some do not.

Through the help of Borough Manager John Duffy, the borough has acquired $500 million in capital project funding from the state - a $44 million ferry and ferry terminal, development of the Hatcher Pass Ski resort, $330 million prison and new schools, Sullivan said.

The reason for Mat-Su's relentless growth is traditionally fueled by cheap available land.

A big economic engine for the Valley is selling its housing to Anchorage workers, said Neal Fried, Alaska state economist. Other groups of Valley house-hunters are North Slope oil workers and mine workers and people in the fishing industry, and people who choose to live in the Valley and work someplace else. Housing is less expensive and feels rural, but is close to airports and the amenities of Anchorage.

Sullivan agreed.

&#8220The obvious answer is the long time we've had the more value for your land and your house,” Sullivan said.

But she also said recent surveys have shown the Valley's small-town feel also is cherished by residents.

&#8220Everybody knows everybody. We are not strangers here. We help each other out,” Sullivan said.

Like many others, Sullivan said, she was first drawn to the Mat-Su by more land. Anchorage workers move to the Valley and commute so they can have a nicer home and more land, she said.

Cheap land and housing is becoming a less important draw as Mat-Su's economy gets more sophisticated.

&#8220We are moving into new restaurants and new businesses,” Sullivan said.

Still a disproportionate amount of Mat-Su's income is made outside of the Valley, Fried said. In Alaska income usually leaks out of an area - like in Anchorage, where money leaks to the Valley, and on the North Slope, where many workers live in the Pacific Northwest.

&#8220The [Mat-Su] Valley, unlike all those other places, has a big positive flow of income,” Fried said.

Commuter salaries tend to be higher than the salaries of employees who work in the Valley. Due to the daily two-hour commute, Valley residents will only work outside the Valley if they can earn a higher wage, Fried said.

&#8220Obviously, everyone in the Valley would prefer to work just around the corner,” he said.

The most recent figures for per capita income, tallied in 2004, show Mat-Su workers have an average yearly income of $29,376, compared with a $34,000 statewide average.

Median age of Mat-Su residents was about 35, according to the 2005 census figures. The statewide median age is 33.

&#8220Folks that move out to the Valley tend to be a little older,” Williams said. &#8220Families that have teenage kids, for the most part.”

Along with growth in the number of households, the borough has also seen gains in household cash.

The median household income in the borough in 2000 was $51,220, not adjusted for inflation. Anchorage was at $55,546, and the nationwide average was $41,994.

However, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Consumer Price Index calculator, Mat-Su families saw no appreciable increase in real income from 2000 to 2005.

Still, Mat-Su income ranks well compared with Lower 48 states. If made a state of its own, Mat-Su would rank sixth in the country for average household income. Anchorage would be third.

All but two of the top 12 places that experienced the most rapid growth according to the 2000 census are in the Mat-Su, Williams said. The findings were limited to places with populations greater than 2,000. In addition to Knik-Fairview, Fishhook grew by 5.7 percent, Tanaina by 5.3 percent, Meadow Lakes by 4.7 percent, Gateway by 4.1 percent, Butte by 3.4 percent, Wasilla by 3.4 percent, Palmer by 3.3 percent, Lakes area by 2.6 percent and Big Lake by 2.5 percent.

The Mat-Su is fortunate in its steady growth. Williams' assessment showed that out of the 37 Alaska towns with populations of more than 2,000 people, 11 have shrunk since 2000.

The Department of Labor estimates population figures during years between federal census counts, Williams said. Permanent fund applications account for the biggest component of this estimate.

Neal Fried is scheduled to give a talk on Tuesday at the Greater Wasilla Chamber of Commerce on the demographic and economic outlook of the Mat-Su borough.

For more information, visit the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development Web site at www.labor.state.ak.us.

Contact Russell Stigall at

352-2267 or russell.stigall@ frontiersman.com