The Matanuska-Susitna Borough has grown rapidly over the last decade, both in population and the number of homes, according to new data from the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
While many areas in the state have experienced decreasing populations, Mat-Su’s population has grown by 18% since 2015, according to the report. Kenai has seen a similar, although smaller increase.
State economist Sam Tappen authored the report and said the Borough’s natural increase, births minus deaths, is almost identical to the statewide average.
“That means that their really long run consistent population growth is entirely attributable to their ability to retain residents and attract new residents from elsewhere,” Tappen said. “Something about that secret sauce they have there.”
Tappen says that “secret sauce” is likely tied to affordability of housing and land. The average single-family home in Anchorage costs more than $500,000, while one in the Mat-Su is roughly $400,000.
The Borough is also attracting working-age Alaskans. That demographic has shrunk statewide but grown by about 8,000 people since 2013 in Mat Su. But across the board, the data found 39% of residents commuted to work.
Tappen says the majority of those workers are driving into Anchorage.
“The number one thing that tied them all together was 94% of Mat-Su residents who choose to work elsewhere are working in areas with higher wages. So obviously the cheap housing and lower cost of living out there is attractive,” he said.
Mat-Su’s number of jobs has nearly doubled over the past two decades, according to the report.
Another finding: more than half of the nearly 2,200 new homes built in Alaska between 2010 and 2024 were in the Mat-Su, which Tappen said tends to be more economical than Anchorage.
“We're kind of at this point in Anchorage of maturity, where to build new housing you have to redevelop existing properties, and that's just so much more costly than developing greenfield lots,” Tappen said.
The report says Mat-Su builds more than three times as many homes as Anchorage each year.
