The Matanuska-Susitna Borough was one of the fastest growing areas of the state in the past 10 years.
The 2020 Census counted 107,081 people living in the Mat-Su, an increase of 18,086 or 20.3 percent.
Fairbanks lost population, and is now at 95,655, which is 1,926 fewer than in 2010, or a loss of 2 percent.
Anchorage Borough lost population as well, although slightly. The current population is 291,247, a shrinkage of 579 people in the decade, or 0.2 percent.
Kenai Borough grew to 58,7999, an increase of 3,399 in the decade, or 6.1%
Juneau City and Borough gained population and is now at 32,255, which is 980 more than in 2010, or a 3.1 percent increase.
Wrangell City and Borough shrank to 2,127. That is a loss of 242 people or 10.2 percent.
North Slope Borough also grew rapidly, although the overall numbers are smaller: There are 11,031 people living in the borough, an increase of 1,601 since 2010, or 17 percent.
The borough that has seen the most growth in the decade is Skagway, which went from 968 in 2010 to 1,240 in 2020, an increase of 272, or 28 percent growth.
The population shifts are what will inform the redistricting process, as political boundaries all over the nation change as a result of changing population and demographics.
The overall population of Alaska is 733,391, an increase of 3.3 percent in the decade.
Check back with Must Read Alaska for more information about the Census in Alaska, as we take a look at some of the more rural districts in Alaska.
National factoids
County and metro area highlights released on Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau:
- The largest county in the United States in 2020 remains Los Angeles County with over 10 million people.
- The largest city (incorporated place) in the United States in 2020 remains New York with 8.8 million people.
- 312 of the 384 U.S. metro areas gained population between 2010 and 2020.
- The fastest-growing U.S. metro area between the 2010 Census and 2020 Census was The Villages, FL, which grew 39% from about 93,000 people to about 130,000 people.
- 72 U.S. metro areas lost population from the 2010 Census to the 2020 Census. The U.S. metro areas with the largest percentage declines were Pine Bluff, AR, and Danville, IL, at -12.5 percent and -9.1 percent, respectively.
