Anchorage Daily News

WASILLA -- The Matanuska-Susitna Borough lost the title of fastest-growing population in Alaska -- at least between 2006 and 2007.

Technically, that honor goes to the Aleutians East Borough, which posted a whopping 7.6 percent increase, according to recently released state population estimates.

That translates to only about 200 more people in the sparsely populated borough of not quite 2,800 that includes Cold Bay and the fishing village of King Cove. Local officials also said incoming transient fishing workers mask the number of departing Aleuts.

The Mat-Su narrowly lost a more statistically significant race with the Fairbanks North Star Borough, which grew by 3,200 people to 90,960 or so, largely due to military activity at Fort Wainwright, state people-counters said.

The Fairbanks North Star Borough grew by 3.6 percent from 2006 to 2007, compared with Mat-Su's 3.5 percent. The Valley's population last year was 80,056.

Fairbanks city, with nearly 31,600 residents, for the first time moved ahead of Juneau, where the state counted some 30,300 people.

Anchorage remains the state's largest city, with 284,000 residents, or nearly half the state's 677,000 residents, according to the recently released 2007 statewide population counts by the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

Even as the Mat-Su lost bragging rights, however, the fastest growing part of the borough earned some recognition.

At 12,283 souls, the Knik-Fairview community would be the fourth-largest city in Alaska -- if it were actually a city. The fifth largest: some hot spot known as "College Census Designated Place" that turns out to be the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Knik-Fairview -- a subdivision-studded chunk of ground between Knik Arm, Wasilla and Big Lake -- has no city hall or high school, much less a movie theater or a big-box store.

Real estate developer B.H. Tilton serves as president of the local community council. That makes him as close to a mayor as the imaginary city of Knik-Fairview has.

"Good grief," the 65-year-old Tilton said. "Where's my budget?"

Despite its statistical success, greater Fairbanks doesn't feel more crowded, said Dermot Cole, author and columnist for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

The borough "grew" by 8,000 people after officials there successfully challenged the U.S. Census Bureau count of short-term residents, according to a report in the News-Miner.

Then again, Cole said, the city limit sign has not indicated the population for 25 or 30 years, since the trans-Alaska pipeline was built. Thanks to some well-placed graffiti, that sign read "Population: ENOUGH."

"I don't know for sure if anybody knows how many people live here," he said.

State analysts, too, balked at giving much weight to the one-year spike.

The estimates count troops deployed overseas as residents, so populations in military-heavy places like Fairbanks and Anchorage "may be somewhat lower than these estimates indicate," state demographer Greg Williams said in a report released with the numbers.

Long-term numbers provide a more accurate picture of growth, Williams said in an interview. If you look at the last eight years, the Mat-Su outpaces everywhere else. Between 2000 and 2007, Mat-Su gained almost 21,000 residents. Fairbanks-North Star Borough? About 8,100.

The state count shows that Alaska remains larger in population than North Dakota, Vermont, the District of Columbia and Wyoming, though its population growth has slowed.

Anchorage grew 0.9 percent from 2006 to 2007, but by 9 percent since 2000.

Eighteen boroughs and census areas in Alaska lost population in the last seven years. Its population aging, Southeast Alaska continued to show the biggest overall decline, losing 5.1 percent of its population since 2000, the state population report shows.

Back in the state's fourth-biggest place, there's little chance Knik-Fairview will become a city soon. Asked about the odds the community would push for incorporation, its would-be mayor said "slim to none."

"At least at this point, the general tenor is that if we're left alone, we're happy out here in Knik-Fairview," Tilton said.

Find Zaz Hollander online at adn.com/contact/zhollander or call 352-6711.

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