Current Population Trends - According to State of Alaska population estimates, the 2004 population of the Kodiak Island Borough is 13,466. The Borough has experienced a growth in population of approximately 35% from 1980, when the population was 9,939. Although figures show a decline in 1996, this may be due to the use of a new method of estimating population.

How Kodiak Compares to Other Cities in Alaska - The City of Kodiak is the seventh largest city in Alaska, in terms of population. It ranks behind Anchorage, Juneau, Fairbanks, Sitka, Ketchikan, and Kenai in that order. Anchorage, Juneau & Sitka are Unified Home Rule Municipalities (i.e., unified city/boroughs); Fairbanks, Ketchikan, Kenai and Kodiak are Home Rule Cities.

The Kodiak Island Borough ranks seventhin terms of population, in comparison to other boroughs & unified municipalities. It follows Anchorage, Fairbanks North Star Borough, Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Kenai Peninsula Borough, Juneau City and Borough, and Bethel Census Area, in that order. Fairbanks, Mat-Su and Kodiak are all 2nd class boroughs; the rest -- as mentioned above -- are Unified Home Rule Municipalities.

Age, Sex & Education - In 2000, the median age in the Kodiak Island Borough was 31.6 years. Approximately 34.8% of the population is under 18 years of age, about 1% higher than Alaska overall. Fifty-three percent of the population was male and 47% female.

Approximately 21.5% of the Borough's adults, age 25 and older, hold at least a bachelor's degree. This places Kodiak fourth in the state in terms of educational achievement, behind Anchorage (26.9%), Fairbanks (25.2%) and Juneau (30.7%). Kodiak's ranking is impressive, considering that each of the above cities has at least one four-year university. The number of adults, 25 years and older, estimated to have at least a high school diploma is 84.7%.

Ethnic Distribution - The Kodiak Island Borough appears to be experiencing a slow-but-long-term shift in racial and ethnic distribution. The 2000 Census Bureau shows a significant increase in both the "Asian/Pacific Islander" and "Hispanic Origin" categories. In 1990, when the last census was conducted, 11.6 percent of the population belonged to the "Asian/Pacific Islander" group. In 2000, that group had increased to 17 percent. Conversely, the proportion of "Whites" dropped from 71-percent in 1990 to 59-percent in 2000. The "Native American" and "African American" groups saw very small changes, on the order of 1-percent . The 2000 Census included an additional category to determine race - "two or more races."

Under the Census Bureau’s classification system, "Hispanic Origin" is not a separate race, but a measure of "ethnicity." People of "Hispanic Origin" can belong to any race. As a result, this group is measured separately. According to the Department of Labort, the number of people of "Hispanic Origin" in Kodiak increased slightly over the last ten years, going from 5% to 6.4% of the population

Source: Alaska Department of Labor