KMXT 100.1 FM Public Radio in Kodiak, Alaska
U.S. Census data released today (THURSDAY) revealed the changing race and ethnic demographics of Kodiak Island. It tells a story of the island’s overall shrinking population, despite growth in Kodiak’s racial minority communities.
The White population in Kodiak, for instance, plummeted by 12% since 2010, making the borough’s overall population exactly 50% White and 50% nonwhite. Statewide, the White population decreased 8% in that same time period.
Kodiak’s nonwhite communities continue to grow as White residents, nearly one-thousand [1,000], have left the island since 2010.
The proportion of Alaskan Natives in Kodiak slightly increased by nearly 2% over the past decade, part of a statewide trend that shows a 6% increase. Alaska Natives now comprise 14% of the borough’s population.
The largest minority population in Kodiak are Asian Americans, making up over 20% of the borough’s population. Kodiak has the third-largest proportion of Asian Americans among Alaskan boroughs. Kodiak’s Asian American population increased over 5% since 2010.
And since 2010, the Hispanic and Latino population in Kodiak increased by nearly 3%, now comprising almost 8% of the borough’s population.
And even though the Pacific Islander population only comprises about 1% of Kodiak’s population, their community has grown by 35% over the past decade. It is the fastest growing minority group in Kodiak and in Alaska.
Black residents are the only nonwhite group to see a population decrease since 2010 in Kodiak, a 2% decrease. Black residents make up less than 1% of Kodiak’s population.
Overall, Kodiak’s population decreased from 13,600 to just over 13,100. In 2019, the US Census Bureau’s Population Estimates Program estimated Kodiak’s population at 12,998, a number Kodiak hasn’t seen since the late 1980s.
