Age Migration Data Show More Young Adults Moving In, More 35+ Leaving

March 03, 2017
Friday PM

(SitNews) Juneau, Alaska - The state’s first-ever release of migration data by age and sex shows that from 2010 to 2015, Alaska had a net gain of adults in their 20s each year and a net loss of teens and older adults.

People in their 20s, who made up about 15 percent of the state’s population over that period, represented 27 percent of those who came to Alaska and 24 percent of those who left. This age group is the most mobile, both in Alaska and nationwide.

Alaska consistently loses more 15-to-19-year-olds than it gains, usually through high school graduates leaving for college.

The state also lost more people 35 and older than it gained between 2010 and 2015. The difference between in-migration and out-migration was largest among people in their 60s, with an average of nearly twice the number leaving as arriving each year.

Overall, roughly 44,000 people moved into Alaska each year and 47,000 moved away. This magnitude of churn - about 12 percent of the population moving into or out of the state each year - is among the highest in the nation.

The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development’s migration data by age and sex cover the last three five-year intervals (2000 to 2005, 2005 to 2010 and 2010 to 2015) and are available at live.laborstats.alaska.gov/pop/migration.cfm. Data for boroughs and census areas are also available.

Submit A Letter to SitNews