Matanuska-Susitna Borough: boasting plenty of space for businesses and families to grow.

• Author: Barbour, Tracy
• Position: Regional Focus

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Occupying nearly 25,000 square miles in the heart of Southcentral Alaska, the Matanuska-Susitna Borough rivals the size of West Virginia. It's an expansive area adorned with mountain ranges, rolling lowlands, river valleys, forests and wetlands. The borough encompasses parts of the Alaska Range with North America's tallest mountain--Mount McKinley--just outside its northern borders, portions of the Chugach Mountains to the south, and the Talkeetna and Clearwater Ranges in its interior.

The Mat-Su Borough is renowned for being home to the official start of the legendary Iditarod Trail Sled Dog race as well as the Iron Dog snowmobile race from Wasilla to Nome to Fairbanks. The borough is also the state's largest agricultural producer, growing over-sized cabbages, rutabagas and other vegetables.

The borough's pristine landscape is dotted with farms, quaint towns, suburban homes and remote cabins. Nearly 90,000 people call Mat-Su home. Most of them live in the incorporated communities of Palmer and Wasilla, as well as places like Knik-Fairview, Lakes, Tanaina and Gateway.

Wasilla, which is located on the northern point of Cook Inlet, is a commuter suburb of Anchorage. It is the borough's largest city and is experiencing phenomenal growth. In 2008, the city gained international prominence when Sarah Palin, Wasilla's former mayor and the state's former governor, served as the vice-presidential running mate of John McCain in the country's presidential election.

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Palmer, often called Wasilla's "twin" city, is a densely-populated area with the ambiance of a small western town. Each year, Palmer holds the Alaska State Fair and hosts thousands of visitors. People also visit the city for its abundance of recreational activities, including skiing at nearby Hatcher Pass.

Industries

The economy of the Mat-Su Borough is stable and growing, says Borough Mayor Larry DeVilbiss. The reason: "We have not experienced the downturn that was more typical of the rest of the country," DeVilbiss says. "Add to that the fact that we have a huge capacity for growth."

For several decades, Mat-Su has been the state's fastest-growing area. It grew more than 50 percent from 2000 to 2010, going from a population of 59,322 to 88,995. Much of that growth was fueled by the movement of people from other parts of the state. According to the 2010 Mat-Su Economic Development Strategic Plan, more than half of the individuals who migrate to Mat-Su come from another borough in Alaska. The Anchorage Municipality is the leading origin of new residents to Mat-Su as well as the leading destination of former residents.

Officially part of the Anchorage Metropolitan Statistical Area, the borough's economy, livelihood and people are closely connected to Anchorage. As many as 20,000 people commute from the borough to Anchorage, according to Don Dyer, the borough's economic development director. However, the rate of growth in the number of commuters from Mat-Su to Anchorage is slowing: The increase in the number of Mat-Su residents working in Anchorage fell from 37 percent between 1997 and 2002 to 18 percent between 2002 and 2007; while the number of local residents employed in Mat-Su continued to increase at a constant rate.

As more people move to the borough, its economy continues to grow and diversify. Currently, the leading industries in the borough include retail, construction, health care/social services, accommodation/food services, government, transportation and warehousing, and personal services.

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Trends

Interestingly, recent job growth patterns show that Mat-Su has added employment in industries that support its rising population: real estate, retail trade, health care and construction. Mat-Su's high employment totals for construction and real estate indicate rapid growth--in a less dynamic place, these job totals would be lower.

In terms of who's providing the jobs, the Mat-Su Borough has a limited number of major private-sector employers. The top private employers are predominately retail businesses: Wal-Mart/Sam's Club, Fred Meyer, Carrs/Safeway, Home Depot, Lowes and Target. Other major employers are the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District, State of Alaska, Mat-Su Regional Medical Center, Matanuska-Susitna Borough, the federal government and University of Alaska.

DeVilbiss is noticing a number of employment-related trends at work. For instance, in the mid '80s, close to 50 percent of the borough's workforce was tied directly to the oil industry. Now, that number is down to around 13 percent. "I'm happy about that," he says. "The more we can diversity our economy, the less vulnerable we're going to be to outside negative forces."

Another trend DeVilbiss is seeing is an increased interest...