After a drop of 84 people in 2013 and an increase of 21 in 2014, the population of Haines has reverted to a downward trend, dropping 58 people in the last year to a total of 2,493, according to state statistics.
The town is also continuing to get older, maturing from a median age of 46.6 in 2012, to 48 in 2013, 48.5 in 2014, and 49.3 last year, according to the Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
That means the Haines Borough will retain its position as the oldest borough in Alaska, said state demographer Eddie Hunsinger.
Keeping with the town’s recent trend of no growth through natural increase, births and deaths matched each other last year. In 2014, two more people died than were born here, and in 2013, eight more people died than were born.
According to a press release put out by the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, among the state’s six economic regions, Anchorage/Mat-Su gained the most over the period (343) followed by Northern (277), and Gulf Coast (220). Southwest (-232), Interior (-172) and Southeast (-165) regions each had small losses.
Of Alaska’s 29 boroughs and census areas, 11 grew between 2014 and 2015. The largest population increases were in the Mat-Su Borough (1,801) and Kenai Peninsula Borough (348). The Municipality of Anchorage lost the most people over the period (-1,458).
Hunsinger said the state primarily uses census information and Permanent Fund Dividend applications to make annual population estimates.