HousingMat-Su · September 10, 2026
mat-su rents jumped 13 percent
The Mat-Su Valley is building more new housing than anywhere in Alaska, and it still has the fastest rising rents in the state.
Daily Alaska staff · September 10, 2026 · Mat-Su
The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development published its annual rent survey in Alaska Economic Trends, showing the Matanuska-Susitna Borough's rents rose 13 percent against March 2025, the fastest increase of any region in the state. The Kenai Peninsula Borough came in second at 11 percent, while the statewide median rose just 2.6 percent.
The increase hits renters directly. In the Fairbanks North Star Borough, a two-bedroom, one-bath unit now runs about $1,720 a month, a 2 percent increase, with a vacancy rate of 9.1 percent as of March.
The jump comes despite a historic building boom in the Valley. Alaska recorded a 10-year high in new residential construction in 2025, adding 2,261 single-family and multi-family units statewide. Mat-Su led all boroughs in growth, expanding its housing stock by 40 percent, and half of all new units built statewide went up in Mat-Su and Anchorage combined.
The state's report does not explain why the borough adding the most new housing is also the borough where rents climbed fastest. It presents the construction and rent figures side by side without offering a cause.
Renters in Wasilla, Palmer, Big Lake, Houston and Soldotna, along with Anchorage, are now navigating the same tightening market from different parts of the region.
In this story
Questions people ask
where did rents rise the fastest in alaska last year
The Mat-Su Borough, up 13 percent against March 2025, the highest increase statewide according to the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
why are mat-su rents climbing even with all the new housing
The state's report lays out both the construction boom and rent numbers side by side but doesn't explain why more units haven't cooled the market.
what's the rent for a two-bedroom apartment in fairbanks
About $1,720 a month as of March, up 2 percent from a year earlier, with a 9.1 percent vacancy rate.
how much new housing did alaska build in 2025
Alaska added 2,261 single-family and multi-family units in 2025, a 10-year high, with the Mat-Su growing its housing stock by 40 percent and half of all new units going up in Mat-Su and Anchorage combined.
Evidence
Sources
Claims and where they come from
- Mat-Su Borough rents rose 13 percent against March 2025, the highest increase in Alaska. · newsminer.com
- The statewide median rent rose 2.6 percent. · newsminer.com
- Alaska added 2,261 single-family and multi-family units in 2025, a 10-year high in new residential construction. · newsminer.com
- A Fairbanks two-bedroom, one-bath unit runs about $1,720 a month with a 9.1 percent vacancy rate as of March. · newsminer.com
Produced with AI assistance, narrated with Slav Lund's voice clone with his consent, and reviewed by a person before publishing. How we use AI →