Kenai Peninsula Borough is a

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,799, up from 55,400 in 2010. The borough seat is Soldotna, the largest city is Kenai, and the most populated community is the

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

of Kalifornsky. The borough includes most of the Kenai Peninsula and a large area of the mainland of Alaska on the opposite side of

Cook Inlet Cook Inlet (; Sugpiaq language, Sugpiaq: ''Cungaaciq'') stretches from the Gulf of Alaska to Anchorage, Alaska, Anchorage in south-central Alaska. Cook Inlet branches into the Knik Arm and Turnagain Arm at its northern end, almost surrounding ...

Geography

The borough has a total area of , of which is land and (3.4%) is water.

Adjacent boroughs and census areas

* Bethel Census Area, Alaska - northwest * Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska - north * Municipality of Anchorage, Alaska - north * Chugach Census Area, Alaska - east * Lake and Peninsula Borough, Alaska - west *

Kodiak Island Borough, Alaska Kodiak Island Borough () is a borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. At the 2020 census, the population was 13,101, down from 13,592 in 2010. The borough seat is Kodiak. Geography The borough has a total area of , of which is land and (45. ...

- south

National protected areas

* Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge (part of Gulf of Alaska unit) ** Chiswell Islands ** Tuxedni Wilderness *

Chugach National Forest The Chugach National Forest is a United States National Forest in south central Alaska. Covering portions of Prince William Sound, the Kenai Peninsula and the Copper River (Alaska), Copper River Delta, it was formed in 1907 from part of a larger ...

(part) *

Katmai National Park and Preserve Katmai National Park and Preserve is a List of national parks of the United States, United States national park and National preserve, preserve in southwest Alaska, notable for the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes and for its Alaska Peninsula brown ...

(part) ** Katmai Wilderness (part) * Kenai Fjords National Park * Kenai National Wildlife Refuge ** Kenai Wilderness * Lake Clark National Park and Preserve (part) ** Lake Clark Wilderness (part)

Ecology

Bear Lake, Tutka Bay, and the Trail Lakes, have been the site of

salmon Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...

enhancement activities. All three sites are managed by the Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association Some of the fish hatched at these facilities are released into the famous Homer fishing hole. Cook Inlet Keeper and the Cook Inlet Regional Citizen's Advisory Council are groups that attempt to influence public policy on the use of the area's resources.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2020, there were 58,799 people.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 49,700 people, 18,400 households, and 12,700 families residing in the borough. The population density was . There were 24,900 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the borough was 86% White, 7% Native American, 2% Hispanic or Latino (any race), and 4% from two or more races. Black or

African Americans African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa ...

Asians "Asian people" (sometimes "Asiatic people")United States National Library of Medicine. Medical Subject Headings. 2004. November 17, 200Nlm.nih.gov: ''Asian Continental Ancestry Group'' is also used for categorical purposes. is an umbrella term ...

, and

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...

Islanders each were less than 1%. Just under 1% were from other races combined. 1.92% reported speaking

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

at home, while 1.74% spoke

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

. Of the 18,400 households, 38% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55% were married couples living together, 9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31% were non-families. 25% of households were one person, and 5% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.6 and the average family size was 3.2. In the borough the population was spread out, with 30% under the age of 18, 7% from 18 to 24, 30% from 25 to 44, 26% from 45 to 64, and 7% 65 or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 109 males; for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 110 males.

Government and infrastructure

There is a borough-wide government based in Soldotna, consisting of a strong mayor and an assembly of representatives from all areas of the borough. They collect sales and property taxes and provide services such as road maintenance, waste collection facilities, emergency services and major funding for public schools, along with mitigation of damage from spruce bark beetles that infested the borough in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Incorporated towns also have their own local governments and city councils. The Alaska Department of Corrections operates the Spring Creek Correctional Center near Seward and the Wildwood Correctional Complex near Kenai. Kenai Peninsula is one of the most Republican boroughs in the state, having last backed a Democrat for president in 1968.

Communities

Cities

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...

* Kachemak * Kenai * Seldovia * Seward * Soldotna (Borough seat)

Census-designated places

* Anchor Point * Bear Creek *

Beluga Beluga may refer to: Animals *Beluga (sturgeon) * Beluga whale Vehicles * Airbus Beluga, a large transport airplane * Airbus BelugaXL, a larger transport airplane * Beluga-class submarine, a class of Russian SSA diesel-electric submarine * U ...

* Clam Gulch * Cohoe * Cooper Landing * Crown Point * Diamond Ridge * Fox River * Fritz Creek * Funny River * Halibut Cove * Happy Valley *

Hope Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's own life, or the world at large. As a verb, Merriam-Webster defines ''hope'' as "to expect with confid ...

* Kalifornsky * Kasilof * Lowell Point * Moose Pass * Nanwalek * Nikiski * Nikolaevsk * Ninilchik * Point Possession * Port Graham * Primrose * Ridgeway * Salamatof * Seldovia Village * Sterling *

Sunrise Sunrise (or sunup) is the moment when the upper rim of the Sun appears on the horizon in the morning, at the start of the Sun path. The term can also refer to the entire process of the solar disk crossing the horizon. Terminology Although the S ...

* Tyonek

Unincorporated communities

* Jakolof Bay * Kachemak Selo * Razdolna * Voznesenka

Ghost town

* Portlock

Education

The school district for the whole borough is Kenai Peninsula Borough School District.
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References

External links

Borough map, 2000 census: Alaska Department of Labor

Borough map, 2010 census: Alaska Department of Labor
{{Authority control 1964 establishments in Alaska Populated places established in 1964