Kodiak Island Business Climate Analysis

A total of 127 Kodiak Island business owners and top managers, representing a combined staff of approximately 3,500 workers, responded to the business climate survey in February 2024. Key findings include the following:

• Seafood Sector Concerns: One quarter of all Kodiak jobs and nearly one third of all workforce earnings are directly related to the seafood industry. Lower ex-vessel prices, high seafood inventories, reduced global and domestic demand and high interest rates have resulted in lower fish prices across all species. More than three-quarters of Kodiak business leaders in the seafood and maritime sectors call the economy of Kodiak poor or very poor, and say they expect conditions to continue to decline.
• Strong Coast Guard Sector: The second larger sector in Kodiak is the US Coast Guard (USCG), accounting for 16% of all workforce earnings on the island. According to USCG leadership, the Coast Guard is projecting a potential increase of 200 activity duty personnel over the coming years as four new cutters are expected to be home-ported in the community.
• Increased Economic Uncertainty: Nearly every sector in Kodiak expects to feel the impacts of weak seafood markets. While other sectors in Kodiak are currently performing well, uncertainty surrounding the borough’s largest economic driver is causing businesses to brace for potential declines in consumer spending. Over the last decade population and workforce levels have decreased by approximately 10% each, further fueling economic uncertainty.
• Housing, Isolation, Cost of Living, and Workforce Challenges: Business leaders say that the lack of available and affordable housing is a critical barrier to the growth and stability of Kodiak’s economy, affecting the ability of businesses to recruit and retain skilled labor. More than three-quarters of Kodiak’s business leaders say that home ownership prices are too high for their staff, 80% say rental prices are too high, and 64% say there are not enough rentals to meet the housing needs of their workforce. However, despite 180 new housing units over the last decade, an increasing number of homes in the community are being used seasonally-only, decreasing the year-round housing stock available to the larger community. Business leaders also identified isolation and the cost of living as obstacles to worker retention.