View source for Alaska

{{Short description|U.S. state}}
{{Duplicated citations|reason=[[User:Polygnotus/DuplicateReferences|DuplicateReferences]] detected:<br>
* https://www.census.gov/data/tables/2020/dec/2020-apportionment-data.html (refs: 6, 77)<br>
* https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/AK (refs: 9, 126)<br>
* https://ava.prri.org/#religious/2020/States/religion/m/US-AK (refs: 103, 111)<br>
* https://web.archive.org/web/20131212162841/http://www.thearda.com/rcms2010/r/s/02/rcms2010_02_state_adh_2010.asp (refs: 107, 108)
|date=June 2025}}
{{about|the U.S. state}}
{{redirect|Alaskan}}
{{pp-move}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Infobox U.S. state
| native_name = <div style="padding-top:0.25em;">{{native name|ik|Alaaskaq}}<br/>{{native name|esu|Alaskaq}}<br/>{{native name|tli|Anáaski}}<br/>{{native name|ems|Alas'kaaq}}</div>
| image_flag = Flag of Alaska.svg
| name = Alaska
| image_seal = Seal of the State of Alaska.svg
| flag_link = Flag of Alaska
| nickname = The Last Frontier
| motto = North to the Future
| anthem = [[Alaska's Flag]]<br />[[File: Alaskan State Anthem vocal.wav|center]]
| image_map = Alaska in United States (US50) (+grid) (W3).svg
| OfficialLangs = [[Ahtna language|Ahtna]], [[Alutiiq language|Alutiiq]], [[Dena'ina language|Dena'ina]], [[Central Alaskan Yup'ik language|Cup'ig]], [[Deg Xinag language|Deg Xinag]], English, [[Eyak language|Eyak]], [[Gwich'in language|Gwich'in]], [[Haida language|Haida]], [[Hän language|Hän]], [[Holikachuk language|Holikachuk]], [[Inupiat language|Inupiaq]], [[Koyukon language|Koyukon]], [[Lower Tanana language|Lower Tanana]], [[Lower Tanana language|Middle Tanana]], [[Central Siberian Yupik language|St. Lawrence Island Yupik]], [[Tanacross language|Tanacross]], [[Tlingit language|Tlingit]], [[Coast Tsimshian dialect|Tsimshian]], [[Aleut language|Unangax̂]], [[Upper Kuskokwim language|Upper Kuskokwim]], [[Upper Tanana language|Upper Tanana]], [[Central Alaskan Yup'ik language|Yup'ik]], [[Tsetsaut language|Wetał]]
| Languages = {{plainlist|
* English 86.3%
* [[Alaska Native languages]] 5.2%
* [[Tagalog language|Tagalog]] 3.4%
* Spanish 2.9%
* Others 2.2%}}
| population_demonym = Alaskan
| LargestCity = [[Anchorage, Alaska|Anchorage]]
| seat = [[Juneau, Alaska|Juneau]]
| area_rank = 1st
| area_total_sq_mi = 665,384<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/2010/geo/state-area.html|title=State Area Measurements and Internal Point Coordinates|website=Census.gov|access-date=September 1, 2023|archive-date=April 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200407014954/https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/2010/geo/state-area.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
| area_total_km2 = 1,723,337
| width_mi = 2,261
| width_km = 3,639
| length_mi = 1,420
| length_km = 2,285
| area_water_percent = 13.77
| Latitude = 51°20'N to 71°50'N
| Longitude = 130°W to 172°E
| population_rank = 48th
| population_as_of = 2024
| 2010Pop = {{IncreaseNeutral}} 740,133<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/AK/PST045224|accessdate=January 9, 2025|title=United States Census Quick Facts Alaska|archive-date=January 19, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250119203320/https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/AK/PST045224|url-status=live}}</ref>
| MedianHouseholdIncome = ${{round|86631|-2}} (2<span>0</span>23)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/2024/demo/acsbr-023.pdf|title=Household Income in States and Metropolitan Areas: 2023|accessdate=January 12, 2025|archive-date=January 12, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250112072850/https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/2024/demo/acsbr-023.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
| 2020DensityUS = 1.10
| 2020Density = 0.42
| population_density_rank = 50th
| IncomeRank = [[List of U.S. states and territories by income#States and territories ranked by median household income|12th]]
| elevation_max_point = [[Denali]]<ref name=USGS>{{cite web|url=http://egsc.usgs.gov/isb/pubs/booklets/elvadist/elvadist.html |title=Elevations and Distances in the United States |publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]] |year=2001 |access-date=October 21, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111015012701/http://egsc.usgs.gov/isb/pubs/booklets/elvadist/elvadist.html |archive-date=October 15, 2011 }}</ref>
| elevation_max_ft = 20,310
| elevation_max_m = 6190.5
| elevation_ft = 1900
| elevation_m = 580
| elevation_min_point = 
| elevation_min_m = 0
| elevation_min_ft = 0
| Former = Territory of Alaska
| AdmittanceDate = {{start date and age|1959|01|03}}
| AdmittanceOrder = 49th
| Governor = [[Mike Dunleavy (politician)|Mike Dunleavy]] ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]])
| Lieutenant Governor = [[Nancy Dahlstrom]] ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]])
| Legislature = [[Alaska State Legislature]]
| Judiciary = [[Alaska Supreme Court]]
| Senators = {{plainlist|
* [[Lisa Murkowski]] ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]])
* [[Dan Sullivan (U.S. senator)|Dan Sullivan]] ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]])}}
| timezone1 = [[Alaska Time Zone|AKST]]
| utc_offset1 = – 09:00
| timezone1_DST = AKDT
| utc_offset1_DST = – 08:00
| timezone1_location = east of 169°30'
| timezone2 = [[Hawaii–Aleutian Time Zone|HST]]
| utc_offset2 = – 10:00
| timezone2_DST = HDT
| utc_offset2_DST = – 09:00
| timezone2_location = west of 169°30'
| iso_code = US-AK
| postal_code = AK
| website = alaska.gov
| Upperhouse = [[Alaska State Senate|State Senate]]
| Lowerhouse = [[Alaska House of Representatives|House of Representatives]]
| Representative = [[Nick Begich III]] ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]])
| area_land_km2 = 1,518,800
| area_land_sq_mi = 586,412 square miles<ref>{{cite web | url=https://alaska.gov/Kids/learn/aboutgeography.htm | title=Geography of Alaska, Alaska Kids' Corner, State of Alaska | access-date=January 17, 2024 | archive-date=December 3, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231203064629/http://www.alaska.gov/kids/learn/aboutgeography.htm | url-status=live }}</ref>
| area_water_km2 = 236,507
| area_water_sq_mi = 91,316
| Capital = Juneau, Alaska
| LargestMetro = [[Anchorage metropolitan area|Anchorage]]
| Representatives = 
}}
'''Alaska''' ({{IPAc-en|audio=en-us-Alaska.ogg|ə|ˈ|l|æ|s|k|ə}} {{Respell|ə|LASS|kə}}) is a [[Non-contiguous United States|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 northernmost, westernmost, and easternmost (the [[Aleutian Islands]] cross the [[180th meridian]] into the eastern hemisphere) state in the United States. It borders the [[Provinces and territories of Canada|Canadian territory]] of [[Yukon]] and the [[Provinces and territories of Canada|province]] of [[British Columbia]] to the east. It shares a western maritime border, in the [[Bering Strait]], with [[Russia]]'s [[Chukotka Autonomous Okrug]]. The [[Chukchi Sea|Chukchi]] and [[Beaufort Sea|Beaufort]] Seas of the [[Arctic Ocean]] lie to the north, and the [[Pacific Ocean]] lies to the south. Technically, it is a [[enclave and exclave|semi-exclave]] of the U.S., and is the largest exclave in the world.

Alaska is the [[list of U.S. states and territories by area|largest U.S. state]] by area, comprising more total area than the following three largest states of [[Texas]], [[California]], and [[Montana]] combined, and is the [[list of country subdivisions by area|seventh-largest subnational division in the world]]. It is the [[list of U.S. states and territories by population|third-least populous]] and [[list of U.S. states and territories by population density|most sparsely populated]] U.S. state; however, with a population of 740,133 as of 2024, it is the most populous territory in North America located mostly north of the [[60th parallel north|60th parallel]], with more than quadruple the combined populations of Northern Canada and [[Greenland]].<ref name="2020Census">{{cite web |title=2020 Census Apportionment Results |url=https://www.census.gov/data/tables/2020/dec/2020-apportionment-data.html |website=census.gov |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=April 30, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210426210008/https://www.census.gov/data/tables/2020/dec/2020-apportionment-data.html |archive-date=April 26, 2021 |url-status=live }}</ref> The state contains the four [[List of United States cities by area|largest cities in the United States by area]], including the state capital of [[Juneau, Alaska|Juneau]]. The state's most populous city is [[Anchorage, Alaska|Anchorage]], and approximately half of Alaska's residents live within [[Anchorage metropolitan area|its metropolitan area]].
[[Alaska Natives|Indigenous people]] have lived in Alaska for thousands of years, and it is widely believed that the region served as [[Settlement of the Americas|the entry point for the initial settlement]] of North America by way of the [[Bering land bridge]]. The [[Russian Empire]] was the first to actively [[European colonization of the Americas|colonize]] the area beginning in the 18th century, eventually establishing [[Russian America]], which spanned most of the current state and promoted and maintained a native [[Alaskan Creole people|Alaskan Creole]] population.<ref name="lydiablack">{{cite book |title=Russians in Alaska, 1732–1867|first=Lydia|last=Black|publisher=University of Alaska Press|year=2004|pages=217, 218}}</ref> The expense and logistical difficulty of maintaining this distant possession prompted [[Alaska Purchase|its sale to the U.S.]] in 1867 for US$7.2&nbsp;million (equivalent to ${{Inflation|USD|7.2|1867}} million in {{Inflation/year|USD}}). The area went through several administrative changes before becoming organized as a [[territories of the United States|territory]] on May 11, 1912. It was admitted as the 49th state of the U.S. on January 3, 1959.<ref>{{cite AV media|year=1959|title=Video: 49th Star. Alaska Statehood, New Flag, Official, 1959/01/05 (1959)|url=https://archive.org/details/1959-01-05_49th_Star_Alaska_Statehood|publisher=[[Universal Newsreel]]|access-date=February 20, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120515054607/http://archive.org/details/1959-01-05_49th_Star_Alaska_Statehood|archive-date=May 15, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>

Abundant natural resources have enabled Alaska&mdash; with one of the smallest state economies&mdash;to have one of the highest [[list of U.S. states by GDP per capita|per capita incomes]], with [[Commercial fishing in Alaska|commercial fishing]], and the extraction of [[Natural gas in Alaska|natural gas]] and oil, dominating [[Economy of Alaska|Alaska's economy]]. U.S. Armed Forces bases and [[tourism in Alaska|tourism]] also contribute to the economy; more than half of the state is federally-owned land containing [[United States National Forest|national forests]], [[List of national parks of the United States|national parks]], and [[national wildlife refuge|wildlife refuges]]. It is among the [[List of U.S. states and territories by religiosity|most irreligious states]] and one of the first [[2014 Alaska Measure 2|to legalize recreational marijuana]]. The Indigenous population of Alaska is proportionally the second highest of any U.S. state, at over 15 percent, after only Hawaii.<ref>{{Cite web |title=U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Alaska |url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/AK |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181229232038/https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/AK |archive-date=December 29, 2018 |access-date=February 17, 2020 |website=census.gov}}</ref>

==Etymology==
The name "Alaska" ({{langx|ru|Аля́ска|Aljáska}}) was introduced during the [[Russian America|Russian colonial period]] when it was used to refer to the [[Alaska Peninsula]]. It was derived from an [[Aleut language|Aleut-language]] [[idiom]], {{Lang|ale|alaxsxaq}}, meaning "the mainland" or, more literally, "the object towards which the action of the sea is directed".<ref name=Aleut>{{cite book|title=Aleut Dictionary: Unangam Tunudgusii |editor=Bergsland, Knut |publisher=Alaska Native Language Center|year=1994|isbn=978-1-55500-047-9}}, at pp. 49 (Alaxsxi-x = mainland Alaska), 50 (''alagu-x'' = ''sea''), 508 (''-gi'' = suffix, ''object of its action'').</ref><ref name=Bright>{{cite book |title=Native American Placenames in the United States|last=Bright|first=William|publisher=University of Oklahoma Press|year=2007|isbn=978-0806135984}}</ref><ref>Ransom, J. Ellis. 1940. "Derivation of the Word 'Alaska'", ''American Anthropologist'' n.s., 42: pp. 550–551</ref>

==History==
{{Main|Prehistory of Alaska|History of Alaska}}

===Pre-colonization===
{{Main|Alaska Natives}}Numerous indigenous peoples occupied Alaska for thousands of years before the arrival of European peoples to the area. Linguistic and DNA studies done here have provided evidence for the settlement of North America by way of the [[Bering land bridge]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=UCL |date=2012-07-12 |title=Native American populations descend from three key migrations |url=https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2012/jul/native-american-populations-descend-three-key-migrations |access-date=2023-12-22 |website=UCL News |language=en |archive-date=December 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231209214252/https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2012/jul/native-american-populations-descend-three-key-migrations |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Handwerk |first=Brian |date=June 5, 2019 |title=Ancient DNA Reveals Complex Story of Human Migration Between Siberia and North America |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/ancient-dna-reveals-complex-story-human-migration-between-siberia-and-north-america-180972356/ |access-date=2023-12-22 |website=Smithsonian Magazine |language=en |archive-date=December 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231222035011/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/ancient-dna-reveals-complex-story-human-migration-between-siberia-and-north-america-180972356/ |url-status=live }}</ref> At the [[Upward Sun River site]] in the [[Tanana Valley]] in Alaska, remains of a six-week-old infant were found. The baby's DNA showed that she belonged to a population that was genetically separate from other native groups present elsewhere in the [[New World]] at the end of the [[Pleistocene]]. Ben Potter, the [[University of Alaska Fairbanks]] archaeologist who unearthed the remains at the Upward Sun River site in 2013, named this new group [[Ancient Beringian]].<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/01/alaska-dna-ancient-beringia-genome/|title=Lost Native American Ancestor Revealed in Ancient Child's DNA|magazine=National Geographic|date=January 3, 2018|access-date=January 3, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180103235253/https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/01/alaska-dna-ancient-beringia-genome/|archive-date=January 3, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The [[Tlingit people]] developed a society with a [[matrilineal]] kinship system of property inheritance and descent in what is today Southeast Alaska, along with parts of [[British Columbia]] and the [[Yukon]]. Also in Southeast were the [[Haida people|Haida]], now well known for their unique arts. The [[Tsimshian]] people came to Alaska from British Columbia in 1887, when President [[Grover Cleveland]], and later the U.S. Congress, granted them permission to settle on [[Annette Island]] and found the town of [[Metlakatla, Alaska]]. All three of these peoples, as well as other [[indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast]], experienced [[smallpox]] outbreaks from the late 18th through the mid-19th century, with the most devastating [[epidemics]] occurring in the 1830s and 1860s, resulting in high fatalities and social disruption.<ref>Brian C. Hosmer, ''American Indians in the Marketplace: Persistence and Innovation among the Menominees and Metlakatlans, 1870–1920'' (Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas, 1999), pp. 129–131, 200.</ref>

===Colonization===
{{Main|Russian colonization of North America|Alaskan Creole people|Department of Alaska|District of Alaska|Fairbanks Gold Rush|Kobuk River Stampede|Nome Gold Rush|Alaska Purchase}}
[[File:Russian Sloop-of-War Neva.jpg|thumb|The Russian settlement of St. Paul's Harbor (present-day [[Kodiak, Alaska|Kodiak town]]), [[Kodiak Island]], 1814|left]]
[[File:Miners climb Chilkoot.jpg|thumb|Miners and prospectors climb the [[Chilkoot Trail]] during the 1898 [[Klondike Gold Rush]].|left]]

Some researchers believe the first Russian settlement in Alaska was established in the 17th century.<ref>Свердлов Л. М. Русское поселение на Аляске в XVII в.? "Природа". М., 1992. No. 4. С.67–69.</ref> According to this hypothesis, in 1648 several [[Koch (boat)|koches]] of [[Semyon Dezhnyov]]'s expedition came ashore in Alaska by storm and founded this settlement. This hypothesis is based on the testimony of [[Chukchi people|Chukchi]] geographer Nikolai Daurkin, who had visited Alaska in 1764–1765 and who had reported on a village on the Kheuveren River, populated by "bearded men" who "pray to the [[icons]]". Some modern researchers associate Kheuveren with [[Koyuk River]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.docstoc.com/docs/4877141/ALEXEI-V-POSTNIKOV-nautical-charts-compiled-by-these-promyshlenniki |title=Outline of the History of Russian Cartography |website=Regions: a Prism to View the Slavic Eurasian World |year=2000 |first=Alexey V. |last=Postnikov |author-link=Alexey Postnikov |access-date=June 6, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117073034/http://www.docstoc.com/docs/4877141/ALEXEI-V-POSTNIKOV-nautical-charts-compiled-by-these-promyshlenniki |archive-date=January 17, 2013 }}</ref>

The first European vessel to reach Alaska is generally held to be the ''St. Gabriel'' under the authority of the surveyor [[Mikhail Gvozdev|M. S. Gvozdev]] and assistant navigator [[Ivan Fyodorov (navigator)|I. Fyodorov]] on August 21, 1732, during an expedition of Siberian Cossack A. F. Shestakov and Russian explorer [[Dmitry Pavlutsky]] (1729–1735).<ref>Аронов В. Н. Патриарх Камчатского мореходства. // "Вопросы истории рыбной промышленности Камчатки": Историко-краеведческий сб.—Вып. 3.—2000. Вахрин С. Покорители великого океана. Петроп.-Камч.: Камштат, 1993.</ref> Another European contact with Alaska occurred in 1741, when [[Vitus Bering]] led an [[second Kamchatka expedition|expedition]] for the Russian Navy aboard the ''St. Peter''. After his crew returned to Russia with [[sea otter]] pelts judged to be the finest fur in the world, small associations of [[fur trade]]rs began to sail from the shores of Siberia toward the Aleutian Islands. The first permanent European settlement was founded in 1784.

Between 1774 and 1800, [[Viceroyalty of New Spain|Spain]] sent several [[Spanish expeditions to the Pacific Northwest|expeditions to Alaska]] to assert its claim over the Pacific Northwest. In 1789, a Spanish settlement and [[Fort San Miguel|fort]] were built in [[Nootka Sound]]. These expeditions gave names to places such as [[Valdez, Alaska|Valdez]], [[Bucareli Sound]], and [[Cordova, Alaska|Cordova]]. Later, the [[Russian-American Company]] carried out an expanded colonization program during the early-to-mid-19th century. [[Sitka, Alaska|Sitka]], renamed [[New Archangel]] from 1804 to 1867, on [[Baranof Island]] in the [[Alexander Archipelago]] in what is now [[Southeast Alaska]], became the capital of [[Russian America]]. It remained the capital after the colony was transferred to the United States. The Russians never fully colonized Alaska, and the colony was never very profitable. Evidence of Russian settlement in names and churches survives throughout southeastern Alaska.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Magazine |first=Smithsonian |last2=Montaigne |first2=Fen |title=Tracing Alaska's Russian Heritage |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/alaska-russian-heritage-smithsonian-journeys-travel-quarterly-180959449/ |access-date=2025-01-24 |website=Smithsonian Magazine |language=en |archive-date=April 10, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190410195818/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/alaska-russian-heritage-smithsonian-journeys-travel-quarterly-180959449/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1867, [[William H. Seward]], the [[United States Secretary of State]] under President [[Andrew Johnson]], negotiated the [[Alaska Purchase]] (referred to pejoratively as Seward's Folly) with the Russians for $7.2&nbsp;million.<ref>[[Don H. Doyle|Doyle, Don H.]] (2024). ''The Age of Reconstruction: How Lincoln's New Birth of Freedom Remade the World''. Princeton & Oxford: Princeton University Press, pp. 99–120.</ref> Russia's contemporary ruler [[Tsar]] [[Alexander II of Russia|Alexander II]], the [[Emperor of the Russian Empire]], [[King of Poland]] and [[Grand Duke of Finland]], also planned the sale;<ref>[https://www.adn.com/alaska-life/we-alaskans/2017/03/05/the-man-who-old-alaska/ The man who $old Alaska] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201201085507/https://www.adn.com/alaska-life/we-alaskans/2017/03/05/the-man-who-old-alaska/ |date=December 1, 2020 }} – Anchorage Daily News</ref> the purchase was made on March 30, 1867. Six months later the commissioners arrived in Sitka and the formal transfer was arranged; the formal flag-raising took place at Fort Sitka on October 18, 1867. In the ceremony, 250 uniformed U.S. soldiers marched to the governor's house at "Castle Hill", where the Russian troops lowered the Russian flag and the U.S. flag was raised. This event is celebrated as [[Alaska Day]], a legal holiday on October 18.

Alaska was loosely governed by the military initially and was administered as a [[District of Alaska|district]] starting in 1884, with a governor appointed by the United States president. A federal [[United States territorial court|district court]] was headquartered in Sitka. For most of Alaska's first decade under the United States flag, Sitka was the only community inhabited by American settlers. They organized a "provisional city government", which was Alaska's first municipal government, but not in a legal sense.<ref>{{cite book|last=Wheeler|first=Keith|chapter=Learning to cope with 'Seward's Icebox'|title=The Alaskans|url=https://archive.org/details/alaskans00time|url-access=registration|year=1977|publisher=[[Time–Life Books]]|location=[[Alexandria, Virginia|Alexandria]]|isbn=978-0-8094-1506-9|pages=[https://archive.org/details/alaskans00time/page/57 57–64]}}</ref> Legislation allowing Alaskan communities to legally [[Municipal corporation|incorporate as cities]] did not come about until 1900, and [[Home rule#Home rule in the United States|home rule]] for cities was extremely limited or unavailable until statehood took effect in 1959.

===U.S. territorial incorporation===
{{Main|Organic act#List of organic acts|Territory of Alaska}}

Starting in the 1890s and stretching in some places to the early 1910s, gold rushes in Alaska and the nearby Yukon Territory brought thousands of miners and settlers to Alaska. From 1879 to 1920, Alaska produced a cumulative total of over $460,000,000 ({{Inflation|US|460000000|1920|fmt=eq}}) of mineral production.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Brooks |first=Alfred H. |display-authors=etal |date=1920 |title=Mineral Resources of Alaska, 1920 |url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/bul/0722a/report.pdf |journal=USGS |pages=7 |archive-date=August 8, 2024 |access-date=August 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240808035325/https://pubs.usgs.gov/bul/0722a/report.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Alaska was officially incorporated as an organized territory in 1912. Alaska's capital, which had been in Sitka until 1906, was moved north to [[Juneau, Alaska|Juneau]]. Construction of the [[Alaska Governor's Mansion]] began that same year. European immigrants from Norway and Sweden also settled in southeast Alaska, where they entered the fishing and logging industries.
[[File:US troops at the Battle of Attu.jpg|thumb|U.S. troops navigate snow and ice during the [[Battle of Attu]] in May 1943.]]

During [[World War II]], the [[Aleutian Islands Campaign]] focused on [[Attu Island|Attu]], [[Agattu]] and [[Kiska Island|Kiska]], all of which were occupied by the [[Empire of Japan]].{{efn|These three Aleutian outer islands are about {{convert|460|mi|km}} away from mainland USSR, {{convert|920|mi|km}} from mainland Alaska, {{convert|950|mi|km}} from Japan.}} During the Japanese occupation, an American civilian and two [[United States Navy]] personnel were killed at Attu and Kiska respectively, and nearly a total of 50 Aleut civilians and eight sailors were interned in Japan. About half of the Aleuts died during the period of internment.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cloe |first1=John Haile |title=Attu: the forgotten battle |date=2017 |publisher=United States National Park Service |isbn=978-0-9965837-3-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-t6J21RGruEC |access-date=November 5, 2019 |archive-date=March 31, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230331025223/https://books.google.com/books?id=-t6J21RGruEC |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Unalaska]]/[[Dutch Harbor]] and [[Adak, Alaska|Adak]] became significant bases for the [[United States Army]], [[United States Army Air Forces]] and United States Navy. The United States [[Lend-Lease]] program involved flying American warplanes through [[Canada]] to [[Fairbanks, Alaska|Fairbanks]] and then [[Nome, Alaska|Nome]]; Soviet pilots took possession of these aircraft, ferrying them to fight the German invasion of the [[Soviet Union]]. The construction of military bases contributed to the population growth of some Alaskan cities.

===Statehood===
{{See also|Alaska Statehood Act|Admission to the Union|List of U.S. states by date of admission to the Union}}
[[File:Alaskan Senators with 49 Star Flag.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Bob Bartlett]] and [[Ernest Gruening]], Alaska's inaugural U.S. Senators, hold the 49 star U.S. Flag after the admission of Alaska as the 49th state.]]

Statehood for Alaska was an important cause of [[James Wickersham]] early in his tenure as a congressional delegate.<ref>{{cite book | last=McBeath | first=G.A. | title=The Alaska State Constitution | publisher=Oxford University Press | series=Oxford commentaries on the state constitutions of the United States | year=2011 | isbn=978-0-19-977829-4 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NvBMAgAAQBAJ | access-date=November 6, 2024 | page=7}}</ref> Decades later, the statehood movement gained its first real momentum following a territorial referendum in 1946. The Alaska Statehood Committee and Alaska's Constitutional Convention would soon follow. Statehood supporters also found themselves fighting major battles against political foes, mostly in the U.S. Congress but also within Alaska. Statehood was approved by the U.S. Congress on July 7, 1958; Alaska was officially proclaimed a state on January 3, 1959.<ref>{{cite book | last=Whitehead | first=J.S. | title=Completing the Union: Alaska, Hawai'i, and the Battle for Statehood | publisher=University of New Mexico Press | series=Histories of the American frontier | year=2004 | isbn=978-0-8263-3637-8 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FCHeHe_sIl4C | access-date=November 6, 2024 | pages=273–300 | archive-date=December 8, 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241208081049/https://books.google.com/books?id=FCHeHe_sIl4C | url-status=live }}</ref>

===Good Friday earthquake===
{{Main|1964 Alaska earthquake}}
On March 27, 1964, the massive [[1964 Alaska earthquake|Good Friday earthquake]] killed 133 people and destroyed several villages and portions of large coastal communities, mainly by the resultant [[tsunamis]] and landslides. It was the [[Largest earthquakes by magnitude|fourth-most-powerful earthquake]] in recorded history, with a [[moment magnitude scale|moment magnitude]] of 9.2 (more than a thousand times as powerful as the [[1989 Loma Prieta earthquake|1989 San Francisco earthquake]]).<ref>{{Cite news|last=Taylor|first=Alan|title=1964: Alaska's Good Friday Earthquake – The Atlantic|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2014/05/1964-alaskas-good-friday-earthquake/100746/|access-date=2021-02-04|newspaper=The Atlantic|archive-date=February 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210213045525/https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2014/05/1964-alaskas-good-friday-earthquake/100746/|url-status=live}}</ref> The time of day (5:36&nbsp;pm), time of year (spring) and location of the [[epicenter]] were all cited as factors in potentially sparing thousands of lives, particularly in Anchorage. Alaska suffered a more severe [[megathrust earthquake]] on July 11, 1585, estimated at magnitude 9.25, which remains the most powerful earthquake recorded in North American history, and the second [[Lists of earthquakes#Strongest earthquakes by magnitude|most powerful earthquake recorded]] in world history.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-05-13 |title=The Biggest Earthquakes In US History |url=https://www.worldatlas.com/natural-disasters/the-biggest-earthquakes-in-us-history.html |access-date=2025-01-03 |website=WorldAtlas |language=en-US |archive-date=January 3, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250103143503/https://www.worldatlas.com/natural-disasters/the-biggest-earthquakes-in-us-history.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Good Friday earthquake lasted 4 minutes and 38 seconds. {{convert|600|mi|spell=In|||}} of fault ruptured at once and moved up to {{cvt|60|ft||||}}, releasing about 500 years of stress buildup. [[Soil liquefaction]], fissures, landslides, and other ground failures caused major structural damage in several communities and much damage to property. [[Anchorage, Alaska|Anchorage]] sustained great destruction or damage to many inadequately [[Earthquake engineering|earthquake-engineered]] houses, buildings, and infrastructure (paved streets, sidewalks, water and sewer mains, electrical systems, and other human-made equipment), particularly in the several landslide zones along [[Knik Arm]]. {{convert|200|mi|spell=In|||}} southwest, some areas near [[Kodiak Island|Kodiak]] were permanently raised by {{convert|30|ft|m|0}}. Southeast of Anchorage, areas around the head of [[Turnagain Arm]] near [[Girdwood, Anchorage|Girdwood]] and [[Portage (Anchorage)|Portage]] dropped as much as {{convert|8|ft|m}}, requiring reconstruction and fill to raise the [[Seward Highway]] above the new high [[tide]] mark.<ref>{{cite web |title=The 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake History |url=https://ready.alaska.gov/64Quake/History |access-date=January 3, 2025 |website=Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management |publisher=State of Alaska |archive-date=January 3, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250103143506/https://ready.alaska.gov/64Quake/History |url-status=live }}</ref>

In [[Prince William Sound]], [[Port of Valdez|Port Valdez]] suffered a massive underwater landslide, resulting in the deaths of 32 people between the collapse of the [[Valdez, Alaska|Valdez]] city harbor and docks, and inside the ship that was docked there at the time. Nearby, a {{convert|27|ft|m|adj=on}} tsunami destroyed the village of [[Chenega, Alaska|Chenega]], killing 23 of the 68 people who lived there; survivors out-ran the wave, climbing to high ground. Post-quake tsunamis severely affected [[Whittier, Alaska|Whittier]], [[Seward, Alaska|Seward]], Kodiak, and other Alaskan communities, as well as people and property in British Columbia, [[Washington (state)|Washington]], [[Oregon]], and California.<ref>{{cite web |title=1964 Alaskan Tsunami|url=http://www.usc.edu/dept/tsunamis/alaska/1964/webpages/|publisher=University of Southern California Tsunami Research Group |access-date=July 18, 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150508154813/http://www.usc.edu/dept/tsunamis/alaska/1964/webpages/|archive-date=May 8, 2015}}</ref> Tsunamis also caused damage in Hawaii and Japan. Evidence of motion directly related to the earthquake was also reported from [[Florida]] and [[Texas]].

Alaska had never experienced a major disaster in a highly populated area before and had very limited resources for dealing with the effects of such an event. In Anchorage, at the urging of geologist [[Lidia Selkregg]], the City of Anchorage and the Alaska State Housing Authority appointed a team of 40 scientists, including geologists, soil scientists, and engineers, to assess the damage done by the earthquake to the city.<ref name=":0a">Friedel, Megan K. (2010). Guide to the Anchorage Engineering Geology Evaluation Group papers, 1964. UAA/APU Consortium Library Archives and Special Collections. HMC-0051. https://archives.consortiumlibrary.org/collections/specialcollections/hmc-0051/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190328165246/https://archives.consortiumlibrary.org/collections/specialcollections/hmc-0051/ |date=March 28, 2019 }}</ref> The team, called the Engineering and Geological Evaluation Group, was headed by [[Ruth A. M. Schmidt]], a geology professor at the [[University of Alaska Anchorage]]. The team of scientists came into conflict with local developers and downtown business owners who wanted to immediately rebuild; the scientists wanted to identify future dangers to ensure that the rebuilt infrastructure would be safe.<ref>"Ruth Anne Marie Schmidt Ph.D." [[Alaska Women's Hall of Fame]]. 2015. Retrieved November 23, 2015.</ref> The team produced a report on May 8, 1964, just a little more than a month after the earthquake.<ref name=":0a" /><ref>Saucier, Heather (April 2014). "PROWESS Honors Historic Earthquake Survivor". [[American Association of Petroleum Geologists]]. Retrieved July 31, 2018.</ref>

The United States military, which has a large active presence in Alaska, also stepped in to assist within moments of the end of the quake. The U.S. Army rapidly re-established communications with the lower 48 states, deployed troops to assist the citizens of Anchorage, and dispatched a convoy to Valdez.<ref name="Hand">Cloe, John Haile [http://alaskahistoricalsociety.org/helping-hand-military-response-to-good-friday-earthquake/ "Helping Hand" Military response to Good Friday earthquake] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161027054632/http://alaskahistoricalsociety.org/helping-hand-military-response-to-good-friday-earthquake/ |date=2016-10-27 }} Alaska Historical Society, 3/4/2014</ref> On the advice of military and civilian leaders, President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] declared all of Alaska a major disaster area the day after the quake. The U.S. Navy and [[United States Coast Guard|U.S. Coast Guard]] deployed ships to isolated coastal communities to assist with immediate needs. Bad weather and poor visibility hampered air rescue and observation efforts the day after the quake, but on Sunday the 29th the situation improved and rescue helicopters and observation aircraft were deployed.<ref name="Hand" /> A military airlift immediately began shipping relief supplies to Alaska, eventually delivering {{convert|2570000|lbs}} of food and other supplies.<ref name="Galvin" /> Broadcast journalist, [[Genie Chance]], assisted in recovery and relief efforts, staying on the [[KENI]] air waves over Anchorage for more than 24 continuous hours as the voice of calm from her temporary post within the Anchorage Public Safety Building.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title=When a Quake Shook Alaska, a Radio Reporter Led the Public Through the Devastating Crisis|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/when-quake-shook-alaska-radio-reporter-led-public-through-devastating-crisis-180974450/|access-date=2020-12-02|website=Smithsonian Magazine|language=en|archive-date=March 21, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200321054507/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/when-quake-shook-alaska-radio-reporter-led-public-through-devastating-crisis-180974450/|url-status=live}}</ref> She was effectively designated as the public safety officer by the city's police chief.<ref name=":2" /> Chance provided breaking news of the catastrophic events that continued to develop following the magnitude 9.2 earthquake, and she served as the voice of the public safety office, coordinating response efforts, connecting available resources to needs around the community, disseminating information about shelters and prepared food rations, passing messages of well-being between loved ones, and helping to reunite families.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Barbaro |first=Michael |date=May 22, 2020 |title=Genie Chance and the Great Alaska Earthquake |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/22/podcasts/the-daily/this-is-chance-alaska-earthquake.html?showTranscript=1 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210102185032/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/22/podcasts/the-daily/this-is-chance-alaska-earthquake.html?showTranscript=1 |archive-date=January 2, 2021 |access-date=January 23, 2023 |website=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref>

In the longer term, the [[U.S. Army Corps of Engineers]] led the effort to rebuild roads, clear debris, and establish new townsites for communities that had been completely destroyed, at a cost of $110&nbsp;million.<ref name=Galvin>Galvin, John [http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/a1967/4219868/ Great Alaskan Earthquake and Tsunami: Alaska, March 1964] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161027062138/http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/a1967/4219868/ |date=2016-10-27 }} ''[[Popular Mechanics]]'', 6/29/2007</ref> The [[West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center]] was formed as a direct response to the disaster. Federal disaster relief funds paid for reconstruction as well as financially supporting the devastated infrastructure of Alaska's government, spending hundreds of millions of dollars that helped keep Alaska financially solvent until the discovery of massive oil deposits at [[Prudhoe Bay]]. At the order of the [[United States Department of Defense|U.S. Defense Department]], the [[Alaska National Guard]] founded the Alaska Division of Emergency Services to respond to any future disasters.<ref name=Hand/>

=== Oil boom ===
The 1968 discovery of oil at Prudhoe Bay and the 1977 completion of the [[Trans-Alaska Pipeline System]] led to an oil boom. Royalty revenues from oil have funded large state budgets from 1980 onward.

[[File:OilPoolFromValdezSpill.jpeg|thumb|right|220px|Oil pooled on rocks on the shore of Prince William Sound after the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill.]]

Oil production was not the only economic value of Alaska's land. In the second half of the 20th century, Alaska discovered tourism as an important source of revenue. Tourism became popular after World War II when military personnel stationed in the region returned home praising its natural splendor. The [[Alaska Highway|Alcan Highway]], built during the war, and the [[Alaska Marine Highway|Alaska Marine Highway System]], completed in 1963, made the state more accessible than before. Tourism has become increasingly important in Alaska, and today over 1.4&nbsp;million people visit the state each year.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Alaskan Oil Boom |url=https://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre1969111200 |access-date=2022-09-27 |website=CQ Researcher by CQ Press |series=CQ Researcher Online |year=1969 |pages=835–854 |publisher=CQ Press |doi=10.4135/cqresrre1969111200 |language=en |archive-date=July 31, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180731235042/https://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre1969111200 |url-status=live |last1=Phillips |first1=James G. |s2cid=264579055 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

With tourism more vital to the economy, environmentalism also rose in importance. The [[Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act]] (ANILCA) of 1980 added 53.7&nbsp;million acres (217,000&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) to the [[National Wildlife Refuge|National Wildlife Refuge system]], parts of 25 rivers to the [[National Wild and Scenic Rivers System]], 3.3&nbsp;million acres (13,000&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) to [[National forest (United States)|National Forest lands]], and 43.6&nbsp;million acres (176,000&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) to [[National Park Service|National Park land]]. Because of the Act, Alaska now contains two-thirds of all American national parklands. Today, more than half of Alaskan land is owned by the [[Federal government of the United States|Federal Government]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wells |first=Bruce |date=2022-07-12 |title=First Alaska Oil Wells |url=https://aoghs.org/petroleum-pioneers/first-alaska-oil-well/ |access-date=2022-09-27 |website=American Oil & Gas Historical Society |language=en-US |archive-date=March 7, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307042212/https://aoghs.org/petroleum-pioneers/first-alaska-oil-well/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1989, the ''[[Exxon Valdez]]'' hit a reef in the Prince William Sound, [[Exxon Valdez oil spill|spilling]] more than 11 million gallons (42 megalitres) of crude oil over {{convert|1100|mi}} of coastline. Today, the battle between philosophies of development and conservation is seen in the contentious debate over oil drilling in the [[Arctic National Wildlife Refuge]] and the proposed [[Pebble Mine]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Fountain |first1=Henry |title=E.P.A. Blocks Long-Disputed Mine Project in Alaska |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/31/climate/pebble-mine-epa-decision.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=January 31, 2023 |archive-date=July 3, 2024 |access-date=December 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240703222905/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/31/climate/pebble-mine-epa-decision.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Geography==
{{Main|Geography of Alaska}}
Located at the northwest corner of North America, Alaska is the northernmost and westernmost state in the United States, but also has the most easterly longitude in the United States because the [[Aleutian Islands]] extend into the [[Eastern Hemisphere]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://alaska.gov/kids/learn/facts.htm|title=Facts About Alaska, Alaska Kids' Corner, State of Alaska|date=n.d.|website=alaska.gov|access-date=April 13, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190109130340/http://alaska.gov/kids/learn/facts.htm|archive-date=January 9, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Alaska is the only non-[[Contiguous United States|contiguous]] U.S. state on continental North America; about {{convert|500|mi|km|-1}} of Canadian territory consisting of [[British Columbia]] (in Canada) separates Alaska from [[Washington (state)|Washington]]. It is technically part of the [[Continental United States|continental U.S.]], but is not usually included in the colloquial use of the term; Alaska is not part of the [[Contiguous United States|contiguous U.S.]], often called "[[Outside (Alaska)|the Lower 48]]". The capital city, [[Juneau, Alaska|Juneau]], is situated on the mainland of the North American continent but is not connected by road to the rest of the North American highway system. The largest lake in Alaska is [[Iliamna Lake|Lake Illiamna]].

The state is bordered by Canada's [[Yukon]] and [[British Columbia]] to the east (making it the only state to border only a [[Provinces and territories of Canada|Canadian territory]]); the [[Gulf of Alaska]] and the Pacific Ocean to the south and southwest; the [[Bering Sea]], [[Bering Strait]], and [[Chukchi Sea]] to the west; and the Arctic Ocean to the north. Alaska's territorial waters touch Russia's territorial waters in the Bering Strait, as the Russian [[Big Diomede Island]] and Alaskan [[Little Diomede Island]] are only {{convert|3|mi|km}} apart. Alaska has a longer coastline than all the other U.S. states combined.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF14/1404.html |title=Alaska's Size in Perspective |access-date=November 19, 2007 |last=Benson |first=Carl |date=September 2, 1998 |publisher=[[Geophysical Institute]], [[University of Alaska Fairbanks]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071125211706/http://www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF14/1404.html |archive-date=November 25, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
[[File:Alaska area compared to conterminous US.svg|thumb|Alaska's size compared with the [[contiguous United States|48 contiguous states]] ([[Albers projection|Albers equal-area conic projection]])]]

At {{convert|663268|sqmi|km2|0}} in total area, Alaska is by far the largest state in the United States. Alaska is more than twice the size of the second-largest U.S. state (Texas), and it is larger than the next three largest states (Texas, California, and Montana) combined. Alaska is the seventh [[List of the largest country subdivisions by area|largest subnational division in the world]]. If it was an independent nation, it would be the 18th largest country in the world; almost the same size as [[Iran]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Webber |first=Cecil |date=2024-06-17 |title=How much of the continental US would Alaska cover? |url=https://www.ncesc.com/geographic-faq/how-much-of-the-continental-us-would-alaska-cover/ |access-date=2025-01-24 |website=Geographic FAQ Hub: Answers to Your Global Questions |language=en-US |archive-date=January 24, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250124234219/https://www.ncesc.com/geographic-faq/how-much-of-the-continental-us-would-alaska-cover/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

With its myriad islands, Alaska has nearly {{convert|34000|mi|km|-3}} of tidal shoreline. The Aleutian Islands chain extends west from the southern tip of the [[Alaska Peninsula]]. Many active [[volcano]]es are found in the Aleutians and in coastal regions. [[Unimak Island]], for example, is home to [[Mount Shishaldin]], which is an occasionally smoldering volcano that rises to {{convert|10000|ft|m|-3}} above the North Pacific. The chain of volcanoes extends to [[Mount Spurr]], west of Anchorage on the mainland. Geologists have identified Alaska as part of [[Wrangellia]], a large region consisting of multiple states and Canadian provinces in the [[Pacific Northwest]], which is actively undergoing [[plate tectonics|continent building]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mack |first=Lois |date=2025-01-01 |title=What region does Alaska belong to? |url=https://www.ncesc.com/geographic-faq/what-region-does-alaska-belong-to/ |access-date=2025-01-24 |website=Geographic FAQ Hub: Answers to Your Global Questions |language=en-US |archive-date=January 24, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250124234219/https://www.ncesc.com/geographic-faq/what-region-does-alaska-belong-to/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

One of the world's largest tides occurs in [[Turnagain Arm]], just south of Anchorage, where tidal differences can be more than {{convert|35|ft|m|1}}.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Porco |first=Peter|date = June 23, 2003 | title = Long said to be second to Fundy, city tides aren't even close | journal=[[Anchorage Daily News]] | pages = A1}}</ref>

Alaska has more than 409,000 natural lakes at least one hectare or bigger.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Geography of Alaska lake districts: Identification, description, and analysis of lake-rich regions of a diverse and dynamic state {{!}} U.S. Geological Survey |url=https://www.usgs.gov/publications/geography-alaska-lake-districts-identification-description-and-analysis-lake-rich |access-date=2024-08-08 |website=www.usgs.gov |language=en}}</ref> [[Marshland]]s and wetland [[permafrost]] cover {{convert|188320|sqmi|km2|}} (mostly in northern, western and southwest flatlands). Glacier ice covers about {{convert|28957|sqmi|km2}} of Alaska.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www2.usgs.gov/climate_landuse/glaciers/glaciers_alaska.asp|title=Glacier and Landscape Change in Response to Changing Climate|website=www2.usgs.gov|access-date=February 2, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180203064615/https://www2.usgs.gov/climate_landuse/glaciers/glaciers_alaska.asp|archive-date=February 3, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Bering Glacier]] is the largest glacier in North America, covering {{convert|2008|sqmi|km2}} alone.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.beringglacier.org/|title=Beringglacier.org|website=beringglacier.org|access-date=February 2, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180102193358/http://www.beringglacier.org/|archive-date=January 2, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Regions===
There are no officially defined borders demarcating the various regions of Alaska, however there are five/six regions that the state is most commonly broken up into:

====Southcentral====
{{Main|Southcentral Alaska}}
The most populous region of Alaska contains [[Anchorage]], the [[Matanuska-Susitna Valley]] and the [[Kenai Peninsula]]. Rural, mostly unpopulated areas south of the [[Alaska Range]] and west of the [[Wrangell Mountains]] also fall within the definition of South Central, as do the [[Prince William Sound]] area and the communities of [[Cordova, Alaska|Cordova]] and [[Valdez, Alaska|Valdez]].<ref name=cities>{{cite web|title=Travel Information on South Central Alaska|year=2006|url=http://www.welcometoalaska.com/SouthCentral.htm|access-date=April 22, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110419212447/http://welcometoalaska.com/SouthCentral.htm|archive-date=April 19, 2011|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Southeast====
{{Main|Southeast Alaska}}
Also referred to as the Panhandle or [[Inside Passage]], this is the region of Alaska closest to the contiguous states. As such, this was where most of the initial non-indigenous settlement occurred in the years following the [[Alaska Purchase]]. The region is dominated by the [[Alexander Archipelago]] as well as the [[Tongass National Forest]], the largest national forest in the United States. It contains the state capital [[Juneau, Alaska|Juneau]], the former capital [[Sitka, Alaska|Sitka]], and [[Ketchikan]], at one time Alaska's largest city.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sitnews.us/Kiffer/Ketchikan/043007_ketchikan_1927.html |title=1927: When Ketchikan was the Largest City in Alaska |website=Sitnews US |date=April 30, 2007 |access-date=July 24, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120510144910/http://www.sitnews.us/Kiffer/Ketchikan/043007_ketchikan_1927.html |archive-date=May 10, 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Alaska Marine Highway]] provides a vital surface transportation link throughout the area and country, as only three communities ([[Haines, Alaska|Haines]], [[Hyder, Alaska|Hyder]] and [[Skagway, Alaska|Skagway]]) enjoy direct connections to the contiguous North American road system.<ref name="DOT Document">{{cite web |publisher= Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities |url= http://www.dot.state.ak.us/amhs/doc/presskit.pdf |title= The Alaska Marine Highway System |access-date= April 21, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130330013507/http://www.dot.state.ak.us/amhs/doc/presskit.pdf |archive-date= March 30, 2013 |df= mdy-all }}</ref>

====Interior====
{{Main|Interior Alaska}}
[[File:Denali Mt McKinley.jpg|thumb|[[Denali]] is the highest peak in North America]]

The Interior is the largest region of Alaska; much of it is uninhabited wilderness. [[Fairbanks, Alaska|Fairbanks]] is the only large city in the region. [[Denali National Park and Preserve]] is located here. [[Denali]], federally designated as Mount McKinley, is the highest mountain in North America and is also located here.

====North Slope====
{{Main|Alaska North Slope}}
The North Slope is mostly [[tundra]] peppered with small villages. The area is known for its massive reserves of crude oil and contains both the [[National Petroleum Reserve–Alaska]] and the [[Prudhoe Bay Oil Field]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Alaska.com |url=http://www.alaska.com/regions/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100603064023/http://www.alaska.com/regions/ |archive-date=June 3, 2010 |access-date=June 2, 2010 |publisher=Alaska.com}}</ref> The city of [[Utqiaġvik, Alaska|Utqiaġvik]], formerly known as Barrow, is the northernmost city in the United States and is located here. The [[Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska|Northwest Arctic area]], anchored by [[Kotzebue, Alaska|Kotzebue]] and also containing the [[Kobuk River]] valley, is often considered part of this region. The respective [[Inupiat people|Inupiat]] of the North Slope and of the Northwest Arctic seldom consider themselves to be one people.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hersher |first1=Rebecca |date=December 1, 2016 |title=Barrow, Alaska, Changes Its Name Back To Its Original 'Utqiaġvik' |work=National Public Radio |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/12/01/503979353/barrow-alaska-changes-its-name-back-to-its-original-utqiagvik?t=1607969665408 |url-status=live |access-date=December 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210220153259/https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/12/01/503979353/barrow-alaska-changes-its-name-back-to-its-original-utqiagvik?t=1607969665408 |archive-date=February 20, 2021}}</ref>

====Southwest====
{{Main|Southwest Alaska}}Southwest Alaska is a sparsely inhabited region stretching some {{convert|500|mi|km}} inland from the Bering Sea. Most of the population lives along the coast. [[Kodiak Island]] is also located in the Southwest. The massive [[Yukon–Kuskokwim Delta]], one of the largest river deltas in the world, is here. Portions of the [[Alaska Peninsula]] are considered part of the Southwest, with the Aleutian Islands often (but not always) being grouped in as well.{{Citation needed|date=January 2025}}

====Aleutian Islands====
{{Main|Aleutian Islands}}
[[File:Aleutian Islands with 180th meridian and International Date Line (cropped).png|thumb|Although entirely east of the [[International Date Line]] (the triangular kink in the line was agreed upon the [[Alaska Purchase|U.S. acquisition of Alaska]]), the Aleutian Islands cross the [[180th meridian]], such that they contain both the westernmost ([[Amatignak Island|Amatignak]]) and the easternmost ([[Semisopochnoi Island|Semisopochnoi]].) points in the United States.]]
While primarily part of Southwest Alaska when grouped economically, the Aleutian islands are sometimes recognized as an alternate group from the rest of the region due to the geographic separation from the continent. More than 300 small volcanic islands make up this chain, which stretches more than {{convert|1200|mi}} into the Pacific Ocean. Some of these islands fall in the Eastern Hemisphere, but the [[International Date Line]] was drawn west of [[180th meridian|180°]] to keep the whole state, and thus the entire North American continent, within the same legal day. Two of the islands, [[Attu Island|Attu]] and [[Kiska]], were occupied by Japanese forces during World War II.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Japan Invades the Aleutian Islands {{!}} American Experience |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/alaska-japan/ |access-date=2025-04-03 |website=www.pbs.org |language=en}}</ref>

=== Land ownership ===
{{More citations needed|section|date=January 2025}}
As of 2023, the [[United States Bureau of Land Management]] mangages 290 million of surface and subsurface acres as public lands, including a multitude of [[United States National Forest|national forests]], national parks, [[national wildlife refuge]]s,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nrm.salrm.uaf.edu/~stodd/AlaskaPlanningDirectory/landOwnership.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020628125756/http://nrm.salrm.uaf.edu/~stodd/AlaskaPlanningDirectory/landOwnership.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 28, 2002 |title=Alaska Land Ownership |access-date=May 4, 2014 }}</ref> and federal mineral estate land.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About: What We Manage: Alaska |url=https://www.blm.gov/about/what-we-manage/alaska |access-date=2025-04-03 |website=Bureau of Land Management |language=en}}</ref> Of these, the [[Bureau of Land Management]] manages {{convert|87|e6acre|e6ha|abbr=off}}, or 23.8% of the state. The [[Arctic National Wildlife Refuge]] is managed by the [[United States Fish and Wildlife Service]]. It is the world's largest wildlife refuge, comprising {{convert|16|e6acre|e6ha|abbr=off}}.

Of the remaining land area, the state of Alaska owns {{convert|101|e6acre|e6ha|abbr=off}}, its entitlement under the [[Alaska Statehood Act]]. A portion of that acreage is occasionally ceded to the organized boroughs presented above, under the statutory provisions pertaining to newly formed boroughs. Smaller portions are set aside for rural subdivisions and other homesteading-related opportunities. These are not very popular due to the often remote and roadless locations. The [[University of Alaska]], as a [[land grant university]], also owns substantial acreage which it manages independently.

Another {{convert|44|e6acre|e6ha|abbr=off}} are owned by 12 regional, and scores of local, Native corporations created under the [[Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act]] (ANCSA) of 1971. [[Alaska Native Regional Corporation|Regional Native corporation]] [[Doyon, Limited]] often promotes itself as the largest private landowner in Alaska in advertisements and other communications. Provisions of ANCSA allowing the corporations' land holdings to be sold on the open market starting in 1991 were repealed before they could take effect. Effectively, the corporations hold title (including subsurface title in many cases, a privilege denied to individual Alaskans) but cannot sell the land. [[Alaska Native Allotment Act|Individual Native allotments]] are sold on the open market.

Various private interests own the remaining land, totaling about one percent of the state. Alaska is, by a large margin, the state with the smallest percentage of private land ownership when Native corporation holdings are excluded.

=== Alaska Heritage Resources Survey ===
The Alaska Heritage Resources Survey (AHRS) is a restricted [[inventory]] of all reported [[historic site|historic]] and [[prehistoric]] sites within the U.S. state of Alaska; it is maintained by the Office of History and Archaeology. The survey's inventory of cultural resources includes objects, structures, buildings, sites, districts, and travel ways, with a general provision that they are more than fifty years old. {{as of|2012|January|31|df=}}, more than 35,000 sites have been reported.<ref>[https://dnr.alaska.gov/parks/oha/ahrs/ahrs.htm Alaska Heritage Resources Survey] , Department of Natural Resources—Alaska.gov (retrieved May 9, 2014)</ref>

===Cities, towns and boroughs===
{{Further|List of cities in Alaska|List of boroughs and census areas in Alaska}}
{{See also|List of Alaska locations by per capita income}}

[[File:Anchorage1.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|[[Anchorage, Alaska|Anchorage]], Alaska's largest city]]
[[File:Aerial view of Fairbanks Alaska skyline (Quintin Soloviev).jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|[[Fairbanks, Alaska|Fairbanks]], Alaska's second-largest city and by a significant margin the largest city in [[Alaska Interior|Alaska's interior]]]]
[[File:Downtown Juneau with Mount Juneau rising in the background.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|[[Juneau, Alaska|Juneau]], Alaska's third-largest city and [[List of capitals in the United States|its capital]]]]
[[File:Bethel Alaska aerial view.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|[[Bethel, Alaska|Bethel]], the largest city in the [[Unorganized Borough]] and in [[The Bush (Alaska)|rural Alaska]]]]
[[File:Looking into the sun from over downtown onto the Homer Spit..jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|[[Homer, Alaska|Homer]], showing (from bottom to top) the edge of downtown, [[Homer Airport|its airport]] and [[Homer Spit|the Spit]]]]
[[File:Barrow-Alaska-skyview.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|[[Utqiaġvik, Alaska|Utqiaġvik]] (Browerville neighborhood near [[Eben Hopson]] Middle School shown), known colloquially for many years by the nickname "Top of the World", is the northernmost city in the United States.]]
[[File:CordovaHillside.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|[[Cordova, Alaska|Cordova]], built in the early 20th century to support the [[Kennecott Mines]] and the [[Copper River and Northwestern Railway]], has been preserved as a fishing community since their closure.]]
[[File:Downtown Talkeetna.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|Main Street in [[Talkeetna]]]]

Alaska is not divided into [[County (United States)|counties]], like [[Louisiana]]'s [[List of parishes in Louisiana|parishes]] and unlike most of the other U.S. states, but it is divided into ''[[List of boroughs and census areas in Alaska|boroughs]]''.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.countystate.info/alaska.htm| title=Alaska Boroughs—"Official" sites| website=Official Borough Websites| publisher=CountyState.Info| access-date=September 13, 2007| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071027120825/http://www.countystate.info/Alaska.htm| archive-date=October 27, 2007| url-status=live}}</ref> Delegates to the [[Alaska Constitutional Convention]] wanted to avoid the pitfalls of the traditional county system and adopted their own unique model.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.akhistorycourse.org/governing-alaska/local-government/|title=Local Government|work=Alaska Humanities Forum|access-date=November 4, 2021|archive-date=November 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211105013431/https://www.akhistorycourse.org/governing-alaska/local-government/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Many of the more densely populated parts of the state are part of Alaska's 16 boroughs, which function somewhat similarly to counties in other states. Unlike county-equivalents in the other states, the boroughs do not cover the state's entire land area. The area not part of any borough is referred to as the [[Unorganized Borough, Alaska|Unorganized Borough]].

The Unorganized Borough has no government of its own, but the [[U.S. Census Bureau]] in cooperation with the state divided the Unorganized Borough into 11 [[census area]]s solely for the purposes of statistical analysis and presentation. A ''recording district'' is a mechanism for management of the [[public record]] in Alaska. The state is divided into 34 recording districts which are centrally administered under a state [[recorder of deeds|recorder]]. All recording districts use the same acceptance criteria, fee schedule, etc., for accepting documents into the public record.

Whereas many U.S. states use a three-tiered system of decentralization—state/county/township—most of Alaska uses only two tiers—state/borough. Owing to the low population density, most of the land is located in the [[Unorganized Borough]]. As the name implies, it has no intermediate borough government but is administered directly by the state government. In 2000, 57.71% of Alaska's area has this status, with 13.05% of the population.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Dixon|first=Mim|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=35SwDwAAQBAJ&q=Fairbanks+has+a+separate+borough+%28the+Fairbanks+North+Star+Borough%29+and+municipality+%28the+City+of+Fairbanks%29&pg=PT44|title=What Happened To Fairbanks?: The Effects of the Trans-alaska Oil Pipeline on the Community Of Fairbanks, Alaska|date=September 18, 2019|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-000-01076-3|access-date=November 8, 2020|archive-date=March 31, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230331025411/https://books.google.com/books?id=35SwDwAAQBAJ&q=Fairbanks+has+a+separate+borough+%28the+Fairbanks+North+Star+Borough%29+and+municipality+%28the+City+of+Fairbanks%29&pg=PT44|url-status=live}}</ref>

Anchorage merged the city government with the Greater Anchorage Area Borough in 1975 to form the Municipality of Anchorage, containing the city proper and the communities of Eagle River, Chugiak, Peters Creek, Girdwood, Bird, and Indian. Fairbanks has a separate borough (the [[Fairbanks North Star Borough]]) and municipality (the City of Fairbanks).

The state's most populous city is [[Anchorage, Alaska|Anchorage]], home to 291,247 people in 2020.<ref name="2020 Census Data" /> The richest [[Alaska locations by per capita income|location in Alaska by per capita income]] is [[Denali Borough, Alaska|Denali]] ($42,245). [[Yakutat City]], Sitka, Juneau, and Anchorage are the four [[List of U.S. cities by area|largest cities in the U.S. by area]].

====Cities and census-designated places (by population)====
As reflected in the [[2020 United States census]], Alaska has a total of 355 incorporated cities and [[census-designated place]]s (CDPs).<ref name="2020 Census Gazetter">{{cite web | url = https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2020_Gazetteer/2020_gaz_place_02.txt | title = Places (2020): Alaska | format = [[Text file|TXT]] | publisher = United States Census Bureau | access-date = October 31, 2021 | archive-date = March 18, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210318010748/https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2020_Gazetteer/2020_gaz_place_02.txt | url-status = live }}</ref> The tally of cities includes four unified municipalities, essentially the equivalent of a [[consolidated city–county]]. The majority of these communities are located in the rural expanse of Alaska known as "[[The Bush (Alaska)|The Bush]]" and are unconnected to that contiguous North American road network. The table at the bottom of this section lists the 100 largest cities and census-designated places in Alaska, in population order.

Of Alaska's 2020 U.S. census population figure of 733,391, 16,655 people, or 2.27% of the population, did not live in an incorporated city or census-designated place.<ref name="2020 Census Data" /> Approximately three-quarters of that figure were people who live in urban and suburban neighborhoods on the outskirts of the city limits of Ketchikan, Kodiak, Palmer and Wasilla. CDPs have not been established for these areas by the United States Census Bureau, except that seven CDPs were established for the Ketchikan-area neighborhoods in the [[1980 United States census|1980 census]] (Clover Pass, Herring Cove, Ketchikan East, Mountain Point, [[Alaska Route 7]], [[Pennock Island]] and [[Saxman, Alaska|Saxman]] East), but have not been used since. The remaining population was scattered throughout Alaska, both within organized boroughs and in the Unorganized Borough, in largely remote areas.{{Citation needed|date=January 2025}}

{|
|
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! No. !! Community name !! Type !! [[2020 United States census|2020]] Pop.<ref name="2020 Census Data">{{cite web|url = https://live.laborstats.alaska.gov/cen/2020-census-data.html|title = 2020 Census Data – Cities and Census Designated Places|format = Web|publisher = State of Alaska, Department of Labor and Workforce Development|access-date = October 31, 2021|archive-date = August 13, 2021|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210813033233/https://live.laborstats.alaska.gov/cen/2020-census-data.html|url-status = live}}</ref>
|-
| 1 || [[Anchorage, Alaska|Anchorage]] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 291,247
|-
| 2 || [[Fairbanks, Alaska|Fairbanks]] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 32,515
|-
| 3 || [[Juneau, Alaska|Juneau]] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 32,255
|-
| 4 || [[Knik-Fairview, Alaska|Knik-Fairview]] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 19,297
|-
| 5 || [[Badger, Alaska|Badger]] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 19,031
|-
| 6 || [[College, Alaska|College]] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 11,332
|-
| 7 || [[North Lakes, Alaska|North Lakes]] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 9,450
|-
| 8 || [[Meadow Lakes, Alaska|Meadow Lakes]] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 9,197
|-
| 9 || [[Wasilla, Alaska|Wasilla]] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 9,054
|-
| 10 || [[Tanaina, Alaska|Tanaina]] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 8,817
|-
| 11 || [[Kalifornsky, Alaska|Kalifornsky]] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 8,487
|-
| 12 || [[Sitka, Alaska|Sitka]] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 8,458
|-
| 13 || [[Ketchikan, Alaska|Ketchikan]] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 8,192
|-
| 14 || [[Kenai, Alaska|Kenai]] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 7,424
|-
| 15 || [[Steele Creek, Alaska|Steele Creek]] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 6,437
|-
| 16 || [[Bethel, Alaska|Bethel]] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 6,325
|-
| 17 || [[Chena Ridge, Alaska|Chena Ridge]] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 6,015
|-
| 18 || [[Sterling, Alaska|Sterling]] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 5,918
|-
| 19 || [[Palmer, Alaska|Palmer]] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 5,888
|-
| 20 || [[Gateway, Alaska|Gateway]] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 5,748
|-
| 21 || [[Kodiak, Alaska|Kodiak]] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 5,581
|-
| 22 || [[Homer, Alaska|Homer]] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 5,522
|-
| 23 || [[South Lakes, Alaska|South Lakes]] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 5,229
|-
| 24 || [[Fishhook, Alaska|Fishhook]] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 5,048
|-
| 25 || [[Utqiaġvik, Alaska|Utqiaġvik]] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 4,927
|-
| 26 || [[Farmers Loop, Alaska|Farmers Loop]] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 4,704
|-
| 27 || [[Nikiski, Alaska|Nikiski]] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 4,456
|-
| 28 || [[Soldotna, Alaska|Soldotna]] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 4,342
|-
| 29 || [[Unalaska, Alaska|Unalaska]] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 4,254
|-
| 30 || [[Mill Bay, Alaska|Mill Bay]] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 4,216
|-
| 31 || [[Valdez, Alaska|Valdez]] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 3,985
|-
| 32 || [[Big Lake, Alaska|Big Lake]] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 3,833
|-
| 33 || [[Nome, Alaska|Nome]] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 3,699
|-
| 34 || [[Butte, Alaska|Butte]] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 3,589
|-
| 35 || [[Goldstream, Alaska|Goldstream]] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 3,299
|-
| 36 || [[Kotzebue, Alaska|Kotzebue]] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 3,102
|-
| 37 || [[Petersburg, Alaska|Petersburg]] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 3,043
|-
| 38 || [[Farm Loop, Alaska|Farm Loop]] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 2,747
|-
| 39 || [[Seward, Alaska|Seward]] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 2,717
|-
| 40 || [[Eielson Air Force Base|Eielson AFB]] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 2,610
|-
| 41 || [[Cordova, Alaska|Cordova]] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 2,609
|-
| 42 || [[Ester, Alaska|Ester]] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 2,416
|-
| 43 || [[Deltana, Alaska|Deltana]] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 2,359
|-
| 44 || [[Dillingham, Alaska|Dillingham]] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 2,249
|-
| 45 || [[Fritz Creek, Alaska|Fritz Creek]] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 2,248
|-
| 46 || [[North Pole, Alaska|North Pole]] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 2,243
|-
| 47 || [[Willow, Alaska|Willow]] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 2,196
|-
| 48 || [[Ridgeway, Alaska|Ridgeway]] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 2,136
|-
| 49 || [[Bear Creek, Alaska|Bear Creek]] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 2,129
|-
| 50 || [[Wrangell, Alaska|Wrangell]] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 2,127
|}

| valign="top" |
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! No. !! Community name !! Type !! [[2020 United States census|2020]] Pop.
|-
| 51 || [[Anchor Point, Alaska|Anchor Point]] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 2,105
|-
| 52 || [[Houston, Alaska|Houston]] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 1,975
|-
| 53 || [[Point MacKenzie, Alaska|Point MacKenzie]] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 1,852
|-
| 54 || [[Kodiak Station, Alaska|Kodiak Station]] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 1,673
|-
| 55 || [[Haines, Alaska|Haines]] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 1,657
|-
| 56 || [[Akutan, Alaska|Akutan]] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 1,589
|-
| 57 || [[Susitna North, Alaska|Susitna North]] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 1,564
|-
| 58 || [[Lazy Mountain, Alaska|Lazy Mountain]] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 1,506
|-
| 59 || [[Cohoe, Alaska|Cohoe]] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 1,471
|-
| 60 || [[Metlakatla, Alaska|Metlakatla]] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 1,454
|-
| 61 || [[Hooper Bay, Alaska|Hooper Bay]] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 1,375
|-
| 62 || [[Diamond Ridge, Alaska|Diamond Ridge]] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 1,330
|-
| 63 || [[Prudhoe Bay, Alaska|Prudhoe Bay]] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 1,310
|-
| 64 || [[Tok, Alaska|Tok]] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 1,243
|-
| 65 || [[Skagway, Alaska|Skagway]] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 1,164
|-
| 66 || [[Funny River, Alaska|Funny River]] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 1,103
|-
| 67 || [[Salamatof, Alaska|Salamatof]] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 1,078
|-
| 68 || [[Talkeetna, Alaska|Talkeetna]] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 1,055
|-
| 69 || [[Sutton-Alpine, Alaska|Sutton-Alpine]] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 1,038
|-
| 70 || [[Craig, Alaska|Craig]] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 1,036
|-
| 71 || [[Buffalo Soapstone, Alaska|Buffalo Soapstone]] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 1,021
|-
| 72 || [[Salcha, Alaska|Salcha]] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 977
|-
| 73 || [[Healy, Alaska|Healy]] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 966
|-
| 74 || [[Chevak, Alaska|Chevak]] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 951
|-
| 75 || [[Hoonah, Alaska|Hoonah]] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 931
|-
| 76 || [[Delta Junction, Alaska|Delta Junction]] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 918
|-
| 77 || [[Ninilchik, Alaska|Ninilchik]] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 845
|-
| 78 || [[Savoonga, Alaska|Savoonga]] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 835
|-
| 79 || [[Point Hope, Alaska|Point Hope]] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 830
|-
| 80 || [[Emmonak, Alaska|Emmonak]] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 825
|-
| 81 || [[Togiak, Alaska|Togiak]] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 817
|-
| 82 || [[Kwethluk, Alaska|Kwethluk]] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 812
|-
| 83 || [[Selawik, Alaska|Selawik]] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 809
|-
| 84 || [[Knik River, Alaska|Knik River]] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 792
|-
| 85 || [[Quinhagak, Alaska|Quinhagak]] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 776
|-
| 86 || [[Unalakleet, Alaska|Unalakleet]] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 765
|-
| 87 || [[King Cove, Alaska|King Cove]] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 757
|-
| 88 || [[Alakanuk, Alaska|Alakanuk]] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 756
|-
| 89 || [[Womens Bay, Alaska|Womens Bay]]|| CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 743
|-
| 90 || [[Klawock, Alaska|Klawock]] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 720
|-
| 91 || [[Happy Valley, Alaska|Happy Valley]] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 713
|-
| 92 || [[Kipnuk, Alaska|Kipnuk]] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 704
|-
| 93 || [[Noorvik, Alaska|Noorvik]] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 694
|-
| 94 || [[Akiachak, Alaska|Akiachak]] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 677
|-
| 95 || [[Toksook Bay, Alaska|Toksook Bay]] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 658
|-
| 96 || [[Yakutat, Alaska|Yakutat]] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 657
|-
| rowspan="2" |97 || [[Gustavus, Alaska|Gustavus]] || CDP || rowspan="2" style="text-align:right;" | 655
|-
| [[Kotlik, Alaska|Kotlik]] || CDP
|-
| 99 || [[Two Rivers, Alaska|Two Rivers]] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 650
|-
| 100 || [[Fox River, Alaska|Fox River]] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 644
|}

|}

===Climate===
{{Main|Climate of Alaska}}
[[File:Public Lands Held by the National Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management.svg|thumb|Alaska has more acreage of public land owned by the federal government than any other state.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wildlandfire.com/docs/2007/western-states-data-public-land.htm |title=Western States Data Public Land Acreage |publisher=Wildlandfire.com |date=November 13, 2007 |access-date=June 2, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727120656/http://www.wildlandfire.com/docs/2007/western-states-data-public-land.htm |archive-date=July 27, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>]]

Alaska is the coldest state in the United States.<ref>{{cite web | title = These Are the 10 Coldest States in the U.S. | publisher = usnews | url = https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/slideshows/coldest-states-in-the-us?slide=11 | author = Julia Haines | access-date = February 12, 2024 | archive-date = February 12, 2024 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20240212173820/https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/slideshows/coldest-states-in-the-us?slide=11 | url-status = live }}</ref> The climate in the south and southeastern Alaska is a mid-latitude [[oceanic climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification]]: ''Cfb''), and a subarctic oceanic climate (Köppen ''Cfc'') in the northern parts, with cool summers and relatively mild winters. On an annual basis, the southeast is both the wettest and warmest part of Alaska with milder temperatures in the winter and high precipitation throughout the year. Juneau averages over {{convert|50|in|cm|abbr=on}} of precipitation a year, and [[Ketchikan, Alaska|Ketchikan]] averages over {{convert|150|in|cm|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite web | title = Monthly Climate Summary, Ketchikan, Alaska | publisher = Western Regional Climate Center | url = http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?akketc | access-date = February 7, 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130516005502/http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?akketc | archive-date = May 16, 2013 | url-status = live }}</ref> This is also the only region in Alaska in which the average daytime high temperature is above freezing during the winter months.[[File:Koppen-Geiger Map v2 USA Alaska 1991–2020.svg|thumb|[[Köppen climate classification|Köppen climate types]] of Alaska]]The climate of [[Anchorage, Alaska|Anchorage]] and south central Alaska is mild by Alaskan standards due to the region's proximity to the seacoast. While the area gets less rain than southeast Alaska, it gets more snow, and days tend to be clearer. On average, [[Anchorage, Alaska|Anchorage]] receives {{convert|16|in|cm|abbr=on}} of precipitation a year, with around {{convert|75|in|cm|abbr=on}} of snow, although there are areas in the south central which receive far more snow. It is a subarctic climate ([[Köppen climate classification#Group D: Continental/microthermal climates|Köppen: ''Dfc'']]) due to its brief, cool summers.

The climate of [[Southwest Alaska|western Alaska]] is determined in large part by the [[Bering Sea]] and the [[Gulf of Alaska]]. It is a subarctic oceanic climate in the southwest and a continental subarctic climate farther north. The temperature is somewhat moderate considering how far north the area is. This region has a tremendous amount of variety in precipitation. An area stretching from the northern side of the Seward Peninsula to the [[Kobuk River]] valley (i.e., the region around [[Kotzebue Sound]]) is technically a [[desert]], with portions receiving less than {{convert|10|in|cm|abbr=on}} of precipitation annually. On the other extreme, some locations between [[Dillingham, Alaska|Dillingham]] and [[Bethel, Alaska|Bethel]] average around {{convert|100|in|cm|abbr=on}} of precipitation.<ref name="AK-YK Precip">{{cite web|title=Mean Annual Precipitation, Alaska-Yukon|url=http://www.pitt.edu/~mabbott1/climate/mark/Images/AK-PPT-mm.gif|website=Spatial Climate Analysis Service|publisher=Oregon State University|access-date=June 5, 2012|date=February 2000|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025125522/http://www.pitt.edu/~mabbott1/climate/mark/Images/AK-PPT-mm.gif|archive-date=October 25, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>

The climate of the interior of Alaska is subarctic and is a classic example of a continental subarctic climate, except in a few valleys where the climate approaches [[humid continental climate|humid continental]] (Köppen: ''Dfb''). Some of the highest and lowest temperatures in Alaska occur around the area near [[Fairbanks, Alaska|Fairbanks]]. Summers are warm (albeit generally short) and may have temperatures reaching into the 90s °F (the low-to-mid 30s °C), while in the long and very cold winters, the temperature can fall below {{convert|-60|°F}}. Precipitation is sparse in the Interior, often less than {{convert|10|in|cm|abbr=on}} a year, but what precipitation falls in the winter tends to stay the entire winter.

The highest and lowest recorded temperatures in Alaska are both in the Interior. The highest is {{convert|100|°F}} in [[Fort Yukon, Alaska|Fort Yukon]] (which is just {{convert|8|mi|km|disp=or|abbr=on}} inside the arctic circle) on June 27, 1915,<ref name="NOAA-All Hazards">{{cite web|title=NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards Information—Alaska Weather Interesting Facts and Records |publisher=[[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] |url=http://www.arh.noaa.gov/docs/AKWXfacts.pdf |access-date=January 3, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060929022606/http://www.arh.noaa.gov/docs/AKWXfacts.pdf |archive-date=September 29, 2006 }}</ref><ref name=DRI>{{cite web|title=State Extremes |publisher=Western Regional Climate Center, [[Desert Research Institute]] |url=http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/htmlfiles/state.extremes.html |access-date=January 3, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070105015744/http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/htmlfiles/state.extremes.html |archive-date=January 5, 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref> making Alaska tied with Hawaii as the state with the lowest high temperature in the United States.<ref>{{cite web | title = SD Weather History and Trivia for May: May 1 | publisher = [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] | url = http://www.crh.noaa.gov/fsd/?n=fsdtrivia05 | access-date = January 3, 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070208132328/http://www.crh.noaa.gov/fsd/?n=fsdtrivia05 | archive-date = February 8, 2007 | url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=FAQ Alaska—Frequently Asked Questions About Alaska: Weather |publisher=Statewide Library Electronic Doorway, [[University of Alaska Fairbanks]] |date=January 17, 2005 |url=http://sled.alaska.edu/akfaq/aksuper.html#wea |access-date=January 3, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070102180919/http://sled.alaska.edu/akfaq/aksuper.html#wea |archive-date=January 2, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The lowest official Alaska temperature is {{convert|−80|°F}} in [[Prospect Creek, Alaska|Prospect Creek]] on January 23, 1971,<ref name="NOAA-All Hazards" /><ref name=DRI /> one degree above the lowest temperature recorded in continental North America (in [[Snag, Yukon|Snag, Yukon, Canada]]).<ref>{{cite web |first=Ned |last=Rozell |title=The Coldest Place in North America |publisher=Geophysical Institute of the [[University of Alaska Fairbanks]] |date=January 23, 2003 |url=http://www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF16/1630.html |access-date=January 3, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070202040955/http://www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF16/1630.html |archive-date=February 2, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The climate in the extreme north of Alaska, north of the [[Brooks Range]], is [[polar climate|Arctic]] ([[Köppen climate classification#Group E: Polar climates|Köppen: ''ET'']]) with long, very cold winters and short, cool summers. Even in July, the average low temperature in [[Utqiaġvik, Alaska|Utqiaġvik]] is {{convert|34|°F}}.<ref>[http://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/PABR/2006/7/23/MonthlyHistory.html History for Barrow, Alaska. Monthly Summary for July 2006] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170703031927/https://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/PABR/2006/7/23/MonthlyHistory.html |date=July 3, 2017 }}. [[Weather Underground (weather service)|Weather Underground]]. Retrieved October 23, 2006.</ref> Precipitation is light in this part of Alaska, with many places averaging less than {{convert|10|in|cm|abbr=on}} per year, mostly as snow which stays on the ground almost the entire year.

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="margin:auto;"
|+Average daily maximum and minimum temperatures for selected locations in Alaska<ref name="Alaska climate averages">{{cite web|url=http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/city.php3?c=US&s=AK&statename=Alaska-United-States-of-America|title=Alaska climate averages|publisher=Weatherbase|access-date=November 1, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151101165515/http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/city.php3?c=US&s=AK&statename=Alaska-United-States-of-America|archive-date=November 1, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
!Location
!July ({{not a typo|°F}})
!July (°C)
!January ({{not a typo|°F}})
!January (°C)
|-
|[[Anchorage, Alaska|Anchorage]] || 65/51 || 18/10 || 22/11 || −5/−11
|-
|[[Juneau, Alaska|Juneau]] || 64/50 || 17/11 || 32/23 || 0/−4
|-
|[[Ketchikan, Alaska|Ketchikan]] || 64/51 || 17/11 || 38/28 || 3/−1
|-
|[[Unalaska, Alaska|Unalaska]] || 57/46 || 14/8 || 36/28 || 2/−2
|-
|[[Fairbanks, Alaska|Fairbanks]] || 72/53 || 22/11 || 1/−17 || −17/−27
|-
|[[Fort Yukon, Alaska|Fort Yukon]] || 73/51 || 23/10 || −11/−27 || −23/−33
|-
|[[Nome, Alaska|Nome]] || 58/46 || 14/8 || 13/−2 || −10/−19
|-
|[[Utqiaġvik, Alaska|Utqiaġvik]] || 47/34 || 8/1 || −7/−19 || −21/−28
|}

===Fauna===
{{Main|Wildlife of Alaska}}

==Demographics==
{{Main|Demographics of Alaska}}
{{US Census population
|1880= 33426
|1890= 32052
|1900= 63592
|1910= 64356
|1920= 55036
|1930= 59278
|1940= 72524
|1950= 128643
|1960= 226167
|1970= 300382
|1980= 401851
|1990= 550043
|2000= 626932
|2010= 710231
|2020= 733391
|estyear=2024
|estimate=740133
|estref=<ref name="USCensusEst2024">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/data/tables.html|title=Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2024|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=December 26, 2024|archive-date=April 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200407074341/https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/data/tables.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
|align-fn=center
|footnote=1930 and 1940 censuses taken in preceding autumn<br />Sources: 1910–2020<ref name="Census2010">{{Cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/dec/popchange-data-text.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210429012609/https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/dec/popchange-data-text.html|title=Historical Population Change Data (1910–2020) |archive-date=April 29, 2021|website=Census.gov}}</ref>
}}

The [[United States Census Bureau]] found in the [[2020 United States census]] that the population of Alaska was 733,391 on April 1, 2020, a 3.3% increase since the [[2010 United States census]].<ref name="2020Census" /> According to the 2010 United States Census, the U.S. state of Alaska had a population of 710,231, an increase of 13.3% up from 626,932 at the 2000 U.S. census.

In 2020, Alaska ranked as the 48th largest state by population, ahead of only [[Vermont]] and [[Wyoming]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/data/tables/2020/dec/2020-apportionment-data.html |title=2020 Census Apportionment Results, Table 2 Resident Population for the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico: 2020 Census |date=April 26, 2021 |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=April 26, 2021 |archive-date=April 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210426194109/https://www.census.gov/data/tables/2020/dec/2020-apportionment-data.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Alaska is the least densely populated state, and one of the most sparsely populated areas in the world, at {{convert|1.2|PD/sqmi}}, with the next state, Wyoming, at {{convert|5.8|PD/sqmi}}.<ref>{{cite web|title=Resident Population Data: Population Density |url=http://2010.census.gov/2010census/data/apportionment-dens-text.php |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau |access-date=June 6, 2012 |year=2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111028061117/http://2010.census.gov/2010census/data/apportionment-dens-text.php |archive-date=October 28, 2011 }}</ref> Alaska is by far the largest U.S. state by [[List of U.S. states and territories by area|area]], and the tenth wealthiest (per capita income).<ref>{{cite web|title=State Per Capita Income 2011|url=https://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/regional/spi/2012/pdf/spi0312pc_fax.pdf|publisher=Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of Commerce|access-date=June 6, 2012|date=March 28, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120915190231/http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/regional/spi/2012/pdf/spi0312pc_fax.pdf|archive-date=September 15, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> {{as of|2018}} due to its population size, it is one of 14 U.S. states that still have only one telephone [[Telephone numbering plan|area code]].<ref name="US area codes">{{cite web|url=https://www.50states.com/areacodes/|title=State Area Codes|website=50states.com|access-date=February 13, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180213080220/https://www.50states.com/areacodes/|archive-date=February 13, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

According to [[United States Department of Housing and Urban Development|HUD]]'s 2022 [[Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress|Annual Homeless Assessment Report]], there were an estimated 2,320 [[Homelessness|homeless]] people in Alaska.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2007–2022 PIT Counts by State |url=https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.huduser.gov%2Fportal%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fxls%2F2007-2022-PIT-Counts-by-State.xlsx&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK |access-date=March 11, 2023 |archive-date=March 14, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230314020239/https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.huduser.gov%2Fportal%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fxls%2F2007-2022-PIT-Counts-by-State.xlsx&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The 2022 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress |url=https://www.huduser.gov/portal/sites/default/files/pdf/2022-AHAR-Part-1.pdf |access-date=March 11, 2023 |archive-date=March 11, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230311234217/https://www.huduser.gov/portal/sites/default/files/pdf/2022-AHAR-Part-1.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Race and ethnicity===
{| class="wikitable sortable collapsible"
|+ Alaska racial breakdown of population
|-
! Racial composition !! 1970<ref name="census" /> !! 1990<ref name="census">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0056/twps0056.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080725044857/http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0056/twps0056.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 25, 2008 |title=Historical Census Statistics on Population Totals By Race, 1790 to 1990, and By Hispanic Origin, 1970 to 1990, For The United States, Regions, Divisions, and States |first=Laura K. |last=Yax }}</ref> !! 2000<ref>{{cite web|url=http://censusviewer.com/state/AK|title=Population of Alaska—Census 2010 and 2000 Interactive Map, Demographics, Statistics, Quick Facts—CensusViewer|website=censusviewer.com|access-date=January 6, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305010352/http://censusviewer.com/state/AK|archive-date=March 5, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>!! 2010<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/decade.2010.html|title=2010 Census Data|website=census.gov|access-date=December 11, 2017|archive-date=May 22, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170522200920/https://census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/decade.2010.html|url-status=live}}</ref>!! 2020<ref name=CensusACS2020>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/interactive/racial-and-ethnic-diversity-in-the-united-states-2010-and-2020-census.html|title=Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the United States: 2010 Census and 2020 Census|date=August 12, 2021|publisher=[[U.S. Census Bureau]]|access-date=August 12, 2021|archive-date=August 12, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210812181603/https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/interactive/racial-and-ethnic-diversity-in-the-united-states-2010-and-2020-census.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| [[White American|White]] || 78.8% || 75.5% || 69.3% || 66.7% || 59.4%
|-
| [[Native Americans in the United States|Native]] || 16.9% || 15.6% || 15.6% || 14.8% || 15.2%
|-
| [[Asian American|Asian]] || 0.9% || 3.6% || 4.0% || 5.4% || 6.0%
|-
| [[African American|Black]] || 3.0% || 4.1% || 3.5% || 3.3% || 3.0%
|-
| [[Native Hawaiian]] and <br />[[Pacific Islander American|other Pacific Islander]] || – || – || 0.5% || 1.0% || 1.7%
|-
| [[Other race]] || 0.4% || 1.2% || 1.6% || 1.6% || 2.5%
|-
| [[Multiracial American|Multiracial]] || – || – || 5.5% || 7.3% || 12.2%
|}
[[File:Ethnic Origins in Alaska.png|thumb|270x270px|Ethnic origins in Alaska]]
[[File:Alaska racial and ethnic map.svg|thumb|Map of the largest racial/ethnic group by borough. Red indicates Native American, blue indicates non-Hispanic white, and green indicates Asian. Darker shades indicate a higher proportion of the population.]]The 2019 [[American Community Survey]] estimated 60.2% of the population was [[whites| white]], 3.7% [[African Americans|black or African American]], 15.6% [[Native Americans in the United States|American Indian or Alaska Native]], 6.5% [[Asian Americans|Asian]], 1.4% [[Pacific Islander Americans|Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander]], 7.5% two or more races, and 7.3% [[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic or Latin American]]. At the survey estimates, 7.8% of the total population was foreign-born from 2015 to 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|title=2019 QuickFacts|url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/AK/PST040219|website=U.S. Census Bureau}}</ref> In 2015, 61.3% was white, 3.4% black or African American, 13.3% American Indian or Alaska Native, 6.2% Asian, 0.9% Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, 0.3% some other race, and 7.7% multiracial. Hispanics and Latin Americans were 7% of the state population in 2015.<ref>{{Cite web|title=2015 Demographic and Housing Estimates|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=Alaska%20population&tid=ACSDP1Y2015.DP05|access-date=2021-05-21|website=data.census.gov|archive-date=May 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210521040742/https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=Alaska%20population&tid=ACSDP1Y2015.DP05|url-status=live}}</ref> From 2015 to 2019, the largest Hispanic and Latin American groups were [[Mexican Americans]], [[Puerto Ricans]], and [[Cuban Americans]]. The largest Asian groups living in the state were [[Filipino Americans|Filipinos]], [[Korean Americans]], and [[Japanese Americans|Japanese]] and Chinese Americans.<ref>{{Cite web|title=2019 Demographic and Housing Estimates|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=Alaska%20population&tid=ACSDP1Y2019.DP05|access-date=2021-05-21|website=data.census.gov|archive-date=March 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220328092609/https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=Alaska%20population&tid=ACSDP1Y2019.DP05|url-status=live}}</ref>

The state was 64.1% white, 14.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 5.4% Asian, 3.3% black or African American, 1.0% Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, 1.6% from some other race, and 7.3% from two or more races in 2010. Hispanics or Latin Americans made up 5.5% of the population in 2010.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/ |title=U.S. Census website |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |date=October 5, 2010 |access-date=May 29, 2011 |archive-date=July 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709054630/https://www.census.gov/ |url-status=live }}</ref> {{as of|2011}}, 50.7% of Alaska's population younger than one year of age belonged to minority groups (i.e., did not have two parents of white ancestry).<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cleveland.com/datacentral/index.ssf/2012/06/americas_under_age_1_populatio.html|title=Americans under age 1 now mostly minorities, but not in Ohio: Statistical Snapshot|last=Exner|first=Rich|date=June 3, 2012|work=[[The Plain Dealer]]|access-date=August 17, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160714084214/http://www.cleveland.com/datacentral/index.ssf/2012/06/americas_under_age_1_populatio.html|archive-date=July 14, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1960, the United States Census Bureau reported Alaska's population as 77.2% white, 3% black, and 18.8% American Indian and Alaska Native.<ref>{{cite web|title=Alaska—Race and Hispanic Origin: 1880 to 1990 |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau |url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0056/twps0056.html |access-date=April 18, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141224151538/http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0056/twps0056.html |archive-date=December 24, 2014 }}</ref>

In 2018, the top countries of origin for Alaska's immigrants were the [[Philippines]], [[Mexico]], Canada, [[Thailand]] and [[South Korea]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/sites/default/files/research/immigrants_in_alaska.pdf|title=Immigrants in Alaska|access-date=September 24, 2023|archive-date=February 13, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240213222032/https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/sites/default/files/research/immigrants_in_alaska.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Languages===
{{Further|Alaska Native languages}}

According to the 2011 American Community Survey, 83.4% of people over the age of five spoke only English at home. About 3.5% spoke Spanish at home, 2.2% spoke another [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European language]], about 4.3% spoke an [[Languages of Asia|Asian]] language (including [[Tagalog language|Tagalog]]),<ref>"50 Quick Facts about Alaska" {{ISBN|978-1-783-33276-2}}</ref> and about 5.3% spoke other languages at home.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2013/acs/acs-22.pdf|title=Language use in the United States, 2011|access-date=May 18, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140513042213/http://census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2013/acs/acs-22.pdf|archive-date=May 13, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2019, the American Community Survey determined 83.7% spoke only English, and 16.3% spoke another language other than English. The most spoken European language after English was Spanish, spoken by approximately 4.0% of the state population. Collectively, Asian and Pacific Islander languages were spoken by 5.6% of Alaskans.<ref>{{Cite web|title=2019 Language Statistics|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=Alaska%20languages&tid=ACSST1Y2019.S1601|access-date=2021-05-22|website=data.census.gov|archive-date=May 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210522170320/https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=Alaska%20languages&tid=ACSST1Y2019.S1601|url-status=live}}</ref> Since 2010, a total of 5.2% of Alaskans speak one of the state's 20 [[Indigenous languages of the Americas|indigenous languages]],<ref>Graves, K, PhD, MSW, Rosich, R, PhD, McBride, M, PhD, RN, Charles, G, Phd and LaBelle, J, MA: Health and health care if Alaska Native Older Adults. {{cite web |url=http://geriatrics.stanford.edu/ethnomed/alaskan/ |title=Ethno Med – Alaska Native – Description – Geriatrics – Stanford Medicine |access-date=October 7, 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140128175847/http://geriatrics.stanford.edu/ethnomed/alaskan/ |archive-date=January 28, 2014 }}. In Periyakoil VS, eds. eCampus Geriatrics, Stanford Ca, 2010.</ref> known locally as "native languages".

The [[Alaska Native Language Center]] at the [[University of Alaska Fairbanks]] claims that at least 20 [[Alaska Native languages|Alaskan native languages]] exist and there are also some languages with different dialects.<ref name="uaf.edu">{{cite web |title=Languages, Alaska Native Language Center |url=http://www.uaf.edu/anlc/languages/ |access-date=August 4, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140727073141/http://www.uaf.edu/anlc/languages/ |archive-date=July 27, 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref> Most of Alaska's native languages belong to either the [[Eskimo–Aleut languages|Eskimo–Aleut]] or [[Na-Dene languages|Na-Dene]] language families; some languages are thought to be [[Language isolate|isolates]] (e.g. [[Haida language|Haida]]) or have not yet been classified (e.g. [[Tsimshianic languages|Tsimshianic]]).<ref name="uaf.edu" /> {{as of|2014}} nearly all of Alaska's native languages were classified as either threatened, shifting, moribund, nearly extinct, or dormant languages.<ref>Languages, Alaska Native Language Center, [[Ethnologue]] (classifications), http://www.uaf.edu/anlc/languages/stats/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140706170402/http://www.uaf.edu/anlc/languages/stats/ |date=July 6, 2014 }}</ref>

In October 2014, the governor of Alaska signed a bill declaring the state's 20 indigenous languages to have official status.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/oct/24/alaskas-indigenous-languages-official "Alaska's indigenous languages attain official status"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170212093511/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/oct/24/alaskas-indigenous-languages-official |date=February 12, 2017 }}, Reuters.com, October 24, 2014. Retrieved October 30, 2014.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/get_bill.asp?bill=HB%20216&session=28|title=Bill History/Action for 28th Legislature HB 216|website=The Alaska State Legislature|access-date=January 12, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170204183710/http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/get_bill.asp?bill=HB%20216&session=28|archive-date=February 4, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> This bill gave them symbolic recognition as official languages, though they have not been adopted for official use within the government. In May 2024, a bill replaced Tanana with Middle Tanana and Lower Tanana, added Cupʼig and Wetał<ref>{{Cite web |title=HB 26, 33rd Legislature (2023-2024) |url=https://www.akleg.gov/basis/Bill/Detail/33?Root=HB%2026 |access-date=2025-06-02 |website=Alaska State Legislature <www.akleg.gov>}}</ref>. The 23 languages that were included in the bill are:

{{div col}}
#[[Inupiat language|Inupiaq]]
#[[Central Siberian Yupik language|Siberian Yupik]]
#[[Central Alaskan Yup'ik language|Central Alaskan Yup'ik]]
#[[Nunivak Cupʼig language|Cupʼig]]
#[[Alutiiq language|Alutiiq]]
#[[Aleut language|Unangax]]
#[[Dena'ina language|Dena'ina]]
#[[Deg Xinag language|Deg Xinag]]
#[[Holikachuk language|Holikachuk]]
#[[Koyukon language|Koyukon]]
#[[Upper Kuskokwim language|Upper Kuskokwim]]
#[[Gwich'in language|Gwich'in]]
#[[Upper Tanana language|Upper Tanana]]
#[[Lower Tanana language|Sahcheeg xut'een xneege' (Middle Tanana)]]
#[[Lower Tanana language|Benhti Kokhwt'ana Kenaga' (Lower Tanana)]]
#[[Tanacross language|Tanacross]]
#[[Hän language|Hän]]
#[[Ahtna language|Ahtna]]
#[[Tsetsaut language|Wetał (Ts'etsa'ut)]]
#[[Eyak language|Eyak]]
#[[Tlingit language|Tlingit]]
#[[Haida language|Haida]]
#[[Coast Tsimshian dialect|Tsimshian]]
{{div col end}}

===Religion===
{{See also|Alaska Native religion|Shamanism among Alaska Natives}}
[[File:Sitka - St. Michael's Russian Orthodox Cathedral.jpg|thumb|[[St. Michael's Cathedral (Sitka, Alaska)|St. Michael's Russian Orthodox Cathedral]] in downtown [[Sitka, Alaska|Sitka]]|left|265x265px]]{{Pie chart|thumb=right|caption=Religious self-identification in Alaska per the [[Public Religion Research Institute]]'s 2020 survey<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 24, 2023 |title=2020 American Values Atlas: Religious Tradition |url=https://ava.prri.org/#religious/2020/States/religion/m/US-AK |access-date=March 30, 2023 |website=[[Public Religion Research Institute]] |archive-date=April 4, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170404161714/https://ava.prri.org/#religious/2022/States/religion/m/US-AK |url-status=live }}</ref>|label1=[[Irreligion in the United States|Unaffiliated]]|value1=37|color1=White|label2=[[Protestantism in the United States|Protestantism]]|value2=36|color2=DarkBlue|label3=[[Catholicism in the United States|Catholicism]]|value3=14|color3=Purple|label4=[[Eastern Orthodoxy in the United States|Eastern Orthodox]]|value4=4|color4=Yellow|label5=[[Mormonism in the United States|Mormonism]]|value5=2|color5=Teal|label6=[[Jehovah's Witness]]|color6=Green|label7=Other|color7=Gray|label8=|value6=1|value7=6}}Multiple surveys have ranked Alaska among [[List of U.S. states and territories by religiosity|the most irreligious states]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Green |first=Emma |date=2017-09-06 |title=The 20 States Where Non-Religious People Make Up the Greatest Share of the Population |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/09/no-religion-states-prri/538821/ |access-date=2023-09-16 |website=The Atlantic |language=en |archive-date=October 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002064510/https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/09/no-religion-states-prri/538821/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2008-09-04 |title=Survey Finds Alaskans Less Religious Than Other Americans |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2008/09/04/survey-finds-alaskans-less-religious-than-other-americans/ |access-date=2023-09-16 |website=Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project |language=en-US |archive-date=October 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002064510/https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2008/09/04/survey-finds-alaskans-less-religious-than-other-americans/ |url-status=live }}</ref>{{Multiple image
| align             = right
| image1            = ChangePoint building.jpg
| width1            = 150
| alt1              = 
| image2            = Anchorage Baptist Temple.jpg
| width2            = 150
| alt2              = 
| footer            = ChangePoint in south Anchorage (left) and Anchorage Baptist Temple in east Anchorage (right) are Alaska's largest churches in terms of attendance and membership.
}}

According to statistics collected by the [[Association of Religion Data Archives]] (ARDA) from 2010, about 34% of Alaska residents were members of religious congregations. Of the religious population, roughly 4% were Mormon, 0.5% Jewish, 0.5% Muslim, 1% Buddhist, 0.2% Baháʼí, and 0.5% Hindu.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://religions.pewforum.org/maps|title=Religion in America: U.S. Religious Data, Demographics and Statistics—Pew Research Center|date=May 11, 2015|website=Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project|access-date=November 18, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150506033840/http://religions.pewforum.org/maps|archive-date=May 6, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> The largest religious denominations in Alaska {{as of|2010|lc=y}} was the [[Catholic Church]] with 50,866 adherents; non-denominational Evangelicals with 38,070 adherents; [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] with 32,170 adherents; and the [[Southern Baptist Convention]] with 19,891 adherents.<ref name="www.thearda.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.thearda.com/rcms2010/r/s/02/rcms2010_02_state_adh_2010.asp |title=The Association of Religion Data Archives—State Membership Report |publisher=thearda.com |access-date=November 15, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131212162841/http://www.thearda.com/rcms2010/r/s/02/rcms2010_02_state_adh_2010.asp |archive-date=December 12, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thearda.com/rcms2010/r/s/02/rcms2010_02_state_adh_2010.asp|title=The Association of Religion Data Archives—Maps & Reports|website=thearda.com|access-date=November 15, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131212162841/http://www.thearda.com/rcms2010/r/s/02/rcms2010_02_state_adh_2010.asp|archive-date=December 12, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> Alaska has been identified, along with Washington and Oregon in the Pacific Northwest, as being [[Unchurched Belt|the least religious states in the United States]], in terms of church membership.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.adherents.com/Na/Na_472.html |title=Adherents.com |publisher=Adherents.com |access-date=June 2, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100505013647/http://www.adherents.com/Na/Na_472.html |archive-date=May 5, 2010 |url-status=usurped }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090116035021/http://www.adn.com/life/story/463303.html |archive-date=January 16, 2009 |url=http://www.adn.com/life/story/463303.html |title=Believe it or not, Alaska's one of nation's least religious states |newspaper=Anchorage Daily News |date=July 13, 2008 |url-status=dead |access-date=July 23, 2008 }}</ref>

The Pew Research Center in 2014 determined 62% of the adult population practiced Christianity. Of the Christian denominations, Catholicism was the largest Christian group. When Protestant denominations were combined, Protestantism was the largest Christian tradition, with Evangelicalism being the largest movement within the Protestant group. The unaffiliated population made up the largest non-Christian religious affiliation at 37%. [[Atheism|Atheists]] made up 5% of the population and the largest non-Christian religion was [[Buddhism]]. In 2020, the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) determined 57% of adults were Christian.<ref>{{Cite web |title=PRRI – American Values Atlas |url=https://ava.prri.org/#religious/2020/States/religion/m/US-AK |access-date=2022-09-17 |website=ava.prri.org |archive-date=April 4, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170404161714/https://ava.prri.org/#religious/2020/States/religion/m/US-AK |url-status=live }}</ref> By 2022, Christianity increased to 77% of the population according to the PRRI.

Through the Association of Religion Data Archives in 2020, its Christian population was dominated by [[Nondenominational Christianity|non/inter-denominational Protestantism]] as the single largest Christian cohort, with 73,930 adherents. Roman Catholics were second with 40,280 members; throughout its Christian population, non-denominational Christians had an adherence rate of 100.81 per 1,000 residents, and Catholics 54.92 per 1,000 residents.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=2020 Congregational Membership |url=https://www.thearda.com/us-religion/census/congregational-membership?y=2020&y2=0&t=1&c=02 |access-date=2023-04-15 |website=Association of Religion Data Archives |archive-date=April 19, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230419105607/https://thearda.com/us-religion/census/congregational-membership?y=2020&y2=0&t=1&c=02 |url-status=live }}</ref> Per 2014's Pew study, religion was seen as very important to 41% of the population, although 29% considered it somewhat important.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |date=May 11, 2015 |title=Adults in Alaska |url=http://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/state/alaska/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160114210213/http://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/state/alaska/ |archive-date=January 14, 2016 |access-date=January 1, 2016 |website=Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project}}</ref> In 2014, Pew determined roughly 55% believed in God with absolute certainty, and 24% believed fairly certainly. Reflecting the separate 2020 ARDA study, the 2014 Pew study showed 30% attended religious services once a week, 34% once or twice a month, and 36% seldom/never.<ref name=":0" /> In 2018, ''[[The Gospel Coalition]]'' published an article using Pew data and determined non-churchgoing Christians nationwide did not attend religious services often through the following: practicing the faith in other ways, not finding a house of worship they liked, disliking sermons and feeling unwelcomed, and logistics.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Carter |first=Joe |title=Why Christians Don't Go to Church (and Why They Must) |url=https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/americans-christians-dont-go-church-must/ |access-date=2023-04-15 |website=The Gospel Coalition |date=October 13, 2018 |language=en-US |archive-date=April 19, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230419170251/https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/americans-christians-dont-go-church-must/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1795, the first [[Russian Orthodox Church]] was established in [[Kodiak Island Borough, Alaska|Kodiak]]. Intermarriage with Alaskan Natives helped the Russian immigrants integrate into society. As a result, an increasing number of Russian Orthodox churches gradually became established within Alaska.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://vilda.alaska.edu/u?/cdmg11,4904 |title=An early Russian Orthodox Church |publisher=Vilda.alaska.edu |access-date=June 2, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080225102019/http://vilda.alaska.edu/u/?%2Fcdmg11%2C4904 |archive-date=February 25, 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref> Alaska also has the largest [[Quaker]] population (by percentage) of any state.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thearda.com/mapsReports/maps/map.asp?state=101&variable=201 |title=Association of Religion Data Archive |publisher=Thearda.com |access-date=June 2, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120113080504/http://www.thearda.com/mapsReports/maps/map.asp?state=101&variable=201 |archive-date=January 13, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 2009, there were 6,000 Jews in Alaska (for whom observance of [[halakha]] [[Jewish law in the polar regions|may pose special problems]]).<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110128024235/http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2011/tables/11s0077.pdf Table 76. Religious Bodies—Selected Data]. U.S. Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2011.</ref> Alaskan Hindus often share venues and celebrations with members of other Asian religious communities, including [[Sikhism|Sikhs]] and [[Jainism|Jains]].<ref>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090201151519/http://caia.arctic.us/?Shri_Ganesha_Mandir_of_Alaska |archive-date=February 1, 2009 |url=http://www.caia.arctic.us/?Shri_Ganesha_Mandir_of_Alaska |title=Shri Ganesha Mandir of Alaska |publisher=Cultural Association of India Anchorage |last1=Kalyan |first1=Mala |url-status=dead |access-date=September 26, 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hindumandir.us/west-coast.html#AK |title=Hindu Temples on West Coast USA |publisher=Hindu Temples in USA—Hindu Mandirs in USA |access-date=June 2, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100616130334/http://www.hindumandir.us/west-coast.html |archive-date=June 16, 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090201151459/http://caia.arctic.us/?Holi_%2F_Baisakhi_Celebration%3A |archive-date=February 1, 2009 |url=http://www.caia.arctic.us/?Holi_%2F_Baisakhi_Celebration%3A |title=Holi / Baisakhi Celebration |publisher=Cultural Association of India Anchorage |url-status=dead |access-date=September 26, 2009 }}</ref> In 2010, Alaskan Hindus established the [[Sri Ganesha Temple of Alaska]], making it the first Hindu Temple in Alaska and the northernmost Hindu Temple in the world. There are an estimated 2,000–3,000 Hindus in Alaska. The vast majority of Hindus live in Anchorage or Fairbanks.

Estimates for the number of Muslims in Alaska range from 2,000 to 5,000.<ref>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090116035850/http://dwb.adn.com/news/alaska/ap_alaska/story/8656236p-8548061c.html |archive-date=January 16, 2009 |url=http://dwb.adn.com/news/alaska/ap_alaska/story/8656236p-8548061c.html |title=First Muslim cemetery opens in Alaska |first1=Julia |last1=O'Malley |website=Anchorage Daily News |date=February 20, 2007 |url-status=dead |access-date=August 30, 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090215202834/http://engagingmuslims.alaskapacific.edu/ |archive-date=February 15, 2009 |url=http://engagingmuslims.alaskapacific.edu/ |website=engagingmuslims.alaskapacific.edu |title=Engaging Muslim: Religion, Culture, Politics |url-status=dead |access-date=August 30, 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.humanitynews.net/index.php/main/more/alaskan_muslims_avoid_conflict/ |title=Alaskan Muslims Avoid Conflict |publisher=Humanity News |date=July 7, 2005 |first1=Robert |last1=Howk |access-date=June 2, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090113085537/http://www.humanitynews.net/index.php/main/more/alaskan_muslims_avoid_conflict/ |archive-date=January 13, 2009 }}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> In 2020, ARDA estimated there were 400 Muslims in the state.<ref name=":1" /> The [[Islamic Community Center of Anchorage, Alaska|Islamic Community Center of Anchorage]] began efforts in the late 1990s to construct a mosque in Anchorage. They broke ground on a building in south Anchorage in 2010 and were nearing completion in late 2014. When completed, the mosque was the first in the state and one of the northernmost mosques in the world.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.aljazeera.net/video/americas/2010/12/20101225111741183159.html |title=Mosque milestone for Alaska Muslims—Americas |publisher=Al Jazeera |date=December 25, 2010 |access-date=May 29, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110204061054/http://english.aljazeera.net/video/americas/2010/12/20101225111741183159.html |archive-date=February 4, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref> There is also a [[Baháʼí Faith|Baháʼí]] center,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.akbahai.org/ |title=Alaska Bahá'í Community |access-date=January 16, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190117013401/http://www.akbahai.org/ |archive-date=January 17, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> and there were 690 adherents in 2020.<ref name=":1" /> Additionally, there were 469 adherents of [[Hinduism in the United States|Hinduism]] and [[Yoga]] altogether in 2020, and a small number of [[Buddhism in the United States|Buddhists]] were present.

==Economy==
{{Main|Economy of Alaska}}
{{See also|Alaska locations by per capita income|List of Alaska companies}}
[[File:Prudhoe Bay aerial FWS.jpg|thumb|Aerial view of infrastructure at the [[Prudhoe Bay Oil Field]]]]As of October 2022, Alaska had a total employment of 316,900. The number of employer establishments was 21,077.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/AK |title=U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Alaska |access-date=November 11, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191015020906/https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/AK |archive-date=October 15, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The 2018 [[gross state product]] was $55&nbsp;billion, 48th in the U.S. Its [[List of U.S. states by GDP per capita (nominal)|per capita personal income]] for 2018 was $73,000, ranking 7th in the nation. According to a 2013 study by Phoenix Marketing International, Alaska had the fifth-largest number of millionaires per capita in the United States, with a ratio of 6.75 percent.<ref>{{cite web|last=Frank|first=Robert|title=Top states for millionaires per capita|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2014/01/15/top-states-for-millionaires-per-capita.html|publisher=CNBC|access-date=January 22, 2014|date=January 15, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140122061516/https://www.cnbc.com/id/101338309|archive-date=January 22, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> The oil and gas industry dominates the Alaskan economy, with more than 80% of the state's revenues derived from petroleum extraction. Alaska's main export product (excluding oil and natural gas) is seafood, primarily salmon, cod, pollock and crab.

Agriculture represents a very small fraction of the Alaskan economy. Agricultural production is primarily for consumption within the state and includes nursery stock, dairy products, vegetables, and livestock. Manufacturing is limited, with most foodstuffs and general goods imported from elsewhere.

Employment is primarily in government and industries such as natural resource extraction, shipping, and transportation. Military bases are a significant component of the economy in the Fairbanks North Star, Anchorage and Kodiak Island boroughs, as well as Kodiak. Federal subsidies are also an important part of the economy, allowing the state to keep taxes low. Its industrial outputs are crude petroleum, natural gas, coal, gold, [[precious metals]], [[zinc]] and other mining, seafood processing, timber and wood products. There is also a growing service and tourism sector. Tourists have contributed to the economy by supporting local lodging.

===Energy===
{{See also|Natural gas in Alaska|List of power stations in Alaska|Energy law#Alaska law}}
[[File:Trans-Alaska Pipeline System Luca Galuzzi 2005.jpg|thumb|The [[Trans-Alaska Pipeline]] transports oil, Alaska's most financially important export, from the [[Alaska North Slope|North Slope]] to [[Valdez, Alaska|Valdez]]. The [[heat pipe]]s in the column mounts are pertinent, since they disperse heat upwards and prevent melting of [[permafrost]].]]
[[File:Alaska Crude Oil Reserves.PNG|thumb|upright|Alaska [[proven reserves|proven oil reserves]] peaked in 1973 and have declined more than 60% since then. ]]
[[File:Alaska crude oil production in 1970 through 2020 (51140868890).png|thumb|Alaskan oil production peaked in 1988 and has declined more than 75% since then.]]

Alaska has vast energy resources, although its oil reserves have been largely depleted. Major oil and gas reserves were found in the [[Alaska North Slope]] (ANS) and Cook Inlet basins, but according to the [[Energy Information Administration]], by February 2014 Alaska had fallen to fourth place in the nation in crude oil production after Texas, [[North Dakota]], and California.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eia.gov/state/?sid=ak |title=EIA State Energy Profiles: Alaska |publisher=U.S. Energy Information Administration |date=March 27, 2014 |access-date=May 21, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140522070348/http://www.eia.gov/state/?sid=ak |archive-date=May 22, 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Rankings: Crude Oil Production, February 2013|url=http://www.eia.gov/state/rankings/?sid=US&CFID=11011948&CFTOKEN=1da5d5e517e7a485-37ABEB4E-25B3-1C83-549C71EE21A56018&jsessionid=84305d8fd0e59a4565705d1e106846494687#/series/46|publisher=United States Energy Information Administration|access-date=May 19, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019131529/http://www.eia.gov/state/rankings/?sid=US&CFID=11011948&CFTOKEN=1da5d5e517e7a485-37ABEB4E-25B3-1C83-549C71EE21A56018&jsessionid=84305d8fd0e59a4565705d1e106846494687#/series/46|archive-date=October 19, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> Prudhoe Bay on Alaska's North Slope is still the second highest-yielding oil field in the United States, typically producing about {{convert|400000|oilbbl/d|m3/d}}, although by early 2014 North Dakota's [[Bakken Formation]] was producing over {{convert|900000|oilbbl/d|m3/d}}.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.dmr.nd.gov/oilgas/stats/historicalbakkenoilstats.pdf | title=ND Monthly Bakken Oil Production Statistics | publisher=North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources | access-date=May 21, 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714181113/https://www.dmr.nd.gov/oilgas/stats/historicalbakkenoilstats.pdf | archive-date=July 14, 2014 | url-status=live }}</ref> Prudhoe Bay was the largest [[conventional oil]] field ever discovered in North America, but was much smaller than Canada's enormous [[Athabasca oil sands]] field, which by 2014 was producing about {{convert | 1500000 | oilbbl/d | m3/d}} of [[unconventional oil]], and had hundreds of years of producible reserves at that rate.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.capp.ca/getdoc.aspx?DocId=227308 | title=Crude Oil Forecast, Markets and Transportation | publisher=Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers | date=June 2013 | access-date=May 21, 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140522084514/http://www.capp.ca/getdoc.aspx?DocId=227308 | archive-date=May 22, 2014 | url-status=dead }}</ref>

The [[Trans-Alaska Pipeline]] can transport and pump up to {{convert|2.1|Moilbbl|m3}} of crude oil per day, more than any other crude oil pipeline in the United States. Additionally, substantial coal deposits are found in Alaska's bituminous, sub-bituminous, and lignite coal basins. The [[United States Geological Survey]] estimates that there are {{convert|85.4|Tcuft|km3}} of undiscovered, technically recoverable gas from natural gas hydrates on the Alaskan North Slope.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.usgs.gov/corecast/details.asp?ep=74 |title=Gas Hydrates on Alaska's North Slope |publisher=Usgs.gov |access-date=June 2, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100601170523/http://www.usgs.gov/corecast/details.asp?ep=74 |archive-date=June 1, 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Alaska also offers some of the highest hydroelectric power potential in the country from its numerous rivers. Large swaths of the Alaskan coastline offer wind and geothermal energy potential as well.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/state/state_energy_profiles.cfm?sid=AK |title=EIA State Energy Profiles: Alaska |publisher=Tonto.eia.doe.gov |date=August 27, 2009 |access-date=November 7, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101103203218/http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/state/state_energy_profiles.cfm?sid=AK |archive-date=November 3, 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Alaska's economy depends heavily on increasingly expensive diesel fuel for heating, transportation, electric power and light. Although wind and hydroelectric power are abundant and underdeveloped, proposals for statewide energy systems were judged uneconomical (at the time of the report, 2001) due to low (less than 50¢/gal) fuel prices, long distances and low population.<ref>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080216014031/http://www.dced.state.ak.us/dca/AEIS/PDF_Files/AIDEA_Energy_Screening.pdf |archive-date=February 16, 2008 |url=http://www.dced.state.ak.us/dca/AEIS/PDF_Files/AIDEA_Energy_Screening.pdf |title=Screening Report for Alaska Rural Energy Plan |date=April 2001 |url-status=dead |access-date=April 11, 2006 }}</ref> The cost of a gallon of gas in urban Alaska is usually thirty to sixty cents higher than the national average; prices in rural areas are generally significantly higher but vary widely depending on transportation costs, seasonal usage peaks, nearby petroleum development infrastructure and many other factors.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Alaska Profile |url=https://www.eia.gov/state/print.php?sid=AK |access-date=2023-12-22 |website=www.eia.gov |archive-date=December 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231222034426/https://www.eia.gov/state/print.php?sid=AK |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |author-link=Alaska |date=January 2015 |title=Alaska Fuel Price Report: Current Community Conditions (January 2015) |url=https://www.commerce.alaska.gov/web/Portals/4/pub/Fuel_Price_Report_Jan-2015.pdf |access-date=December 22, 2023 |archive-date=January 19, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240119085012/https://www.commerce.alaska.gov/web/Portals/4/pub/Fuel_Price_Report_Jan-2015.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Permanent Fund====
The [[Alaska Permanent Fund]] is a constitutionally authorized appropriation of oil revenues, established by voters in 1976 to manage a surplus in state petroleum revenues from oil, largely in anticipation of the then recently constructed [[Trans-Alaska Pipeline System]]. The fund was originally proposed by Governor [[Keith Harvey Miller|Keith Miller]] on the eve of the 1969 Prudhoe Bay lease sale, out of fear that the legislature would spend the entire proceeds of the sale (which amounted to $900&nbsp;million) at once. It was later championed by Governor [[Jay Hammond]] and [[Kenai, Alaska|Kenai]] [[Alaska House of Representatives|state representative]] Hugh Malone. It has served as an attractive political prospect ever since, diverting revenues which would normally be deposited into the general fund.

The [[Alaska Constitution]] was written so as to discourage dedicating state funds for a particular purpose. The Permanent Fund has become the rare exception to this, mostly due to the political climate of distrust existing during the time of its creation. From its initial principal of $734,000, the fund has grown to $50&nbsp;billion as a result of oil royalties and capital investment programs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.apfc.org/|title=Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation|website=apfc.org|access-date=May 29, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070520095308/http://www.apfc.org/|archive-date=May 20, 2007|url-status=live}}</ref> Most if not all the principal is invested conservatively outside Alaska. This has led to frequent calls by Alaskan politicians for the Fund to make investments within Alaska, though such a stance has never gained momentum.

Starting in 1982, dividends from the fund's annual growth have been paid out each year to eligible Alaskans, ranging from an initial $1,000 in 1982 (equal to three years' payout, as the distribution of payments was held up in a lawsuit over the distribution scheme) to $3,269 in 2008 (which included a one-time $1,200 "Resource Rebate"). Every year, the state legislature takes out 8% from the earnings, puts 3% back into the principal for inflation proofing, and the remaining 5% is distributed to all qualifying Alaskans. To qualify for the Permanent Fund Dividend, one must have lived in the state for a minimum of 12 months, maintain constant residency subject to allowable absences,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pfd.state.ak.us/dividendamounts/index.aspx |title=State of Alaska Permanent Fund Division |publisher=Pfd.state.ak.us |access-date=June 2, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100420014117/http://www.pfd.state.ak.us/dividendamounts/index.aspx |archive-date=April 20, 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and not be subject to court judgments or criminal convictions which fall under various disqualifying classifications or may subject the payment amount to civil garnishment.

The Permanent Fund is often considered to be one of the leading examples of a [[basic income]] policy in the world.<ref>{{cite web|title = Alaska's Citizens' Dividend Set To Be Near Highest Ever|url = http://www.basicincome.org/news/2015/08/alaska-usa-dividend-amount-estimated-to-be-near-highest-ever/|website = BIEN| date=August 31, 2015 |access-date = November 3, 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151103055141/http://www.basicincome.org/news/2015/08/alaska-usa-dividend-amount-estimated-to-be-near-highest-ever/|archive-date = November 3, 2015|url-status = live}}</ref>

===Cost of living===
The cost of goods in Alaska has long been higher than in the contiguous 48 states. Federal government employees, particularly [[United States Postal Service]] (USPS) workers and active-duty military members, receive a Cost of Living Allowance usually set at 25% of base pay because, while the cost of living has gone down, it is still one of the highest in the country.<ref name=":1a">{{Cite web|title=Economic Forecast Released|url=https://www.alaskanomics.com/|access-date=2021-02-04|website=Economic Forecast Released|archive-date=May 6, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100506033032/https://www.alaskanomics.com/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Rural Alaska suffers from extremely high prices for food and consumer goods compared to the rest of the country, due to the relatively limited transportation infrastructure.<ref name=":1a" />

===Agriculture and fishing===
[[File:Pacific Halibut Fileting.JPG|thumb|right|upright|[[Halibut]], both as a sport fish and commercially, is important to the state's economy.]]

Due to the northern climate and short growing season, relatively little farming occurs in Alaska. Most farms are in either the [[Matanuska Valley]], about {{convert|40|mi|km}} northeast of [[Anchorage]], or on the [[Kenai Peninsula]], about {{convert|60|mi|km}} southwest of Anchorage. The short 100-day growing season limits the crops that can be grown, but the long sunny summer days make for productive growing seasons. The primary crops are potatoes, carrots, lettuce, and cabbage.

The [[Tanana Valley]] is another notable agricultural locus, especially the [[Delta Junction, Alaska|Delta Junction]] area, about {{convert|100|mi|km}} southeast of Fairbanks, with a sizable concentration of farms growing agronomic crops; these farms mostly lie north and east of [[Fort Greely]]. This area was largely set aside and developed under a state program spearheaded by Hammond during his second term as governor. Delta-area crops consist predominantly of barley and hay. West of Fairbanks lies another concentration of small farms catering to restaurants, the hotel and tourist industry, and [[community-supported agriculture]].

Alaskan agriculture has experienced a surge in growth of [[market gardener]]s, small farms and [[farmers' market]]s in recent years, with the highest percentage increase (46%) in the nation in growth in farmers' markets in 2011, compared to 17% nationwide.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdamediafb?contentid=2011/08/0338.xml&printable=true&contentidonly=true |title=More than 1,000 New Farmers Markets Recorded Across Country as USDA Directory Reveals 17 Percent Growth—USDA Newsroom |publisher=Usda.gov |date=August 5, 2011 |access-date=June 14, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117072838/http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdamediafb?contentid=2011%2F08%2F0338.xml&printable=true&contentidonly=true |archive-date=January 17, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The [[peony]] industry has also taken off, as the growing season allows farmers to harvest during a gap in supply elsewhere in the world, thereby filling a niche in the flower market.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://alaskapeonies.org/ |title=Welcome to The Alaska Peony Growers Association |publisher=Alaskapeonies.org |access-date=June 14, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120630050159/http://alaskapeonies.org/ |archive-date=June 30, 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref>

{{multiple image
| align             = left
| image1            = Heavy-lift_melon.jpg
| width1            = 200
| alt1              = 
| caption1          = 
| image2            = Monster vegetable display at the Tanana Valley State Fair 2010.jpg
| width2            = 200
| alt2              = 
| caption2          = 
| footer            = Oversized vegetables on display at the [[Alaska State Fair]] (left) and the [[Tanana Valley State Fair]] (right)
}}

Alaska, with no counties, lacks county fairs. Instead, a small assortment of state and local fairs (with the [[Alaska State Fair]] in [[Palmer, Alaska|Palmer]] the largest), are held mostly in the late summer. The fairs are mostly located in communities with historic or current agricultural activity, and feature local farmers exhibiting produce in addition to more high-profile commercial activities such as carnival rides, concerts and food. "Alaska Grown" is used as an agricultural slogan.

Alaska has an abundance of seafood, with the primary fisheries in the Bering Sea and the North Pacific. Seafood is one of the few food items that is often cheaper within the state than outside it. Many Alaskans take advantage of salmon seasons to harvest portions of their household diet while fishing for subsistence, as well as sport. This includes fish taken by hook, net or [[Fish wheel|wheel]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=fishingPersonalUse.main |title=Alaska Department of Fish and Game |publisher=Adfg.alaska.gov |access-date=May 29, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110624202032/http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=fishingPersonalUse.main |archive-date=June 24, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Hunting for subsistence, primarily [[caribou]], [[moose]], and [[Dall sheep]] is still common in the state, particularly in remote [[The Bush (Alaska)|Bush]] communities. An example of a traditional native food is [[Akutaq]], the Eskimo ice cream, which can consist of reindeer fat, seal oil, dried fish meat and local berries.

Alaska's reindeer herding is concentrated on [[Seward Peninsula]], where wild caribou can be prevented from mingling and migrating with the domesticated reindeer.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://reindeer.salrm.uaf.edu/about_reindeer/seward_peninsula.php |title=Reindeer Herding |publisher=Reindeer.salrm.uaf.edu |access-date=November 7, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101119004453/http://reindeer.salrm.uaf.edu/about_reindeer/seward_peninsula.php |archive-date=November 19, 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Most food in Alaska is transported into the state from [[Outside (Alaska)|"Outside"]] (the other 49 U.S. states), and shipping costs make food in the cities relatively expensive. In rural areas, subsistence hunting and gathering is an essential activity because imported food is prohibitively expensive. Although most small towns and villages in Alaska lie along the coastline, the cost of importing food to remote villages can be high because of the terrain and difficult road conditions, which change dramatically due to varying climate and precipitation changes. Transport costs can reach 50¢ per pound ($1.10/kg) or higher in some remote areas during times of inclement weather or rough terrain conditions, if these locations can be reached at all. The cost of delivering a gallon (3.8 L) of milk is about $3.50 in many villages where per capita income can be $20,000 or less. Fuel cost per gallon is routinely twenty to thirty cents higher than the contiguous United States average, with only Hawaii having higher prices.<ref>{{cite web|title=Daily Fuel Gauge Report|url=http://fuelgaugereport.aaa.com/?redirectto=http://fuelgaugereport.opisnet.com/index.asp|publisher=Automobile Association of America|access-date=May 18, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130620090230/http://fuelgaugereport.aaa.com/?redirectto=http%3A%2F%2Ffuelgaugereport.opisnet.com%2Findex.asp|archive-date=June 20, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Retail Fuel Pricing and News|url=http://www.opisnet.com/retail-fuel-prices.aspx|publisher=Oil Price Information Service|access-date=May 18, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130602043909/http://www.opisnet.com/retail-fuel-prices.aspx|archive-date=June 2, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Culture==
{{see also|List of artists and writers from Alaska}}

[[File:Mask Display at Iñupiat Heritage Center.jpg|thumb|Mask Display at Iñupiat Heritage Center in [[Utqiaġvik, Alaska|Utqiaġvik]]]]
Some of Alaska's popular annual events are the [[Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race]] from Anchorage to Nome, World Ice Art Championships in Fairbanks, the Blueberry Festival and Alaska Hummingbird Festival in [[Ketchikan, Alaska|Ketchikan]], the Sitka Whale Fest, and the Stikine River Garnet Fest in [[Wrangell, Alaska|Wrangell]]. The [[Stikine River]] attracts the largest springtime concentration of [[American bald eagle]]s in the world.

The [[Alaska Native Heritage Center]] celebrates the rich heritage of Alaska's 11 cultural groups. Their purpose is to encourage cross-cultural exchanges among all people and enhance self-esteem among [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native people]]. The [[Alaska Native Arts Foundation]] promotes and markets Native art from all regions and cultures in the State, using the internet.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.alaskanativearts.org|title=Alaska Native Arts Foundation|website=alaskanativearts.org|access-date=November 28, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140717094500/http://www.alaskanativearts.org/|archive-date=July 17, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Music===
{{Main|Music of Alaska}}

Influences on music in Alaska include the traditional music of Alaska Natives as well as folk music brought by later immigrants from Russia and Europe. Prominent musicians from Alaska include singer [[Jewel (singer)|Jewel]], traditional Aleut flautist [[Mary Youngblood]], folk singer-songwriter [[Libby Roderick]], Christian music singer-songwriter [[Lincoln Brewster]], metal/post hardcore band [[36 Crazyfists]] and the groups [[Pamyua]] and [[Portugal. The Man]].

There are many established music festivals in Alaska, including the [[Alaska Folk Festival]], the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival, the Anchorage Folk Festival, the [[Athabascan Old-Time Fiddling Festival]], the Sitka Jazz Festival, the [[Sitka Summer Music Festival]], and the Anchorage Chamber Music Festival. The most prominent orchestra in Alaska is the [[Anchorage Symphony Orchestra]], though the Fairbanks Symphony Orchestra and [[Juneau Symphony]] are also notable. The [[Anchorage Opera]] is currently the state's only professional opera company, though there are several volunteer and semi-professional organizations in the state as well.

The official [[List of U.S. state songs|state song]] of Alaska is "[[Alaska's Flag]]", which was adopted in 1955; it celebrates the [[flag of Alaska]].

===Film and television===
{{see also|List of films set in Alaska}}

The 1983 Disney movie ''[[Never Cry Wolf (film)|Never Cry Wolf]]'' was at least partially shot in Alaska. The 1991 film ''[[White Fang (1991 film)|White Fang]]'', based on [[Jack London]]'s 1906 novel and starring [[Ethan Hawke]], was filmed in and around [[Haines, Alaska|Haines]]. [[Steven Seagal]]'s 1994 ''[[On Deadly Ground]]'', starring [[Michael Caine]], was filmed in part at the [[Worthington Glacier]] near [[Valdez, Alaska|Valdez]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.filminamerica.com/Movies/OnDeadlyGround/ |title=On Deadly Ground |publisher=Filminamerica.com |access-date=November 7, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101227140459/http://www.filminamerica.com/Movies/OnDeadlyGround/ |archive-date=December 27, 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Many reality television shows are filmed in Alaska. In 2011, the ''Anchorage Daily News'' found ten set in the state.<ref name="hopkins20110214">{{cite news|url=http://www.adn.com/2011/02/14/1699528/alaska-based-shows-what-do-the.html |title=Rating the Alaska reality shows: The best and the worst |work=Anchorage Daily News |date=February 14, 2011 |access-date=March 2, 2013 |last=Hopkins |first=Kyle |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130302051556/http://www.adn.com/2011/02/14/1699528/alaska-based-shows-what-do-the.html |archive-date=March 2, 2013 }}</ref>

==Sports==
{{see also|Alaska Sports Hall of Fame}}
[[File:Iditarod Ceremonial start in Anchorage, Alaska.jpg|thumb|A dog team in the [[Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race]], arguably the most popular winter event in Alaska]]
The following is a list of sporting venues, events, and teams based in Alaska.

===Anchorage===
====Venues====
[[File:Sullivan_Arena_Feb-2011.jpg|thumb|An Aces game at "The Sully"]]

*[[Alyeska Resort]]
*[[Chugach State Park]], a {{convert|495000|acre|km2|adj=on}} high alpine park.<ref name="ngs">{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/nationalgeograph00nat_o27/page/340 |title=Guide to the State Parks of the United States-2nd Edition |publisher=The National Geographic Society |year=2004 |isbn=0-7922-6628-5 |location=Washington, D.C. |pages=[https://archive.org/details/nationalgeograph00nat_o27/page/340 340–342] |url-access=registration}}</ref>
* Anchorage has many groomed [[cross-country skiing]] trails within the urban core. There are {{convert|105|mi|km}} of maintained ski trails in the city,<ref>{{cite web |title=Trails |url=http://www.muni.org/departments/parks/pages/trails.aspx |access-date=26 February 2014 |work=Parks and Recreation |publisher=Municipality of Anchorage |archive-date=March 18, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240318160209/https://www.muni.org/departments/parks/pages/trails.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref> some of which reach downtown.<ref>{{cite web |title=Tony Knowles Coastal Trail |url=http://dnr.alaska.gov/parks/aktrails/ats/anc/knowlsct.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081224085347/http://dnr.alaska.gov/parks/aktrails/ats/anc/knowlsct.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 24, 2008 |access-date=26 February 2014 |work=Alaska Trails |publisher=State of Alaska }}</ref>
*[[Mulcahy Stadium]]
*[[Sullivan Arena]]
*[[Alaska Airlines Center]]

====Teams====
*[[Anchorage Wolverines]]
*[[Anchorage Bucs]]
*[[Anchorage Glacier Pilots]]
*[[Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves men's ice hockey]]
*[[Rage City Rollergirls]]
*[[Arctic Rush (soccer)|Arctic Rush]] (soccer)
*[[Cook Inlet SC]] (soccer)
*[[Pioneer United FC]] (men's soccer)

==== Events ====
*[[Great Alaska Shootout]], an annual [[NCAA]]Division I basketball tournament<ref>{{cite web |title=Great Alaska Shootout |url=http://www.anchorage.net/articles/great-alaska-shootout |access-date=25 February 2014 |work=Anchorage: 100 years of big wild life |publisher=Anchorage Convention and Visitors Bureau |archive-date=July 3, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150703143839/http://www.anchorage.net/articles/great-alaska-shootout |url-status=live }}</ref>
*[[Sadler's Ultra Challenge]] wheelchair race between Fairbanks and Anchorage<ref name="auto">{{cite news |last=Pedeferri |first=Tony |date=18 October 2012 |title=Alaska Race will Return in 2013 |url=http://www.ushf.org/index.php/news-mainmenu-82/us-handcycling-news-mainmenu-73/2127-alaska-race-will-return-in-2013 |access-date=25 February 2014 |newspaper=US Handcycling – News |archive-date=March 31, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331095438/http://www.ushf.org/index.php/news-mainmenu-82/us-handcycling-news-mainmenu-73/2127-alaska-race-will-return-in-2013 |url-status=live }}</ref>
*The [[Tour of Anchorage]] is an annual 50-kilometer (31&nbsp;mi) ski race within the city.<ref>{{cite web |title=Tour of Anchorage |url=http://www.anchorage.net/articles/tour-anchorage |access-date=25 February 2014 |work=Anchorage: 100 years of big wild life |publisher=Anchorage Convention and Visitors Bureau |archive-date=April 28, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150428023059/http://www.anchorage.net/articles/tour-anchorage |url-status=live }}</ref>
*[[World Eskimo Indian Olympics]]

===Fairbanks===
====Venues====
*[[Carlson Center]]

====Teams====
*[[Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks]]
*[[Alaska Nanooks men's ice hockey]]
*[[Fairbanks Ice Dogs]]
*[[Fairbanks Rollergirls]]
*[[Fairbanks SC]] (soccer)

==== Events ====

* [[Sadler's Ultra Challenge]] wheelchair race between Fairbanks and Anchorage<ref name="auto"/>
* [[Sonot Kkaazoot]]
* [[World Eskimo Indian Olympics]]

===Elsewhere===
====Teams====
*[[MatSu United FC]] (men's soccer)
*[[Denali Destroyer Dolls]]
*[[Kenai River Brown Bears]]
*[[Mat-Su Miners]]
*[[Peninsula Oilers]]

====Events====

*[[Alaska Mountain Wilderness Classic]]
*[[Arctic Winter Games]]
*[[Mount Marathon Race]]
*[[World Extreme Skiing Championship]]

====Dog mushing====
*[[Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race]]
*[[Iron Dog]]
*[[Junior Iditarod]]
*[[Kuskokwim 300]]
*[[Tustumena 200]]
*[[Yukon Quest]]

==Public health and safety==
{{See also|Dentistry in rural Alaska}}

The [[Alaska State Troopers]] are Alaska's statewide police force. They have a long and storied history, but were not an official organization until 1941. Before the force was officially organized, law enforcement in Alaska was handled by various federal agencies. Larger towns usually have their own local police and some villages rely on "Public Safety Officers" who have police training but do not carry firearms. In much of the state, the troopers serve as the only police force available. In addition to enforcing traffic and criminal law, wildlife Troopers enforce hunting and fishing regulations. Due to the varied terrain and wide scope of the Troopers' duties, they employ a wide variety of land, air, and water patrol vehicles.

Many rural communities in Alaska are considered "dry", having outlawed the importation of alcoholic beverages.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dps.state.ak.us/AST/ABI/docs/SDEUreports/2003AnnualReport.pdf |title=Alaska State Troopers Alaska Bureau of Alcohol and Drug Enforcement Control Board |publisher=Dps.state.ak.us |access-date=May 30, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131230011202/http://www.dps.state.ak.us/AST/ABI/docs/SDEUreports/2003AnnualReport.pdf |archive-date=December 30, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Suicide rates for rural residents are higher than urban.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hss.state.ak.us/suicideprevention/statistics_pages_sspc/AKsuiciderate_rural_urban_90-00.htm |title=State of Alaska |publisher=Hss.state.ak.us |access-date=June 2, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090925085430/http://hss.state.ak.us/suicideprevention/statistics_pages_sspc/AKsuiciderate_rural_urban_90-00.htm |archive-date=September 25, 2009 }}</ref>

[[Domestic abuse]] and other violent crimes are also at high levels in the state; this is in part linked to alcohol abuse.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.adn.com/2010/09/30/1480089/survey-finds-high-rates-of-sexual.html |title=Survey reveals higher rate of violence against Alaska women |access-date=May 30, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140531105355/http://www.adn.com/2010/09/30/1480089/survey-finds-high-rates-of-sexual.html |archive-date=May 31, 2014 }}</ref> Alaska has the highest rate of sexual assault in the nation, especially in rural areas. The average age of sexually assaulted victims is 16 years old. In four out of five cases, the suspects were relatives, friends, or acquaintances.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-01-29-alaska-sexualassaults_N.htm |title=Rural Alaska steeped in sexual violence |work=USA Today |date=January 30, 2008 |access-date=December 31, 2010 |first=Rachel |last=D'oro |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101105151430/http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-01-29-alaska-sexualassaults_N.htm |archive-date=November 5, 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Health insurance ===
{{As of|2022}}, [[CVS Health]] and [[Premera Blue Cross|Premera]] account for 47% and 46% of private health insurance, respectively.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Competition in health care research |url=https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/patient-support-advocacy/competition-health-care-research |access-date=2023-01-15 |website=American Medical Association |language=en |archive-date=October 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013110236/https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/patient-support-advocacy/competition-health-care-research |url-status=live }}</ref> Premera and [[Moda Health]] offer insurance on the federally-run Affordable Care Exchange.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-10-01 |title=Health insurance in Alaska: find affordable coverage |url=https://www.healthinsurance.org/states/alaska/ |access-date=2023-01-15 |website=healthinsurance.org |language=en |archive-date=April 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210422120253/https://www.healthinsurance.org/states/alaska/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Hospitals===
{{Main|List of hospitals in Alaska}}
[[Providence Alaska Medical Center]] in Anchorage is the largest hospital in the state as of 2021;<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ruskin |first=Liz |date=2021-09-20 |title=How Alaska's largest hospital reached its tipping point |url=https://alaskapublic.org/2021/09/20/how-alaskas-largest-hospital-reached-its-tipping-point/ |access-date=2023-06-09 |website=Alaska Public Media |language=en-US |archive-date=June 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230609054643/https://alaskapublic.org/2021/09/20/how-alaskas-largest-hospital-reached-its-tipping-point/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Anchorage also hosts [[Alaska Regional Hospital]] and [[Alaska Native Medical Center]].

Alaska's other major cities such as Fairbanks and Juneau also have local hospitals.<ref>{{Cite web |title= Individual Hospital Statistics for Alaska |url=https://www.ahd.com/states/hospital_AK.html |access-date=2023-06-09 |website=American Hospital Directory |archive-date=June 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230609054642/https://www.ahd.com/states/hospital_AK.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In Southeast Alaska, [[Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium]], runs healthcare facilities across 27 communities as of 2022, including hospitals in Sitka and Wrangell;<ref>{{Cite web |title=SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium |url=https://www.pmcak.org/uploads/3/1/1/0/31108911/searhc_slide_deck_3.24.22.pdf |date=March 24, 2022 |website=Petersburg Medical Center |access-date=July 21, 2023 |archive-date=June 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230609054643/https://www.pmcak.org/uploads/3/1/1/0/31108911/searhc_slide_deck_3.24.22.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> although it originally served Native Americans only, it has expanded access and combined with other local facilities over time.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stremple |first=Claire |date=2021-11-03 |title=ICYMI: Southeast Alaska's tribal health provider has expanded its service in Juneau |url=http://www.ktoo.org/2021/11/03/searhc-expands-service-to-all-juneau-residents/ |access-date=2023-06-09 |website=KTOO |language=en-US |archive-date=June 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230609110726/https://www.ktoo.org/2021/11/03/searhc-expands-service-to-all-juneau-residents/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |first=Robert |last=Woolsey |date=2017-06-02 |title=SEARHC takes on questions of ethnicity, access, and workplace values |url=https://www.kcaw.org/2017/06/02/searhc-takes-questions-ethnicity-access-workplace-values/ |access-date=2023-06-09 |website=KCAW |language=en-US |archive-date=June 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230609054649/https://www.kcaw.org/2017/06/02/searhc-takes-questions-ethnicity-access-workplace-values/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Education==
{{See also|List of school districts in Alaska|List of high schools in Alaska}}
[[File:Kachcampus.jpg|thumb|The [[Kachemak Bay Campus]] of the [[University of Alaska Anchorage]], located in downtown Homer]]

The [[Alaska Department of Education and Early Development]] administers many [[List of school districts in Alaska|school districts]] in Alaska. In addition, the state operates a boarding school, [[Mt. Edgecumbe High School]] in [[Sitka, Alaska|Sitka]], and provides partial funding for other boarding schools, including [[Nenana Student Living Center]] in [[Nenana, Alaska|Nenana]] and The Galena Interior Learning Academy in [[Galena, Alaska|Galena]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.alaskaice.org/material.php?matID=138 |title=Asset Building in Residence Life |publisher=Alaska ICE |date=April 4, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071009144551/http://www.alaskaice.org/material.php?matID=138 |archive-date=October 9, 2007 }}</ref>

There are more than a dozen [[List of colleges and universities in Alaska|colleges and universities in Alaska]]. Accredited universities in Alaska include the [[University of Alaska Anchorage]], [[University of Alaska Fairbanks]], [[University of Alaska Southeast]], and [[Alaska Pacific University]].<ref>These are the only three universities in the state ranked by [[U.S. News & World Report]]. {{cite web|url=https://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/rankindex_brief.php |title=USNews.com: America's Best Colleges 2007 |access-date=January 3, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070101130054/http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/rankindex_brief.php |archive-date=January 1, 2007 }}</ref> Alaska is the only state that has no collegiate athletic programs that are members of [[NCAA Division I]], although both Alaska-Fairbanks and Alaska-Anchorage maintain single sport membership in Division I for [[college ice hockey|men's ice hockey]].

The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development operates AVTEC, Alaska's Institute of Technology.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://avtec.labor.state.ak.us/ |title=AVTECHome Page |publisher=Avtec.labor.state.ak.us |access-date=September 7, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111009132015/http://avtec.labor.state.ak.us/ |archive-date=October 9, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref> Campuses in Seward and Anchorage offer one-week to 11-month training programs in areas as diverse as Information Technology, Welding, Nursing, and Mechanics.

Alaska has had a problem with a "[[brain drain]]". Many of its young people, including most of the highest academic achievers, leave the state after high school graduation and do not return. {{as of|2013}}, Alaska did not have a [[Legal education in Alaska|law school]] or medical school.<ref>{{cite web |date=February 5, 2013 |title=House Bill 43 'University Institutes of Law And Medicine' |work=States News Service |url=http://akdemocrats.org/?bill=hb43 |access-date=December 21, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131230080140/http://akdemocrats.org/?bill=hb43 |archive-date=December 30, 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[University of Alaska]] has attempted to combat this by offering partial four-year scholarships to the top 10% of Alaska high school graduates, via the Alaska Scholars Program.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.alaska.edu/scholars/faq.xml#scholars_award |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080309023826/http://www.alaska.edu/scholars/faq.xml#scholars_award |archive-date=March 9, 2008 |title=UA Scholars Program—Frequently Asked Questions |access-date=December 28, 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Beginning in 1998, schools in rural Alaska must have at least 10 students to retain funding from the state, and campuses not meeting the number close. This was due to the loss in oil revenues that previously propped up smaller rural schools.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/26/us/26alaska.html|title=Alaska's Rural Schools Fight Off Extinction|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=2009-11-25|access-date=2021-07-15|archive-date=November 26, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091126032742/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/26/us/26alaska.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2015, there was a proposal to raise that minimum to 25,<ref>{{cite web|last=Colton|first=Hannah|url=https://www.alaskapublic.org/2015/10/26/proposed-increase-to-minimum-enrollment-threatens-funding-for-dozens-of-small-schools/|title=Proposed increase to minimum enrollment threatens funding for dozens of small schools|agency=[[KLDG]]|publisher=[[Alaska Public Radio]]|date=2015-10-26|access-date=2021-07-15|archive-date=October 28, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151028124742/https://www.alaskapublic.org/2015/10/26/proposed-increase-to-minimum-enrollment-threatens-funding-for-dozens-of-small-schools/|url-status=live}}</ref> but legislators in the state largely did not agree.<ref>{{cite web|last=Colton|first=Hannah|url=https://www.kdlg.org/post/bill-cut-funding-small-schools-finds-little-support-among-alaska-lawmakers|title=Bill to cut funding to small schools finds little support among Alaska lawmakers|publisher=[[KDLG]]|date=2015-11-11|access-date=2021-07-15|archive-date=November 16, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151116180921/https://www.kdlg.org/post/bill-cut-funding-small-schools-finds-little-support-among-alaska-lawmakers|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Transportation==
{{Main|Transportation in Alaska}}

===Road===
{{See also|List of Alaska Routes}}
Alaska has few road connections compared to the rest of the U.S. The state's road system, covering a relatively small area of the state, linking the central population centers and the [[Alaska Highway]], the principal route out of the state through Canada. The state capital, Juneau, is not accessible by road, with access only being through ferry or flight;<ref>{{cite web|last=Yardley|first=William|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/06/us/06road.html|url-access=subscription|title=In Juneau, Firm Resistance to a Road Out of Isolation|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=June 6, 2008|accessdate=May 7, 2023|archive-date=March 28, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230328012425/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/06/us/06road.html|url-status=live}}</ref> this has spurred debate over decades about moving the capital to a city on the road system, or building a road connection from [[Haines, Alaska|Haines]]. The western part of Alaska has no road system connecting the communities with the rest of Alaska.

The [[Interstate Highways in Alaska]] consists of a total of {{Convert | 1082 | mi}}. One unique feature of the Alaska Highway system is the [[Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel]], an active [[Alaska Railroad]] tunnel recently upgraded to provide a paved roadway link with the isolated community of [[Whittier, Alaska|Whittier]] on [[Prince William Sound]] to the [[Seward Highway]] about {{convert|50|mi|km}} southeast of Anchorage at [[Portage, Alaska|Portage]]. At {{convert|2.5|mi|km|1}}, the tunnel was the longest road tunnel in North America until 2007.<ref>completion of the {{convert|3.5|mi|km|adj=on|1}} [[Interstate 93]] tunnel as part of the "[[Big Dig]]" project in Boston, Massachusetts.</ref> The tunnel is the longest combination [[List of road-rail tunnels|road and rail tunnel]] in North America.

Southwest Alaska is largely coastal, sparsely populated, and unconnected to the road system. Access to most communities in Southwest Alaska is primarily by air taxi, although larger towns like Kodiak, Bethel, King Salmon, Dillingham, and Dutch Harbor are accessible by scheduled air service. Additionally, some coastal communities can be reached via the Alaska Marine Highway ferry.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Alaska's Southwest Region {{!}} Travel Alaska |url=https://www.travelalaska.com/Destinations/Regions/Southwest |access-date=2024-07-08 |website=www.travelalaska.com |language=en}}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed" heights="150px">
File:Sterling Highway.jpg|The [[Sterling Highway]], near its intersection with the [[Seward Highway]]
File:Susitnabridge.JPG|The [[Susitna River]] bridge on the [[Denali Highway]] is {{convert|1036|ft}} long.
File:Interstate Routes in Alaska.svg|[[List of Interstate Highways in Alaska|Alaska Interstate Highways]]
File:AlaskaSign.jpg|right|Alaska welcome sign on the [[Klondike Highway]]
</gallery>

===Rail===

Built around 1915, the [[Alaska Railroad]] (ARR) played a key role in the development of Alaska through the 20th century. It links shipping lanes on the North Pacific with [[Interior Alaska]] with tracks that run from [[Seward, Alaska|Seward]] by way of [[South Central Alaska]], passing through [[Anchorage, Alaska|Anchorage]], [[Eklutna]], [[Wasilla, Alaska|Wasilla]], [[Talkeetna, Alaska|Talkeetna]], [[Denali]], and [[Fairbanks, Alaska|Fairbanks]], with spurs to [[Whittier, Alaska|Whittier]], [[Palmer, Alaska|Palmer]] and [[North Pole, Alaska|North Pole]]. The cities, towns, villages, and region served by ARR tracks are known statewide as "The Railbelt". In recent years, the ever-improving paved highway system began to eclipse the railroad's importance in Alaska's economy.

The railroad played a vital role in Alaska's development, moving freight into Alaska while transporting natural resources southward, such as coal from the Usibelli coal mine near [[Healy, Alaska|Healy]] to Seward and gravel from the [[Matanuska Valley]] to Anchorage. It is well known for its summertime tour passenger service.

The Alaska Railroad was one of the last railroads in North America to use [[caboose]]s in regular service and still uses them on some gravel trains. It continues to offer one of the last [[Request stop|flag stop]] routes in the country. A stretch of about {{convert|60|mi|km|-1}} of track along an area north of Talkeetna remains inaccessible by road; the railroad provides the only transportation to rural homes and cabins in the area. Until construction of the Parks Highway in the 1970s, the railroad provided the only land access to most of the region along its entire route.

In northern Southeast Alaska, the [[White Pass and Yukon Route]] also partly runs through the state from [[Skagway, Alaska|Skagway]] northwards into Canada ([[British Columbia]] and [[Yukon Territory]]), crossing the border at [[White Pass]] Summit. This line is now mainly used by tourists, often arriving by cruise liner at Skagway. It was featured in the 1983 [[BBC]] television series ''[[Great Little Railways]].''

These two railroads are connected neither to each other nor any other railroad. The nearest link to the North American railway network is the northwest terminus of the [[Canadian National Railway]] at [[Prince Rupert, British Columbia]], several hundred miles to the southeast. In 2000, the U.S. Congress authorized $6&nbsp;million to study the feasibility of a rail link between Alaska, Canada, and the [[lower 48]].<ref name="RailLink1">{{cite web|url=http://communities.canada.com/vancouversun/blogs/powerplay/archive/2010/12/13/transporting-oil-across-b-c.aspx |title=Alaska Oil / BC Tar sands via rail |first=Barbara |last=Yaffe |date=January 2, 2011 |access-date=January 2, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101219014658/http://communities.canada.com/vancouversun/blogs/powerplay/archive/2010/12/13/transporting-oil-across-b-c.aspx |archive-date=December 19, 2010 }}</ref><ref name="RailLink2">{{cite news | url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN2138860820070622 | title=Economic study touts Alaska-Canada rail link | first=Allan |last=Dowd | date=June 27, 2007 | access-date=January 2, 2011 | work=Reuters | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190713120019/https://www.reuters.com/article/environment-alaska-railway-dc/economic-study-touts-alaska-canada-rail-link-idUSN2138860820070621 | archive-date=July 13, 2019 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="RailLink3">{{cite web|url=http://alaskacanadarail.com/index.html |title=Alaska Canada Rail Link |website=AlaskaCanadaRail.org |date=January 2, 2005 |access-date=January 2, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110425025223/http://alaskacanadarail.com/index.html |archive-date=April 25, 2011 }}</ref> As of 2021, the [[Alaska-Alberta Railway Development Corporation]] had been placed into receivership.

Some private companies provides [[car float]] service between [[Whittier, Alaska|Whittier]] and [[Seattle]].

<gallery mode="packed" heights="150px">
File:Alaska Railroad, Girdwood, Alaska, Estados Unidos, 2017-08-31, DD 40.jpg|An [[Alaska Railroad]] locomotive over a bridge in Girdwood approaching Anchorage (2007)
File:Skagway-Hoonah-Angoon Census Area, In to the Tunnel.jpg|The [[White Pass and Yukon Route]] traverses rugged terrain north of [[Skagway]] near the [[Canada–United States border|Canada–US border]].
</gallery>

===Sea===
Many cities, towns, and villages in the state do not have road or highway access; the only modes of access involve travel by air, river, or the sea.

[[File:Tustumena, Alaska Marine Highway.jpg|thumb|The {{MV|Tustumena}} (named after [[Tustumena Glacier]]) is one of the state's many ferries, providing service between the [[Kenai Peninsula]], [[Kodiak Island]] and the [[Aleutian Chain]].]]

Alaska's well-developed state-owned ferry system (known as the [[Alaska Marine Highway]]) serves the cities of [[Southeast Alaska|southeast]], the Gulf Coast and the Alaska Peninsula. The ferries transport vehicles as well as passengers. The system also operates a ferry service from [[Bellingham, Washington]] and [[Prince Rupert, British Columbia]], in Canada through the [[Inside Passage]] to [[Skagway, Alaska|Skagway]]. The [[Inter-Island Ferry Authority]] also serves as an important marine link for many communities in the [[Prince of Wales Island (Alaska)|Prince of Wales Island]] region of Southeast and works in concert with the Alaska Marine Highway.

In recent years, cruise lines have created a summertime tourism market, mainly connecting the Pacific Northwest to Southeast Alaska and, to a lesser degree, towns along Alaska's gulf coast. The population of [[Ketchikan, Alaska|Ketchikan]] for example fluctuates dramatically on many days—up to four large cruise ships can dock there at the same time.

===Air===
Cities not served by road, sea, or river can be reached only by air, foot, [[dogsled]], or [[Continuous track#Snow vehicles|snowmachine]], accounting for Alaska's extremely well developed [[Alaskan Bush|bush]] air services—an Alaskan novelty. Anchorage, and to a lesser extent Fairbanks, is served by [[Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport#Airlines and destinations|many major airlines]]. Because of limited highway access, air travel remains the most efficient form of transportation in and out of the state. Anchorage recently completed extensive remodeling and construction at [[Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport]] to help accommodate the upsurge in tourism (in 2012–2013, Alaska received almost two million visitors).<ref>
State of Alaska Office of Economic Development. ''[http://commerce.alaska.gov/dnn/ded/DEV/TourismDevelopment/TourismResearch.aspx Economic Impact of Alaska's Visitor Industry] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140522032359/http://commerce.alaska.gov/dnn/ded/DEV/TourismDevelopment/TourismResearch.aspx |date=May 22, 2014 }} ''. January 2014. Retrieved May 21, 2014.
</ref>

Making regular flights to most villages and towns within the state commercially viable is difficult, so they are heavily subsidized by the federal government through the [[Essential Air Service]] program. [[Alaska Airlines]] is the only major airline offering in-state travel with jet service (sometimes in combination cargo and passenger [[Boeing 737]]-400s) from Anchorage and [[Fairbanks International Airport|Fairbanks]] to regional hubs like [[Bethel, Alaska|Bethel]], [[Nome, Alaska|Nome]], [[Kotzebue, Alaska|Kotzebue]], [[Dillingham, Alaska|Dillingham]], [[Kodiak, Alaska|Kodiak]], and other larger communities as well as to major Southeast and Alaska Peninsula communities.
[[File:ERA Aviation prop plane landing at ANC (6194226738).jpg|thumb|A [[Bombardier Dash 8]], operated by [[Era Alaska]], on approach to [[Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport]]]]

The bulk of remaining commercial flight offerings come from small regional commuter airlines such as [[Ravn Alaska]], [[PenAir]], and [[Frontier Flying Service]]. The smallest towns and villages must rely on scheduled or chartered bush flying services using general aviation aircraft such as the [[Cessna Caravan]], the most popular aircraft in use in the state. Much of this service can be attributed to the Alaska bypass mail program which subsidizes bulk mail delivery to Alaskan rural communities. The program requires 70% of that subsidy to go to carriers who offer passenger service to the communities.

Many communities have small air taxi services. These operations originated from the demand for customized transport to remote areas. Perhaps the most quintessentially Alaskan plane is the bush seaplane. The world's busiest seaplane base is [[Lake Hood Seaplane Base|Lake Hood]], located next to Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, where flights bound for remote villages without an airstrip carry passengers, cargo, and many items from stores and warehouse clubs.

In 2006, Alaska had the highest number of pilots per capita of any U.S. state.<ref>
Out of the estimated 663,661 residents, 8,550 were pilots, or about one in 78, Federal Aviation Administration. ''[http://www.faa.gov/data_research/aviation_data_statistics/civil_airmen_statistics/2005/ 2005 U.S. Civil Airman Statistics] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091229221505/http://www.faa.gov/data_research/aviation_data_statistics/civil_airmen_statistics/2005/ |date=December 29, 2009 }} ''</ref> In Alaska there are 8,795 active pilot certificates as of 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.faa.gov/data_research/aviation_data_statistics/civil_airmen_statistics/|title=U.S. Civil Airmen Statistics|website=www.faa.gov|language=en-us|access-date=2020-11-01|archive-date=May 10, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090510111705/https://www.faa.gov/data_research/aviation_data_statistics/civil_airmen_statistics/|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Snow===
Another Alaskan transportation method is the [[dogsled]]. In modern times (that is, any time after the mid-late 1920s), dog [[mushing]] is more of a sport than a true means of transportation. Various races are held around the state, but the best known is the [[Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race]], a {{convert|1150|mi|adj=on}} trail from Anchorage to Nome (although the distance varies from year to year, the official distance is set at {{convert|1049|mi|km|disp=or|abbr=out}}). The race commemorates the famous [[1925 serum run to Nome]] in which mushers and dogs like [[Togo (dog)|Togo]] and [[Balto]] took much-needed medicine to the [[diphtheria]]-stricken community of [[Nome, Alaska|Nome]] when all other means of transportation had failed. Mushers from all over the world come to Anchorage each March to compete for cash, prizes, and prestige. The "Serum Run" is another sled dog race that more accurately follows the route of the famous 1925 relay, leaving from the community of [[Nenana, Alaska|Nenana]] (southwest of Fairbanks) to Nome.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.serumrun.org/ |title=Norman Vaughan Serum Run |publisher=United Nations |date=April 15, 2010 |access-date=June 2, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090303205023/http://serumrun.org/ |archive-date=March 3, 2009 }}</ref>

In areas not served by road or rail, primary transportation in summer is by [[all-terrain vehicle]] and in winter by [[snowmobile]] or "snow machine", as it is commonly referred to in Alaska.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.newsminer.com/features/outdoors/snowmachine-or-snowmobile-whatever-you-call-it-there-s-a/article_5fd98c50-df56-11e4-a289-b3b886d32b2c.html |title=Snowmachine or snowmobile? Whatever you call it, there's a lot riding on it |last=Friedman |first=Sam |date=April 10, 2015 |publisher=Fairbanks Daily Newsminer |access-date=October 19, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180201205955/http://www.newsminer.com/features/outdoors/snowmachine-or-snowmobile-whatever-you-call-it-there-s-a/article_5fd98c50-df56-11e4-a289-b3b886d32b2c.html |archive-date=February 1, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Communication==
Alaska's internet and other data transport systems are provided largely through the two major telecommunications companies: [[GCI (company)|GCI]] and [[Alaska Communications]]. GCI owns and operates what it calls the Alaska United Fiber Optic system<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.alaskaunited.com/|title=Alaska United Fiber Optic System homepage|publisher=Alaskaunited.com|access-date=July 24, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120206052641/http://www.alaskaunited.com/|archive-date=February 6, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> and, as of late 2011, Alaska Communications advertised that it has "two fiber optic paths to the lower 48 and two more across Alaska.<ref>[http://www.alaskacommunications.com/Personal/Wireless/Coverage-Map.aspx Alaska Communications Coverage Map] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120107193333/http://www.alaskacommunications.com/Personal/Wireless/Coverage-Map.aspx |date=January 7, 2012 }}. Alaska Communications.</ref> In January 2011, it was reported that a $1&nbsp;billion project to connect Asia and rural Alaska was being planned, aided in part by $350&nbsp;million in stimulus from the federal government.<ref>
[http://www.adn.com/2010/01/13/1091946/arctic-fiber-optic-cable-could.html Arctic fiber-optic cable could benefit far-flung Alaskans] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111123619/http://www.adn.com/2010/01/13/1091946/arctic-fiber-optic-cable-could.html |date=January 11, 2012 }} . ''Anchorage Daily News''.
</ref>

==Law and government==
===State government===
{{Main|Government of Alaska}}
[[File:Juneau, Alaska Downtown.jpg|thumb|The center of state government in [[Juneau, Alaska|Juneau]]. The large buildings in the background are, from left to right: the Court Plaza Building (known colloquially as the "[[Spam (food)|Spam Can]]"), the State Office Building (behind), the Alaska Office Building, the [[List of justices of the Alaska Supreme Court|John H. Dimond]] State Courthouse, and the [[Alaska State Capitol]]. Many of the smaller buildings in the foreground are also occupied by state government agencies.]]

Like all other U.S. states, Alaska is governed as a republic, with three [[separation of powers|branches of government]]: an [[executive branch]] consisting of the [[governor of Alaska]] and their appointees which head executive departments; a [[legislative branch]] consisting of the [[Alaska House of Representatives]] and [[Alaska Senate]]; and a [[judicial branch]] consisting of the [[Alaska Supreme Court]] and lower courts.

The state of Alaska employs approximately 16,000 people statewide.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://doa.alaska.gov/dop/fileadmin/DOP_Home/pdf/dopannualreport.pdf |title=State of Alaska Workforce Profile Fiscal Year 2013 |publisher=Dop.state.ak.us |access-date=May 25, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140330005824/http://doa.alaska.gov/dop/fileadmin/DOP_Home/pdf/dopannualreport.pdf |archive-date=March 30, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The [[Alaska State Legislature]] consists of a 40-member [[Alaska House of Representatives|House of Representatives]] and a 20-member [[Alaska Senate|Senate]]. Senators serve four-year terms and House members two. The [[governor of Alaska]] serves four-year terms. The [[List of Lieutenant Governors of Alaska|lieutenant governor]] runs separately from the governor in the [[Two-round system|primaries]], but during the general election, the nominee for governor and nominee for lieutenant governor run together on the same ticket.

Alaska's court system has four levels: the [[Alaska Supreme Court]], the [[Alaska Court of Appeals]], the superior courts and the district courts.<ref name="cts">{{cite web|url=http://www.state.ak.us/courts/ctinfo.htm |title=About the Alaska Court System |publisher=State.ak.us |access-date=June 2, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090913093708/http://www.state.ak.us/courts/ctinfo.htm |archive-date=September 13, 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The superior and district courts are [[trial court]]s. Superior courts are courts of general jurisdiction, while district courts hear only certain types of cases, including misdemeanor criminal cases and civil cases valued up to $100,000.<ref name="cts" />

The Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals are [[appellate court]]s. The Court of Appeals is required to hear appeals from certain lower-court decisions, including those regarding criminal prosecutions, juvenile delinquency, and [[habeas corpus]].<ref name="cts" /> The Supreme Court hears civil appeals and may in its discretion hear criminal appeals.<ref name="cts" />

===State politics===
{{Main|Politics of Alaska}}
{{Further|Political party strength in Alaska|Alaska political corruption probe}}
{| class="wikitable floatright" style="font-size:95%;"
|+ Alaska vote|Gubernatorial election results<ref name="Leip, David">{{cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/|title=General Election Results—Alaska|publisher=United States Election Atlas|access-date=November 18, 2016|last=Leip|first=David|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604224433/http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/|archive-date=June 4, 2011|url-status=live}}</ref>
|- style="background:lightgrey;"
! Year
! [[Democratic Party (Alaska)|Democratic]]
! [[Republican Party (Alaska)|Republican]]
! Others
|-
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}|[[1958 Alaska gubernatorial election|1958]]
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}|'''59.6%''' ''29,189''
| {{Party shading/Republican}}|39.4% ''19,299''
|-
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}|[[1962 Alaska gubernatorial election|1962]]
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}|'''52.3%''' ''29,627''
| {{Party shading/Republican}}|47.7% ''27,054''
|-
| {{Party shading/Republican}}|[[1966 Alaska gubernatorial election|1966]]
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}|48.4% ''32,065''
| {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''50.0%''' ''33,145''
|-
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}|[[1970 Alaska gubernatorial election|1970]]
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}|'''52.4%''' ''42,309''
| {{Party shading/Republican}}|46.1% ''37,264''
|-
| {{Party shading/Republican}}|[[1974 Alaska gubernatorial election|1974]]
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}|47.4% ''45,553''
| {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''47.7%''' ''45,840''
|-
| {{Party shading/Republican}}|[[1978 Alaska gubernatorial election|1978]]
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}|20.2% ''25,656''
| {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''39.1%''' ''49,580''
|-
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}|[[1982 Alaska gubernatorial election|1982]]
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}|'''46.1%''' ''89,918''
| {{Party shading/Republican}}|37.1% ''72,291''
|-
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}|[[1986 Alaska gubernatorial election|1986]]
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}|'''47.3%''' ''84,943''
| {{Party shading/Republican}}|42.6% ''76,515''
|-
| {{Party shading/Constitution}}|[[1990 Alaska gubernatorial election|1990]]
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}|30.9% ''60,201''
| {{Party shading/Republican}}|26.2% ''50,991''
| {{Party shading/Constitution}}|'''38.9%''' ''75,721''{{efn|Wally Hickel would rejoin the Republican party after winning the election as a member of the Alaskan Independence Party.}}
|-
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}|[[1994 Alaska gubernatorial election|1994]]
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}|'''41.1%''' ''87,693''
| {{Party shading/Republican}}|40.8% ''87,157''
|-
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}|[[1998 Alaska gubernatorial election|1998]]
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}|'''51.3%''' ''112,879''
| {{Party shading/Republican}}|17.9% ''39,331''
|-
| {{Party shading/Republican}}|[[2002 Alaska gubernatorial election|2002]]
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}|40.7% ''94,216''
| {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''55.9%''' ''129,279''
|-
| {{Party shading/Republican}}|[[2006 Alaska gubernatorial election|2006]]
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}|41.0% ''97,238''
| {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''48.3%''' ''114,697''
|-
| {{Party shading/Republican}}|[[2010 Alaska gubernatorial election|2010]]
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}|37.7% ''96,519''
| {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''59.1%''' ''151,318''
|-
| {{Party shading/Nonpartisan}}|[[2014 Alaska gubernatorial election|2014]]
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}|0.0% '''0'''
| {{Party shading/Republican}}|45.9% ''128,435''
| {{Party shading/Nonpartisan}}|'''48.1%''' ''134,658''{{efn|[[Byron Mallott]], the Democratic gubernatorial nominee, suspended his campaign and became the running mate of [[Bill Walker (American politician)|Bill Walker]], an independent who left the Republican Party. They won the election with 48.1% or 134,658 votes.}}
|-
| {{Party shading/Republican}}|[[2018 Alaska gubernatorial election|2018]]
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}|44.4% ''125,739''
| {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''51.4%''' ''145,631''
|-
| {{Party shading/Republican}}|[[2022 Alaska gubernatorial election|2022]]
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}|24.2% ''63,755''
| {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''50.3%''' ''132,392''
|}

Although in its early years of statehood Alaska was a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] state, since the early 1970s it has been characterized as [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]-leaning.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://election.nationaljournal.com/states/ak.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061115144037/http://election.nationaljournal.com/states/ak.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 15, 2006 |title=National Journal Alaska State Profile |publisher=Election.nationaljournal.com |access-date=June 2, 2010 }}</ref> Local political communities have often worked on issues related to land use development, fishing, tourism, and individual rights. [[Alaska Natives]], while organized in and around their communities, have been active within the [[Alaska Native Regional Corporations|Native corporations]]. These have been given ownership over large tracts of land, which require stewardship.

Alaska was formerly the only state in which possession of one ounce or less of marijuana in one's home was completely legal under state law, though the federal law remains in force.<ref name=seattle_times>{{cite news|url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003118645_webpot10.html |title=Judge rules against Alaska marijuana law |access-date=May 22, 2008 |last=Volz |first=Matt |date=July 11, 2006 |work=[[The Seattle Times]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080617044034/http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003118645_webpot10.html |archive-date=June 17, 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The state has an independence movement favoring a vote on secession from the United States, with the [[Alaskan Independence Party]].<ref name="AIPqa">{{cite web|url=http://www.akip.org/faqs.html|title=Questions And Answers—About Alaskan Independence|year=2006|publisher=Alaskan Independence Party|access-date=January 15, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120104011721/http://www.akip.org/faqs.html|archive-date=January 4, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Six [[Republican Party (United States)|Republicans]] and four [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrats]] have served as governor of Alaska. In addition, Republican governor [[Wally Hickel]] was elected to the office for a second term in 1990 after leaving the Republican party and briefly joining the Alaskan Independence Party ticket just long enough to be reelected. He officially rejoined the Republican party in 1994.

Alaska's [[2014 Alaska Measure 2|voter initiative making marijuana legal]] took effect on February 24, 2015, placing Alaska alongside Colorado and Washington, as well as Washington D.C., as the first three U.S. states where recreational marijuana is legal. The new law means people over 21 can consume small amounts of cannabis.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2015/02/24/388673136/marijuana-is-now-legal-in-alaska-the-third-u-s-state-to-ok-pot |title=Marijuana Is Now Legal in Alaska, The 3rd U.S. State With Legal Pot |access-date=February 25, 2015 |last=Chappel |first=Bill |date=February 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150224213811/http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2015/02/24/388673136/marijuana-is-now-legal-in-alaska-the-third-u-s-state-to-ok-pot |archive-date=February 24, 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> The first legal marijuana store opened in Valdez in October 2016.<ref>Andrews, Laurel,[https://www.adn.com/alaska-marijuana/2016/10/29/anticipation-builds-as-alaskas-first-marijuana-store-set-to-open-to-the-public/ Marijuana milestone: Alaska's first pot shop opens to the public in Valdez] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161116020638/https://www.adn.com/alaska-marijuana/2016/10/29/anticipation-builds-as-alaskas-first-marijuana-store-set-to-open-to-the-public/ |date=November 16, 2016 }} ''[[Alaska Dispatch News]], October 29, 2016''</ref>

===Voter registration===
{| class=wikitable
! colspan = 6 | Party registration as of June 3, 2024<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.elections.alaska.gov/doc/info/statsPPA.php|title=Alaska Division of Elections|website=www.elections.alaska.gov|access-date=June 4, 2021|archive-date=June 30, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180630005149/https://www.elections.alaska.gov/doc/info/statsPPA.php|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
! colspan = 2 | Party
! Total voters
! Percentage
|-
| {{party color cell|Independent politician}}
| [[Independent voter|Unaffiliated]]
| align=center | 346,751
| align=center | 58.35%
|-
| {{party color cell|Republican Party (US)}}
| [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
| align=center | 143,401
| align=center | 24.13%
|-
| {{party color cell|Democratic Party (US)}}
| [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
| align=center | 73,598
| align=center | 12.38%
|-
| {{party color cell|Alaskan Independence Party}}
|[[Alaskan Independence Party|Alaskan Independence]]
| align=center | 18,768
| align=center | 3.16%
|-
| {{party color cell|Other parties (US)}}
|[[List of political parties in the United States|Minor parties]]
| align=center | 11,758
| align=center | 1.98%
|-
! colspan = 2 | Total
! align=center | 594,276
! align=center | 100.00%
|}

===Taxes===
To finance state government operations, Alaska depends primarily on petroleum revenues and federal subsidies. This allows it to have the lowest individual tax burden in the United States.<ref>CNN Money (2005). "How tax friendly is your state?" Retrieved from [https://money.cnn.com/pf/features/lists/taxesbystate2005/index.html CNN website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913132712/https://money.cnn.com/pf/features/lists/taxesbystate2005/index.html |date=September 13, 2017 }}.</ref> It is one of five states with no [[sales tax]], one of seven states with no individual [[income tax]], and—along with [[New Hampshire]]—one of two that has neither.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newsday.com/business/12-states-with-either-no-income-or-sales-taxes-include-texas-florida-washington-1.13826242 |title=12 states that have either no income or sales taxes |newspaper=Newsday |access-date=February 14, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190215050630/https://www.newsday.com/business/12-states-with-either-no-income-or-sales-taxes-include-texas-florida-washington-1.13826242 |archive-date=February 15, 2019 |url-status=live }}|</ref> The Department of Revenue Tax Division<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.Tax.alaska.gov |title=Alaska Department of Revenue |publisher=Tax.state.ak.us |access-date=June 10, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100610221601/http://www.tax.alaska.gov/ |archive-date=June 10, 2010 |url-status=dead }}|</ref> reports regularly on the state's revenue sources. The department also issues an annual summary of its operations, including new state laws that directly affect the tax division. In 2014, the [[Tax Foundation]] ranked Alaska as having the fourth most "business friendly" tax policy, behind only [[Wyoming]], [[South Dakota]], and [[Nevada]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://taxfoundation.org/blog/how-friendly-your-states-tax-system-tax-foundations-2014-state-business-tax-climate-index |title=How Friendly Is Your State's Tax System? The Tax Foundation's 2014 State Business Tax Climate Index |publisher=The Tax Foundation |access-date=May 25, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100712120414/http://www.taxfoundation.org/research/topic/11.html |archive-date=July 12, 2010 |url-status=live |date=October 9, 2013 }}</ref>

While Alaska has no state sales tax, 89 municipalities collect a local sales tax, from 1.0 to 7.5%, typically 3–5%. Other local taxes levied include raw fish taxes, hotel, motel, and bed-and-breakfast 'bed' taxes, [[severance tax]]es, liquor and tobacco taxes, gaming (pull tabs) taxes, tire taxes and fuel transfer taxes. A part of the revenue collected from certain state taxes and license fees (such as petroleum, aviation motor fuel, telephone cooperative) is shared with municipalities in Alaska.

The fall in oil prices after the [[Hydraulic fracturing in the United States|fracking boom]] in the early 2010s has decimated Alaska's state treasury, which has historically received about 85 percent of its revenue from taxes and fees imposed on oil and gas companies.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Cohn |first1=Scott |title=Alaska, Shackled with a 'Grave' Budget Crisis, is America's Worst State for Business |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/29/alaska-is-americas-worst-state-for-business-in-2018.html |website=CNBC |date=July 10, 2018 |access-date=August 14, 2020 |archive-date=July 10, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180710145538/https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/29/alaska-is-americas-worst-state-for-business-in-2018.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The state government has had to drastically reduce its budget, and has brought its budget shortfall from over $2&nbsp;billion in 2016 to under $500&nbsp;million by 2018. In 2020, Alaska's state government budget was $4.8&nbsp;billion, while projected government revenues were only $4.5&nbsp;billion.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Garber |first1=Jonathan |title=Plunging oil prices, coronavirus fuel budget crisis in petroleum-rich Alaska |url=https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/plunging-oil-prices-alaska-budget-crisis |website=Fox Business |date=May 8, 2020 |access-date=August 14, 2020 |archive-date=May 10, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200510201821/https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/plunging-oil-prices-alaska-budget-crisis |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Federal politics===
{{Main|Politics of Alaska}}
{{See also|Arctic Policy of the United States}}
[[File:Presidential Vote in Alaska, 1960-2020.svg|thumb|A line graph showing the presidential vote by party from 1960 to 2020 in Alaska]]
[[File:Don Young, official 115th Congress photo portrait.jpg|thumb|Republican [[Don Young]] held Alaska's sole U.S. House seat for 49 years, from 1973 to 2022.]]
Alaska regularly supports [[Republican Party (United States)|Republicans]] in presidential elections and has done so since statehood. Republicans have won the state's [[Electoral College (United States)|electoral college]] votes in all but one election that it has participated in ([[1964 United States presidential election|1964]]). No state has voted for a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] presidential candidate fewer times. Alaska was carried by Democratic nominee [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] during his landslide election in [[1964 United States presidential election|1964]], while the [[1960 United States presidential election|1960]] and [[1968 United States presidential election|1968]] elections were close. Since [[1972 United States presidential election|1972]], Republicans have carried the state by large margins. In [[2008 United States presidential election|2008]], Republican [[John McCain]] defeated Democrat [[Barack Obama]] in Alaska, 59.49% to 37.83%. McCain's running mate was [[Sarah Palin]], the state's governor and the first Alaskan on a major party ticket. Obama lost Alaska again in [[2012 United States presidential election|2012]], but he captured 40% of the state's vote in that election, making him the first Democrat to do so since 1968. In [[2020 United States presidential election|2020]], [[Joe Biden]] received 42.77% of the vote for president, marking the high point for a Democratic presidential candidate since Johnson's 1964 victory.

The [[The Bush (Alaska)|Alaska Bush]], central Juneau, midtown and downtown Anchorage, and the areas surrounding the [[University of Alaska Fairbanks]] campus and Ester have been strongholds of the Democratic Party. The Matanuska-Susitna Borough, the majority of Fairbanks (including North Pole and the military base), and South Anchorage typically have the strongest Republican showing.

===Elections===
{{See also|Ranked-choice voting in the United States|Nonpartisan primary}}Alaska has a history of primary defeats for incumbent U.S. Senators, including Ernest Gruening, Mike Gravel, and Lisa Murkowski. However, Murkowski won re-election with a write-in campaign. Despite this, Alaska has also seen long-serving members of Congress, such as Ted Stevens, who served as a U.S. Senator for 40 years, and Don Young, who held Alaska's sole U.S. House seat for 49 years (from 1973 to 2022).

In the [[2020 Alaska elections|2020 election]] cycle, Alaskan voters approved Ballot Measure 2.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Kitchenman|first=Andrew|date=November 17, 2020|title=Alaska will have a new election system: Voters pass Ballot Measure 2|work=[[KTOO-TV|KTOO]]|url=https://www.ktoo.org/2020/11/17/alaska-will-have-a-new-election-system-voters-pass-ballot-measure-2/|access-date=December 23, 2020|archive-date=November 18, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201118052421/https://www.ktoo.org/2020/11/17/alaska-will-have-a-new-election-system-voters-pass-ballot-measure-2/|url-status=live}}</ref> The measure passed by a margin of 1.1%, or about 4,000 votes.<ref name=":0b" /> The measure requires campaigns to disclose the original source and any intermediaries for campaign contributions over $2,000. The measure also establishes non-partisan primaries, sometimes called jungle primaries, for statewide elections (like in [[Washington (state)#Elections|Washington state]] and [[California#Government and politics|California]]) and [[Instant-runoff voting|ranked-choice voting]] (like in [[Maine#Politics|Maine]]).<ref name=":0b">{{Cite web|title=Alaska Ballot Measure 2, Top-Four Ranked-Choice Voting and Campaign Finance Laws Initiative (2020)|url=https://ballotpedia.org/Alaska_Ballot_Measure_2,_Top-Four_Ranked-Choice_Voting_and_Campaign_Finance_Laws_Initiative_(2020)|access-date=December 23, 2020|website=[[Ballotpedia]]|archive-date=November 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201113225630/https://ballotpedia.org/Alaska_Ballot_Measure_2,_Top-Four_Ranked-Choice_Voting_and_Campaign_Finance_Laws_Initiative_(2020)|url-status=live}}</ref> Measure 2 makes Alaska the third state with nonpartisan primaries for all statewide races, the second state with ranked choice voting, and the only state with both.

The 2022 special election to fill Alaska's only U.S. House seat, left vacant by the death of Don Young, was won by Mary Peltola. She became the first Democrat to win the House seat since 1972 and the first Alaskan Native elected to the United States Congress in history. After winning a full term in the 2022 general election, Peltola lost reelection in 2024 to Republican Nick Begich III.<gallery mode="packed" widths="80" heights="120" perrow="5" caption="Alaska's statewide elected officials">
File:Mike Dunleavy official photo (cropped).jpg|[[Mike Dunleavy (politician)|Mike Dunleavy]], [[List of Governors of Alaska|Governor]]
File:Lisa Murkowski official photo.jpg|[[Lisa Murkowski]], senior [[List of United States senators from Alaska|United States senator]]
File:Senator Dan Sullivan official.jpg|[[Dan Sullivan (U.S. senator)|Dan Sullivan]], junior United States senator
File:Rep. Nick Begich III (119th Congress) (3x4 full).jpg|[[Nick Begich III]], [[Alaska's at-large congressional district|U.S. representative]]
</gallery>

==See also==
{{Portal|Alaska}}
*[[Index of Alaska-related articles]]
*[[Outline of Alaska]]
*[[List of boroughs and census areas in Alaska]]
*[[USS Alaska|USS ''Alaska'']], 4 ships

==Notes==
{{notelist}}
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Sister project links|voy=Alaska|Alaska}}
*[http://vilda.alaska.edu/index.php Alaska's Digital Archives]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20101120224655/http://aitc.org/ Alaska Inter-Tribal Council]
*{{Internet Archive short film|id=gov.archives.arc.649115|name=Alaska (1967)}}
*{{OSM relation|1116270}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20170525013530/http://acmedia.alaskacommons.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Who-Owns-Manages-Alaska.gif Who Owns/Manages Alaska?] (map)
*[https://archives-manuscripts.dartmouth.edu/repositories/2/resources/1203 Carl J. Sacarlasen Diary Extracts] at Dartmouth College Library
*[https://archives-manuscripts.dartmouth.edu/repositories/2/resources/2292 M.E. Diemer Alaska Photographs] at Dartmouth College Library
*[[hdl:10079/fa/beinecke.brooksah|Alfred Hulse Brooks Photographs and Papers]]. Yale Collection of Western Americana, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.

===U.S. federal government===
*[https://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/states/alaska/index.html Alaska State Guide from the Library of Congress]
*[http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/state/state_energy_profiles.cfm?sid=AK Energy & Environmental Data for Alaska]
*[http://www.usgs.gov/state/state.asp?State=AK USGS real-time, geographic, and other scientific resources of Alaska] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111223103214/http://www.usgs.gov/state/state.asp?State=AK |date=December 23, 2011 }}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20100527092920/http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/02000.html US Census Bureau]
*[http://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/state-fact-sheets/state-data.aspx?StateFIPS=02&StateName=Alaska Alaska State Facts] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160803031536/http://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/state-fact-sheets/state-data.aspx?StateFIPS=02&StateName=Alaska |date=August 3, 2016 }}
*[http://eisenhower.archives.gov/research/subject_guides/pdf/Alaska_Statehood.pdf Alaska Statehood Subject Guide from the Eisenhower Presidential Library] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181113081919/https://eisenhower.archives.gov/research/subject_guides/pdf/Alaska_Statehood.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://eisenhower.archives.gov/research/subject_guides/pdf/Alaska_Statehood.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |date=November 13, 2018 }}
*[http://eisenhower.archives.gov/research/online_documents/alaska_statehood.html Alaska Statehood documents, Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170721225327/https://www.eisenhower.archives.gov/research/online_documents/alaska_statehood.html |date=July 21, 2017 }}

===Alaska state government===
*[https://www.alaska.gov/ State of Alaska website]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20111015204815/http://wikis.ala.org/godort/index.php/Alaska Alaska State Databases]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20190330022055/http://www.dnr.state.ak.us/ssd/recoff/terminology.cfm Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Recorder's Office]

{{s-start}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Arizona]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of U.S. states by date of admission to the Union]]|years=Admitted on January 3, 1959 (49th)}}
{{s-aft|after=Hawaii}}
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{{Alaska}}
{{United States political divisions}}
{{United States topics}}
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{{coord|64|-152|dim:2000000_region:US-AK_type:adm1st|name=State of Alaska|display=title}}

[[Category:Alaska| ]]
[[Category:Arctic Ocean]]
[[Category:Former Russian colonies]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1959]]
[[Category:States of the United States]]
[[Category:States of the West Coast of the United States]]
[[Category:1959 establishments in the United States]]
[[Category:Western United States]]
[[Category:Northern America]]
[[Category:Enclaves and exclaves]]
[[Category:Russia–United States relations]]
[[Category:Exclaves in the United States]]