The local economy of Alaska and its counties, metro areas and cities, from official US government data, plus daily local gas prices for the state, its counties and metro areas.
Unemployment rate
4.3%
-0.3 ptsvs a year ago
Counties: lowest Aleutians East Borough 1.7%, highest Kusilvak Census Area 18.2%.
August 2026, seasonally adjusted, preliminary
Average weekly pay
$1,519
+4.8%vs a year ago
320,096 jobs at 25,401 business locations.
Q1 2026, all jobs
New homes permitted
814
-11.5%this year vs last year
Most in Anchorage Municipality 287, Kenai Peninsula Borough 184.
Homes in the last 12 months, to August 2026
People moving in
-3,992
-6.9 per 1,000residents
26,621 moved in and 30,613 moved out. Most newcomers came from California.
Net people, 2022 to 2023, the newest year published
Alaska gas price
$5.02
+$1.14vs a year ago
Counties: lowest Haines Borough $4.30, highest Kodiak Island Borough $5.78. Counties and metro areas
Regular, per gallon, Alaska, October 10, 2026
Newest data: -. Not seasonally adjusted: compare with the same month a year earlier. Click a row for the history of that area.
The state, its counties and metro areas, updated daily. A separate series from the weekly survey prices above.
Business locations, employees and payroll by industry, 2023. Click an industry for its US report.
Business locations
22K
+0.4%vs 2022
2023, places with paid employees
Employees
264K
+2.4%vs 2022
Largest sector: Health Care and Social Assistance (18.8%).
2023, mid-March
Annual payroll
$19.2B
Wages and salaries paid during the year.
2023, all industries
Average pay
$72,990
Highest sector: Management of Companies and Enterprises $153,330.
Per employee per year
Share of Alaska's employees, 2023
| Industry | Employees | Average pay |
|---|---|---|
| Restaurants and Other Eating Places | 18,427 | $29,849 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals | 14,767 | $105,112 |
| General Merchandise Stores, including Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters | 7,564 | $37,946 |
| Seafood Product Preparation and Packaging | 6,945 | $69,734 |
| Individual and Family Services | 6,486 | $40,767 |
| Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services | 6,347 | $102,575 |
| Grocery Stores | 6,317 | $34,704 |
| Outpatient Care Centers | 6,112 | $79,737 |
| Services to Buildings and Dwellings | 6,095 | $46,528 |
| Facilities Support Services | 5,927 | $71,426 |
| Traveler Accommodation | 5,643 | $47,880 |
| Offices of Physicians | 5,221 | $114,511 |
Most values are changed slightly to protect the privacy of single businesses; a few are withheld and shown as a range. Counties and metro areas have the same numbers in the area card above (Industries).
Offered pay in certified work-visa filings, fiscal year 2025 (October 2024 to September 2025). Click a company for its jobs and salaries.
In fiscal year 2025, employers offered a median of $71,940 a year in 298 certified H-1B filings for jobs in Alaska, down 7.0% from 2024 (US: $120,000). The largest job group was Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education. Fiscal year 2026 so far covers filings decided through Jun 30, 2026.
Median offered pay
$71,940
-7.0%vs 2024
Middle half: $58,238 to $86,228.
H-1B, fiscal year 2025
H-1B filings
298
-12.4%vs 2024
404 positions asked for.
Certified, full-time, fiscal year 2025
Top job group
$61,646
Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education, 78 filings.
Median offered pay of the largest job group
Green card jobs
$37,000
+27.6%vs 2024
93 PERM filings.
PERM median, fiscal year 2025
Median and middle half of the offers in Alaska, next to the US median. Hover a year for the numbers.
| Job group | Filings | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education | 78 | $61,646 |
| Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education | 59 | $65,000 |
| Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education | 23 | $78,225 |
| Special Education Teachers, All Other | 21 | $66,931 |
| Special Education Teachers, Elementary School | 17 | $56,546 |
| Special Education Teachers, Middle School | 7 | $64,723 |
| Accountants and Auditors | 6 | $76,350 |
| Special Education Teachers, Secondary School | 6 | $93,288 |
| Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers | 4 | $78,784 |
| Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education | 4 | $81,162 |
| Employer | Filings | Cities |
|---|---|---|
| Bering Strait School District | 56 | 15 |
| Galena City School District | 29 | 1 |
| Kodiak Island Borough School District | 20 | 1 |
| University of Alaska | 18 | 4 |
| Northwest Arctic Borough School District | 15 | 4 |
| Southwest Region School District | 12 | 6 |
| ACSA ASDN Education Services | 12 | 6 |
| North Slope Borough School District | 10 | 4 |
| Lower Yukon School District | 10 | 5 |
| Kuspuk School District | 10 | 4 |
| City | Filings | Median pay | Middle half |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anchorage | 42 | $82,278 | $71,786 to $108,446 |
| Galena | 29 | $60,490 | $56,385 to $71,700 |
| Kodiak | 20 | $55,000 | $55,000 to $55,000 |
| Fairbanks | 17 | $96,304 | $75,005 to $126,672 |
| Nome | 15 | $56,546 | $56,546 to $85,408 |
| Stebbins | 11 | $88,107 | $86,327 to $95,569 |
| Gambell | 8 | $73,142 | $64,752 to $82,008 |
| Juneau | 7 | $54,000 | $49,000 to $63,981 |
| Chevak | 7 | $65,000 | $65,000 to $65,914 |
| Utqiagvik | 6 | $64,723 | $64,033 to $64,723 |
Yearly pay that employers offered in certified work-visa filings (H-1B, E-3 and PERM green card), from official public data. Pay is the lower end of the offered pay range, for full-time positions only. These are offered pay figures for positions in work-visa filings, not the pay of all employees. A filing is an offer for a position, not a hire, and one person can appear in several filings. Fiscal years run from October to September. Groups with fewer than 3 filings show counts only. Employers are ranked by filings in the cities of Alaska added up.
Declared disasters and flood insurance claims: what happened, from official public data.
Alaska has had 95 declared disasters and emergencies since 1953, 68 of them since 2000, most often Fire. Flood insurance has paid $16.5 million on 808 claims since 1978; the biggest year was 2013 ($3.10 million).
Declared disasters
68
47 major disasters. Most often Fire (30 since 1953).
Since 2000, all types; 95 since 1953
Flood claims paid
$6.71M
162 claims. Biggest year 2013 ($3.10M).
2016 to 2025, flood insurance
Policies in force
3,169
Average premium $371 a year.
2025, flood insurance policies
Most-declared county
17
Bethel Census Area, latest Oct 22, 2025.
Declarations since 2000
Declarations for Alaska, 1953 to today
Claims paid in Alaska by the year of the flood, US dollars
Declarations since 1953
Declarations naming the county since 2000; statewide ones not counted
All years since 1978; policies are a yearly average. Top 15 of 15.
| # | County | Claims | Paid | Policies |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Juneau City and Borough | 102 | $4.94M | 450 |
| 2 | Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area | 72 | $3.34M | 64 |
| 3 | Fairbanks North Star Borough | 244 | $2.57M | 709 |
| 4 | Matanuska-Susitna Borough | 87 | $2.18M | 257 |
| 5 | Nome Census Area | 25 | $1.52M | 38 |
| 6 | Kenai Peninsula Borough | 83 | $689K | 334 |
| 7 | Bethel Census Area | 45 | $306K | 105 |
| 8 | Anchorage Municipality | 81 | $269K | 403 |
| 9 | Ketchikan Gateway Borough | 11 | $129K | 55 |
| 10 | Northwest Arctic Borough | 11 | $97K | 17 |
| 11 | Valdez-Cordova Census Area | 8 | $68K | 25 |
| 12 | North Slope Borough | 1 | $56K | 1 |
| 13 | Sitka City and Borough | 6 | $20K | 72 |
| 14 | Wade Hampton Census Area | 2 | $13K | 7 |
| 15 | Wrangell-Petersburg Census Area | 1 | $0 | - |
A declaration opens federal help after a disaster; it can name counties or the whole state. Flood insurance numbers count insured losses only (most homes have no flood insurance) and are not adjusted for inflation; the current year is data so far. For the flood-zone risk of a place, open the area on the real estate map.
Environmental compliance records, workplace safety inspections and greenhouse gas reports of facilities in Alaska, from official public data.
Official public data lists 3,310 facilities in Alaska with records since 2010, 3,252 of them with environmental compliance records. In 2022 to 2026, the largest penalties were at Red Dog Mine in Kivalina ($755,349). 100 large facilities reported 19.6 million metric tons of greenhouse gases in 2023, down 0.3% from 2022.
Facilities with records
3,310
3,252 with environmental records.
Since 2010
Largest penalties
$755K
Red Dog Mine, Kivalina.
One facility, 2022 to 2026
Greenhouse gases
19.6M t
-0.3%vs 2022
100 reporting facilities.
Metric tons CO2e, 2023
Largest emitter
3.51M t
Hilcorp North Slope, Basin 890-G&B Facility, Prudhoe Bay.
Metric tons CO2e, 2023
| Facility | Penalties | Violations |
|---|---|---|
| Red Dog Mine Kivalina | $755,349 | 7 |
| Peter Pan Seafoods King Cove Plant King Cove | $750,000 | 21 |
| Silver Bay Seafoods – Valdez North Plant Valdez | $750,000 | 5 |
| Pogo Mine Delta Junction | $600,000 | 9 |
| Beaver Creek Production Facility Kenai | $591,169 | 1 |
| Trident Seafoods Corporation, Akutan, Alaska Akutan | $500,000 | 9 |
| Silver Bay Seafoods Naknek Processing Plant Naknek | $467,469 | 2 |
| North Pacific Seafoods - Pederson Point Naknek | $345,800 | 0 |
| Red Salmon Cannery Naknek | $345,800 | 0 |
| Milne Point Unit Prudhoe Bay | $322,177 | 12 |
| Facility | Metric tons CO2e |
|---|---|
| Hilcorp North Slope, Basin 890-G&B Facility Prudhoe Bay | 3,508,593 |
| BP Exploration Central Compressor Plant Prudhoe Bay | 2,918,099 |
| BP Central Gas Facility Prudhoe Bay | 2,076,855 |
| Central Power Station Prudhoe Bay | 809,717 |
| ConocoPhillips Alaska Inc - KRU-ALP Fields Anchorage | 714,840 |
| Lisburne Production Center Prudhoe Bay | 712,809 |
| Endicott Production Facility Prudhoe Bay | 613,605 |
| Golden Valley Electric Association INC - Healy Power Plant Healy | 607,686 |
| Tesoro Alaska Petroleum CO Kenai | 545,281 |
| Conocophillips - Kuparuk Prudhoe Bay | 492,539 |
Large facilities in Alaska, metric tons of CO2 equivalent. Hover a year for the number.
Their facilities in Alaska, 2022 to 2026. Click a company for its Risk & Compliance tab.
| Company | Facilities | Penalties | CO2e (t) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Walmart Inc. WMT | 7 | $40K | - |
| Lowe's Companies, Inc. LOW | 2 | $6,250 | - |
| ConocoPhillips COP | 16 | $0 | 1.92M |
| Marathon Petroleum Corporation MPC | 3 | $0 | 545K |
Official public data on environmental compliance records, workplace safety inspections and greenhouse gas reports, summarized by facility and year since 2010. A record does not mean a site is unsafe today; penalties and violations vary a lot by industry and size. Penalties are the amounts assessed (after settlements), not amounts paid. Recent years can still change.
Cost, students and graduate earnings of the colleges in the state, from official public data.
The newest unemployment rate, pay, new home permits, moves and gas price for Alaska, updated as new official numbers come out.
Unemployment for Alaska is seasonally adjusted; for its counties, metro areas and cities it is not, so compare a month with the same month a year earlier. Pay covers all jobs that pay into unemployment insurance. Building permits count homes approved to be built, not homes sold. Moves count households by where they filed their tax returns in two years in a row. Daily gas prices are average pump prices for Alaska, its counties and metro areas on the day shown. The weekly gas prices in the explorer come from a separate weekly survey that publishes a price for only some states, so a state without one shows the price of its region there; the two series are never combined.
The unemployment rate in Alaska was 4.3% in August 2026 (seasonally adjusted, preliminary), compared with 4.6% a year earlier. 350,564 people were employed out of a labor force of 366,259. Among its counties, Aleutians East Borough had the lowest rate (1.7%) and Kusilvak Census Area the highest (18.2%, not seasonally adjusted).
Average weekly pay in Alaska was $1,519 in Q1 2026, up 4.8% from a year earlier, across 320,096 jobs at 25,401 business locations.
Building permits were issued for 57 new homes in Alaska in August 2026 (40 single-family and 5 in buildings with 5 or more units). From January to August the total was 562, down 11.5% from the same months last year, and 814 in the last 12 months. The most homes were permitted in Anchorage Municipality (287), Kenai Peninsula Borough (184), Juneau City and Borough (86) over the last 12 months.
No, more people moved out than in. From 2022 to 2023, 26,621 people moved to Alaska and 30,613 moved away, a net loss of 3,992 (-6.9 per 1,000 residents). Most newcomers came from California, Washington, Texas, and most people who left went to Washington, Texas, California.
Regular gasoline in Alaska averaged $5.02 per gallon on October 10, 2026, up $1.14 from a year earlier. Diesel averaged $6.56. Among its counties, Haines Borough had the lowest regular price ($4.30) and Kodiak Island Borough the highest ($5.78).
Health Care and Social Assistance (49,634 employees), Retail Trade (34,008 employees), Accommodation and Food Services (28,571 employees) were the largest sectors in Alaska in 2023. In all, 22,178 business locations employed 263,691 people at an average pay of $72,990 a year.
$71,940 a year was the median pay offered in 298 certified H-1B filings for jobs in Alaska in fiscal year 2025 (October 2024 to September 2025), down 7.0% from 2024. The middle half of the offers ranged from $58,238 to $86,228. The US median was $120,000. These are offered pay figures in work-visa filings, not the pay of all workers.
Bering Strait School District (56), Galena City School District (29), Kodiak Island Borough School District (20), University of Alaska (18), Northwest Arctic Borough School District (15) had the most certified H-1B filings for jobs in Alaska in fiscal year 2025 (October 2024 to September 2025).
Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education (78 filings, median $61,646), Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education (59 filings, median $65,000), Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education (23 filings, median $78,225) were the largest job groups in certified H-1B filings in Alaska in fiscal year 2025.
$37,000 a year was the median pay offered in 93 certified PERM green card filings for jobs in Alaska in fiscal year 2025.
95 disasters and emergencies have been declared for Alaska since 1953, 68 of them since 2000 (47 major disasters). The most common type is Fire (30 declarations).
Bethel Census Area, with 17 declarations since 2000, followed by Kenai Peninsula Borough (17) and Matanuska-Susitna Borough (17). Statewide declarations are not counted for single counties.
$16.5 million on 808 flood insurance claims since 1978. The biggest year was 2013, with $3.10 million paid on 46 claims. Juneau City and Borough received the most ($4.94 million).
$371 a year in 2025, across 3,169 flood insurance policies in Alaska. Most homes have no flood insurance; the premium depends on the home's flood risk and coverage.