Map of Alaska

History

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. 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.

Geography

Located at the northwest corner of North America very near to Asia, 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. Alaska is the only non-contiguous U.S. state on continental North America; about 500 miles (800 km) of Canadian territory consisting of British Columbia (in Canada) separates Alaska from Washington. It is technically part of the continental U.S., but is not usually included in the colloquial use of the term; Alaska is not part of the contiguous U.S., often called "the Lower 48".

Economy

In October 2022, Alaska had a total employment of 316,900. The number of employer establishments was 21,077. As of August 2025, the unemployment rate was 4.7%. The state's historically lowest unemployment rate was recorded in August 2022 at 3.8%, and its highest in May 2020 at 11.7%.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Alaska's gross state product was $75.011 billion in 2025. Its per capita personal income was $80,175 in 2025. 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. The oil and gas industry dominates the Alaskan economy, with more than 80% of the state's revenues derived from petroleum extraction.

Demographics

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. In the 2010 United States Census, 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. Alaska is the least densely populated state, and one of the most sparsely populated areas in the world, at 1.2 inhabitants per square mile (0.46/km2). The next state, Wyoming, has 5.8 inhabitants per square mile (2.2/km2).