Anchorage, Alaska: Geography and urban characteristics

Anchorage, Alaska

The city of Anchorage, Alaska, has a population of over 260,000, and of those, 50.59% are male, and 49.41% are female (www.AreaConnect.com).Less than half of one percent of Anchorage residents are over 85 years of age, so one can see the harsh weather does not appeal to the elderly. Only 1.65% are between 75 and 84 years of age, and just 10% are between the ages of 55 and 74.

As far as ethnicity, AreaConnect, which uses U.S. Census data, reports that about 72.23% of residents in Anchorage are Caucasian; 5.84% are African-American (or "Black"); 7.27% are "American Indian and Alaska Native"; 5.55% are Asian (Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Filipino and other Asian ethnicities); 0.93% are Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander; and about 7% are a combination of two or more races. Over 60% of residents live in "owner-occupied units" and nearly 40% are renters. About 5.53% of all housing units are unoccupied. The Anchorage School District shows that 45% of the students are "ethnically diverse" (compared with 13% in 1976). The white student population is slowly decreasing, and the ethnic minority population is increasing, according to the school district "memorandum #147."

Alaska, like other states that depend on fishing for jobs, has suffered recently because "many of the world's most important commercial fish populations have collapsed," according to the Anchorage Press (Woodard, 2005). And so, as a solution, aquaculture farms are beginning to be created near Anchorage, raising cod, shrimp, and other fishes. This rising industry will attract newcomers to the area, which takes a certain hearty type because of the long cold winters. The labor force averaged 158,071 workers in 2006 (www.labor.state.ak.us).Alaska ranks #3 in oil production in the U.S., #1 in fisheries, and #1 in ports in National Marine Fisheries. Also, tourism is a big industry in Anchorage, and indeed 10% of the jobs are in leisure and hospitality sectors.