Chapter 4: Megalopolis

As of the 2005-2007 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, White Americans made up 68.5% of Alaska's population. African Americans made up 3.8% of Alaska's population. American Indians and Alaska Natives made up 13.4% of Alaska's population; they are the largest minority group. Asian Americans made up 4.6% of Alaska's population. Pacific Islander Americans made up 0.5% of the state's population. Individuals from some other race made up 1.9% of Alaska's population while individuals from two or more races made up 7.2% of the state's population. Hispanics and Latinos made up 5.5% of Alaska's population.^[4]

For European ancestry, German Americans are the largest single ethnic group in Alaska; they made up 19.3% of Alaska's population and they are the only ethnic group in the state with over 100,000 members. Irish Americans made up 12.5% of Alaska's population while English Americans made up 10.8% of the state's population. Norwegian Americans made up 4.2% of Alaska's population and French Americans made up 3.6% of the state's population.^[5]

The vast and sparsely populated regions of northern and western Alaska are primarily inhabited by Alaska Natives, who are also numerous in the southeast. Anchorage, Fairbanks, and other parts of south-central and southeast Alaska have many White Americans of northern andwestern European ancestry. The Wrangell-Petersburg area has many residents of Scandinavian ancestry and the Aleutian Islands contain a large Filipino population. The vast majority of the state's African American population lives in Anchorage and Fairbanks. Also, Alaska has the largest percentage of American Indians of any state.

Demographics of Alaska (csv)

By race	White	Black	AIAN*	Asian	NHPI*
2000 (total population)	75.43%	4.46%	19.06%	5.24%	0.88%
2000 (Hispanic only)	3.42%	0.33%	0.45%	0.16%	0.06%
2005 (total population)	74.71%	4.72%	18.77%	5.90%	0.88%
2005 (Hispanic only)	4.32%	0.38%	0.48%	0.19%	0.05%
Growth 2000–05 (total population)	4.85%	12.03%	4.27%	19.23%	5.35%
Growth 2000–05 (non-Hispanic only)	3.49%	11.30%	4.02%	18.96%	5.86%
Growth 2000–05 (Hispanic only)	33.56%	21.02%	14.52%	27.89%	-1.95%
* AIAN is American Indian or Alaskan Native; NHPI is Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander

Alaska Population Density Map

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1880	33,426		—
1890	32,052		−4.1%
1900	63,592		98.4%
1910	64,356		1.2%
1920	55,036		−14.5%
1930	59,278		7.7%
1940	72,524		22.3%
1950	128,643		77.4%
1960	226,167		75.8%
1970	300,382		32.8%
1980	401,851		33.8%
1990	550,043		36.9%
2000	626,932		14.0%
2010	710,231		13.3%
1930 and 1940 censuses taken in preceding autumn Sources: 1910-2010[1]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Alaska

Population of Alaska
By Census Bureau
Mar 28, 2006

Alaska

	Business QuickFacts	Alaska	USA
	Private nonfarm establishments, 2008	19,9341	7,601,169
	Private nonfarm employment, 2008	248,3871	120,903,551
	Private nonfarm employment, percent change 2000-2008	21.2%1	6.0%
	Nonemployer establishments, 2008	52,219	21,351,320
	Total number of firms, 2002	62,145	22,974,655
	Black-owned firms, percent, 2002	1.5%	5.2%
	American Indian and Alaska Native owned firms, percent, 2002	8.3%	0.9%
	Asian-owned firms, percent, 2002	3.1%	4.8%
	Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander owned firms, percent, 2002	0.2%	0.1%
	Hispanic-owned firms, percent, 2002	2.0%	6.8%
	Women-owned firms, percent, 2002	26.2%	28.2%
	Manufacturers shipments, 2002 ($1000)	3,832,024	3,916,136,712
	Wholesale trade sales, 2002 ($1000)	3,616,674	4,634,755,112
	Retail sales, 2002 ($1000)	7,437,071	3,056,421,997
	Retail sales per capita, 2002	$11,605	$10,615
	Accommodation and foodservices sales, 2002 ($1000)	1,393,225	449,498,718
	Building permits, 2009	9161	582,963
	Federal spending, 2008	9,422,7091	2,771,782,1522

	People QuickFacts	Alaska	USA
	Population, 2009 estimate	698,473	307,006,550
	Population, percent change, April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2009	11.4%	9.1%
	Population estimates base (April 1) 2000	626,931	281,424,602
	Persons under 5 years old, percent, 2009	7.8%	6.9%
	Persons under 18 years old, percent, 2009	26.3%	24.3%
	Persons 65 years old and over, percent, 2009	7.6%	12.9%
	Female persons, percent, 2009	48.1%	50.7%
	White persons, percent, 2009 (a)	70.3%	79.6%
	Black persons, percent, 2009 (a)	4.2%	12.9%
	American Indian and Alaska Native persons, percent, 2009 (a)	15.2%	1.0%
	Asian persons, percent, 2009 (a)	5.0%	4.6%
	Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, percent, 2009 (a)	0.7%	0.2%
	Persons reporting two or more races, percent, 2009	4.7%	1.7%
	Persons of Hispanic or Latino origin, percent, 2009 (b)	6.4%	15.8%
	White persons not Hispanic, percent, 2009	65.2%	65.1%
	Living in same house in 1995 and 2000, pct 5 yrs old & over	46.2%	54.1%
	Foreign born persons, percent, 2000	5.9%	11.1%
	Language other than English spoken at home, pct age 5+, 2000	14.3%	17.9%
	High school graduates, percent of persons age 25+, 2000	88.3%	80.4%
	Bachelor's degree or higher, pct of persons age 25+, 2000	24.7%	24.4%
	Persons with a disability, age 5+, 2000	83,220	49,746,248
	Mean travel time to work (minutes), workers age 16+, 2000	19.6	25.5
	Housing units, 2009	283,878	129,969,653
	Homeownership rate, 2000	62.5%	66.2%
	Housing units in multi-unit structures, percent, 2000	27.0%	26.4%
	Median value of owner-occupied housing units, 2000	$144,200	$119,600
	Households, 2000	221,600	105,480,101
	Persons per household, 2000	2.74	2.59
	Median household income, 2008	$67,332	$52,029
	Per capita money income, 1999	$22,660	$21,587
	Persons below poverty level, percent, 2008	9.2%	13.2%

	Geography QuickFacts	Alaska	USA
	Land area, 2000 (square miles)	571,951.26	3,537,438.44
	Persons per square mile, 2000	1.1	79.6
	FIPS Code	02

http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/02000.html