Alaska State Fact Sheet

USDA Economic Research Service
http://www.ers.usda.gov/statefacts/

Data updated December 15, 2008

Population, Income, Education, and Employment

Population
  Rural * Urban * Total
Year
    1980 155,621 246,230 401,851
    1990 206,302 343,741 550,043
    2000 224,487 402,445 626,932
    2007 (latest estimates) 223,654 459,824 683,478

More information on Alaska population
• County-level Population Data
• Rural Population and Migration Briefing Room
• Contact John Cromartie, 202-694-5421.

Income
  Rural * Urban * Total
Per-capita income (2006 dollars)
    2005 33,985 39,155 37,431
    2006 34,811 39,772 38,138
    Percent change 2.4 1.6 1.9
 
Earnings per job (2006 dollars)
    2005 43,067 51,539 48,592
    2006 42,835 51,539 48,516
    Percent change -0.5 0.0 -0.2
 
Poverty rate (percent)
    1979 14.6 8.3 10.7
    1989 11.6 7.5 9.0
    1999 11.9 8.0 9.4
    2007 (latest model-based estimates) 13.0 8.2 9.8

More information on Alaska poverty rates
• County-level Poverty Data
• Rural Income, Poverty, and Welfare Briefing Room
• See important notes about decennial and model-based intercensal poverty estimates
• Contact Robert Gibbs, 202-694-5423

Education (Persons 25 and older)
  Rural * Urban * Total
Percent not completing high school
    1980 25.5 12.5 17.5
    1990 19.0 10.0 13.4
    2000 15.2 9.7 11.7
 
Percent completing high school only
    1980 37.0 40.1 38.9
    1990 31.9 26.9 28.7
    2000 32.1 25.5 27.9
 
Percent completing some college
    1980 19.4 24.5 22.6
    1990 30.2 37.6 34.9
    2000 32.1 37.8 35.7
 
Percent completing college
    1980 18.2 22.8 21.1
    1990 18.9 25.5 23.0
    2000 20.7 27.0 24.7

More information on Alaska education
• County-level Education Data
• Rural Labor and Education Briefing Room
• Contact Robert Gibbs, 202-694-5423

Employment
  Rural * Urban * Total
Total number of jobs
    2005 149,836 280,948 430,784
    2006 153,985 289,350 443,335
 
Unemployment rate (percent)
    2006 8.3 5.7 6.5
    2007 7.8 5.4 6.2

More information on Alaska unemployment rates
• County-level Unemployment and Median Household Income Data
• Rural Labor and Education Briefing Room
• Contact Lorin Kusmin, 202-694-5429
 
Percent employment change
    2004-2005 1.1 2.3 1.9
    2005-2006 1.0 2.4 1.9
    2006-2007 1.1 0.7 0.8
 

* Urban and rural (metro and nonmetro) defintions are based on the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) June 2003 classification. See Measuring Rurality: New Definitions in 2003 for more information.
 
More information on socioeconomic conditions
• Rural Emphasis Page
• Contact Tim Parker, 202-694-5435.

Farm Characteristics

1992, 1997 and 2002 Census of Agriculture
 
  1992 1997 2002
Total land area (million acres) 365.04 365.04 366.05
    Total farmland (million acres) 0.92 0.88 0.90
        Percent of total land area 0.3 0.2 0.2
 
        Cropland (million acres) 0.08 0.09 0.10
            Percent of total farmland 9.1 10.8 10.9
            Percent in pasture 8.1 8.2 9.1
            Percent irrigated 1.8 2.8 0.0
 
            Harvested Cropland
            (million acres)		 0.02 0.03 0.03
 
        Woodland (million acres) 0.04 0.11 0.04
            Percent of total farmland 4.7 12.6 4.7
            Percent in pasture 24.0 68.6 13.8
 
        Pastureland (million acres) 0.78 0.66 0.73
            Percent of total farmland 84.5 74.4 81.1
 
        Land in house lots, ponds,
        roads, wasteland, etc.
        (million acres)		 0.02 0.02 0.03
            Percent of total farmland 1.8 2.2 3.3
 
Conservation practices
        Farmland in conservation or
        wetlands reserve programs
        (million acres)		 0.02 0.03 0.03
            Percent of total farmland 2.1 2.9 3.2
 
Average farm size (acres) 1,803 1,608 1,479
 
Farms by size (percent)
            1 to 99 acres 44.0 45.4 51.7
            100 to 499 acres 36.9 38.1 32.2
            500 to 999 acres 8.0 6.0 6.7
            1000 to 1,999 acres 3.7 4.7 4.8
            2,000 or more acres 7.4 5.7 4.6
 
Farms by sales (percent)
            Less than $9,999 68.9 59.9 59.4
            $10,000 to $49,999 20.0 26.0 23.3
            $50,000 to $99,999 4.9 5.5 5.6
            $100,000 to $499,999 6.1 7.5 9.2
            More than $500,000 0.6 1.1 2.5
 
Tenure of farmers
        Full owner (farms) 326 332 431
            Percent of total 63.7 60.6 70.8
 
        Part owner (farms) 127 136 92
            Percent of total 24.8 24.8 15.1
 
        Tenant owner (farms) 59 80 86
            Percent of total 11.5 14.6 14.1
 
Farm organization
        Individuals/family, sole
        proprietorship (farms)		 430 458 497
            Percent of total 84.0 83.6 81.6
 
        Family-held corporations
        (farms)		 18 21 27
            Percent of total 3.5 3.8 4.4
 
        Partnerships (farms) 40 43 30
            Percent of total 7.8 7.8 4.9
 
        Non-family corporations (farms) 12 15 9
            Percent of total 2.3 2.7 1.5
 
        Others - cooperative, estate or
        trust, institutional, etc. (farms)		 12 11 46
            Percent of total 2.3 2.0 7.6
 
Characteristics of principal farm operators
        Average operator age (years) 51.3 53.3 55.2
        Percent with farming as their
         primary occupation		 53.3 55.8 60.8
        Men (persons) 429 453 492
        Women (persons) 83 95 117
 

More information on farm characteristics
• Census of Agriculture
• Contact NASS Customer Service, 1-800-727-9540.

Data from the 1992 Census of Agriculture is not adjusted for coverage. See Coverage Adjustment from NASS.

Farm Financial Indicators

Farm income and value added data
  2006 2007
 
Number of farms 640 660
 
  Thousands $
       Final crop output 24,117 26,862
+     Final animal output 8,359 6,578
+     Services and forestry 7,841 8,301
=   Final agricultural sector output 40,316 41,741
 
-      Intermediate consumption outlays 17,800 17,946
+     Net government transactions 1,851 2,401
=   Gross value added 24,368 26,196
 
-      Capital consumption 6,662 6,930
 
=   Net value added 17,706 19,266
 
-    Factor payments 7,063 7,856
         Employee compensation (total hired labor) 5,792 6,443
         Net rent received by nonoperator landlords -520 -508
         Real estate and nonreal estate interest 1,791 1,921
 
=   Net farm income 10,643 11,410
 

More information on farm income
• Farm Income Data
• Farm Income and Costs Briefing Room
• Contact Roger Strickland, 202-694-5592.

Farm balance sheet
 
• Estimation of State-level Balance Sheets has been suspended. See the Farm Balance Sheet data page for more information.
 

Top Commodities, Exports, and Counties

Top 5 agriculture commodities, 2007
  Value of receipts
thousand $		 Percent of state total
farm receipts		 Percent of US value
1. Greenhouse/nursery 14,630 44.1 0.1
2. Hay 4,617 13.9 0.1
3. Potatoes 2,618 7.9 0.1
4. Cattle and calves 1,976 6.0 0.0
5. Dairy products 1,824 5.5 0.0
 
All commodities 33,185   0.0
 

More information on Alaska's top agriculture commodities
• Leading commodities for cash receipts in Excel
• Contact Roger Strickland, 202-694-5592.

Top 5 agriculture exports, estimates, FY 2007
  Rank among states Value
million $
1. Other 48 3.2
2. Feed grains and products 43 0.2
3. Seeds 50 0.1
4. Live animals and meat 50 0.1
5. Hides and skins 44 0.0
 
Overall rank 50 3.7
 

More information on agricultural exports
• State Export Data
• Agricultural Trade Briefing Room
• Contact Nora Brooks, 202-694-5211.

Top 5 counties in agricultural sales 2002
  Percent of state total receipts Million $
1. Anchorage Municipality 59.6 27.5
2. Juneau City and Borough 23.8 11.0
3. Fairbanks North Star Borough 11.5 5.3
4. Kenai Peninsula Borough 4.5 2.1
5. Aleutian Islands 0.7 0.3
 
State total   46.1
 

More information on agricultural sales
• Census of Agriculture
• Contact NASS Customer Service, 1-800-727-9540.

Data Sources

Prepared by Economic Research Service, USDA, Washington, DC.