Alaska Relocation
Planning an Alaska relocation?
When planning a relocation, you should do thorough research on school systems, salary, housing and the like. Pay attention to the tax structure in the state you are relocating to - how much is the income tax? Do they have a sales tax? What is the property tax rate? All these things can have a major impact on your budget and should be carefully considered before relocating.
Geography
Alaska is approx. 571950 square miles and borders The Arctic Ocean, Canada, the Gulf of Alaska, the Pacific Ocean and the Bering Straight. Sometimes called the last frontier, Alaska is known for it’s beautiful landscape with dramatic mountains and vast amounts of wilderness. It boasts the highest mountain in the US, Mt McKinley which is 20,320 feet in height.
Population
If you are relocating to Alaska, you will be joining the approx 649,000 other people who currently reside in this sparsely populated state. In the year 2000, the population demographics was roughly:
White - 69%
Black or African American - 3.5%
American Indian & Alaska Native - 15.6%
Asian - 4%
Alaska has only 1.1 persons per square mile as compared to the US average of 79.6 persons per square mile so if you are into having a lot of space, this is the state to move to!
Climate
We all know that Alaska is cold, and snowy but summers can be beautiful there. In northern Alaska, the sun does not set from May to August providing 24 hours a day of sunlight. In November to January, the sun does not rise providing 24 of darkness!
Industry
Alaska is full of natural resources and has industry of natural gas, oil, coal, uranium and platinum in addition to forestry, fishing and agriculture.
Cost Considerations
Alaska has a median income of about $51,000 which is above that of the national average of approx $41,900. The cost of living is comparable to the rest of the states considering salary adjustment. Anchorage has the most affordable housing in the US and more rural areas are even lower, but overall costs are more as these areas a remote.
If you were relocating from Boston MA, you would find it to be about 25% cheaper to live in Alaska (depending on the town you relocate to) with groceries costing about the same, housing about 26% less, utilities about 13% less and health care almost 50% less. So if you are relocating to a new company or within the same company, you should expect to make roughly 25% less for the same job. If you make $60,000 in Massachusetts, you might expect about $44,000 in Alaska.
Other Relocation Information
Salmon fishing and dog sledding are big in Alaska. The worlds largest collection of totem poles can be found in Ketchikan.
• References include U.S. Census Bureau and Alaska State Website where you can learn even more about the state.
Learn about other states:
Alabama - This southern state is bordered by the Gulf of Mexico, the northern most part of the state rural and wooded with lakes and rivers - relocators will find this state is very inexpensive to live in with a median income well below the average.
Arizona - Moderate temperatures, beautiful scenery and low cost of living - check our guide for more on this perfect place to live.
Arkansas - A mild climate, but low wages and cost of living.
California - Relocating to this state will get you beautiful weather and scenery but it has a very high cost of living - and earthquakes.
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