Demographics of Alaska
|1930 and 1940 censuses taken in preceding autumn
As of 2005, Alaska has an estimated population of 663,661, which is an increase of 5,906, or 0.9%, from the prior year and an increase of 36,730, or 5.9%, since the year 2000. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 36,590 people (53,132 births minus 16,542 deaths), and an increase due to net migration of 1,181 people into the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 5,800 people, and migration within the country produced a net loss of 4,619 people. More than half of the state's population lives in Anchorage, Juneau and Fairbanks, with two-fifths in Anchorage alone. As of 1 January 2012 Alaska had a population of 731,449
For purposes of the federal census, the state is divided into artificial divisions defined geographically by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only.
Race and ancestry
- White: 66.7% (Non-Hispanic Whites: 64.1%)
- Black 3.6%
- Asian 5.4% ( Among, 0.3% Chinese, 0.2% Laotian, 0.2% Japanese, 0.1% Indian, 0.1% Vietnamese, 0.1% Thai)
- American Indian or Alaskan Native 14.8%
- Pacific Islander: 1.0% (0.7% Samoan, 0.1% Hawaiian, 0.1% Tongan)
- Two or more races: 7.3%
- Other races: 1.7
Ethnically, the population was 5.5% of Hispanic or Latino (of any race) origin and 94.5% of Non-Hispanic and Latino (of any race) origin.
The largest ancestry groups (which the Census defines as not including racial terms) in the state are:
- 18.3% German
- 11.0% Irish
- 8.5% English
- 6.5% French
- 3.8% Norwegian
- 3.7% Native American
- 3.3% Italian
- 3.0% Mexican
- 2.9% Scottish
- 2.7% Polish
- 2.5% Swedish
- 1.9% Dutch
- 1.4% Russian
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 and western 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. Some of the Alaska Natives absorbed the small 1700s Russian-era settlement.
|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|
According to the 2005-2007 American Community Survey, 84.7% of people over the age of five speak only English at home. About 3.5% speak the Spanish language at home. About 2.2% speak an Indo-European language other than Spanish at home and about 4.3% speak an Asian language at home. And about 5.3% speak other languages at home.
A total of 5.2% of Alaskans speak one of the state's 22 indigenous languages, known locally as "native languages". These languages belong to two major language families: Eskimo–Aleut and Na-Dené. As the homeland of these two major language families of North America, Alaska has been described as the crossroads of the continent, providing evidence for the recent settlement of North America via the Bering land bridge.
- Christian - 79.0%
- Jewish - 0.9% :
- Islam -0.5%
- Hindu - <0.5%
- Other World Religions - <0.5%
- Other Faiths - 2.0%
- Unaffiliated - 27.0%
- Refused to answer - 1.0%
Alaska's relatively large Eastern Orthodox Christian population is notable. The large Eastern Orthodox (with 49 parishes and up to 50,000 followers) population is a result of early Russian colonization and missionary work among Alaska Natives. In 1795, the First Russian Orthodox Church was established in Kodiak. Intermarriage with Alaskan Natives helped the Russian immigrants integrate into society. As a result, an increasing number of Russian Orthodox churches gradually became established within Alaska. Alaska also has the largest Quaker population (by percentage) of any state. Also, as of 1994, there were 3,060 Jews in Alaska. Jehovah's Witnesses stands at a little less than 2,400. Estimates for the number of Alaskan Muslims range from 1,000 to 5,000.
In 2006, Alaska had a larger percentage of tobacco smokers than the national average, with 24% of Alaskan adults smoking.
- Resident Population Data - 2010 Census
- U.S. Census Bureau. (2001-04-02). "Census 2000 PHC-T-2. Ranking Tables for States: 1990 and 2000. Table 1. States Ranked by Population: 2000." U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division. Retrieved on 2007-06-12.
- U.S. Census Bureau. (ca. 2002). "Population and Population Centers by State: 2000." Centers of Population for Census 2000. U.S. Census Bureau, Geography Division. Retrieved on 2007-06-12.
- Coast Tsimshian is not technically indigenous to Alaska, the Coast Tsimshian people having moved north from British Columbia in the historic period. Nevertheless it is usually grouped with the other Native languages.
- Pew Forum: Survey Finds Alaskans Less Religious Than Other Americans
- j. - Alaskan Jews trying to connect, says study
- Alaskan Muslims Avoid Conflict
- CDC's STATE System - State Comparison Report Cigarette Use (Adults) – BRFSS for 2006, lists Alaska as having 24.2% smokers. The national average is 20.8% according to Cigarette Smoking Among Adults --- United States, 2006 article in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.