Why Almost NOBODY Lives in Alaska

Alaska is bigger than Texas, California and Montana put together, yet fewer people live in the whole state than in the city of Columbus, Ohio. More than four out of five Alaskan communities can't be reached by road, not even the state capital. So why is America's biggest state almost empty? The cold is only part of it. The rest is frozen into the ground, and written into who owns the land. Chapters: 0:00 The empty giant 0:41 How big is Alaska, really? 1:57 Where Alaskans actually live 3:15 The ground is frozen 4:35 A state without roads 6:22 The cold and the dark 7:29 Mountains, ice and shaking ground 8:43 Everything comes by sea 9:29 Who owns Alaska? 10:40 Oil money and a yearly check 11:51 Who stays, and why 13:11 Will Alaska ever fill up? 14:09 So why is Alaska empty? Sources: U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts, July 1, 2025 estimates: Alaska 737,270; Columbus city, Ohio 938,396; Juneau 31,609; Matanuska-Susitna Borough 118,666 Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, 2025 population estimates (Anchorage 289,221; Fairbanks North Star Borough 97,083) and net migration (13th straight year of net loss, 2024 to 2025) Britannica / U.S. Census Bureau: Alaska total area 665,384 square miles; Texas + California + Montana about 579,331 square miles Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys: permafrost under nearly 85 percent of Alaska Alaska DOT&PF Fast Facts: 82 percent of communities not accessible by road; 251 communities reachable only by air High Country News / Alyeska: about 420 miles of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline built above ground; 1988 average over 2 million barrels a day PBS American Experience: the Alaska Highway, about 1,700 miles, built in 1942 Utqiagvik polar night 2025-26: last sunset November 18, 2025, next sunrise January 22, 2026 Prospect Creek, January 23, 1971: -79.8 F (-62 C), lowest temperature recorded in the United States USGS Professional Paper 1386-K: glaciers cover about 75,000 square kilometres, about 5 percent of Alaska USGS: M9.2 Great Alaska Earthquake of March 27, 1964, about 4.5 minutes of shaking Port of Alaska: moves goods consumed by about 90 percent of Alaska's population Congressional Research Service R42346: 60.8 percent of Alaska is federal land; Alaska DNR land ownership fact sheet (state about 100.5 million acres); Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 (about 44 million acres) National Park Service: Wrangell-St. Elias, 13.2 million acres, the size of Yellowstone, Yosemite and Switzerland combined National Archives: Alaska Purchase, 1867, 7.2 million dollars Prudhoe Bay discovered 1968; Alaska repealed its personal income tax in 1980 (Alaska Legislature) Alaska Department of Revenue: 2026 Permanent Fund Dividend 1,200 dollars, including a 200 dollar energy relief payment Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (2026): Alaska about 63 percent of U.S. seafood landings Matanuska Colony, 1935: 203 families from Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan Belfer Center / NOAA: Alaska warming about twice as fast as the lower 48; Newtok relocation to Mertarvik Whittier: 272 residents (2020 census), most living in Begich Towers; the Diomede islands are about 2.4 miles apart Maps are drawn from public elevation and boundary data (Natural Earth, Terrarium elevation tiles). Population dots and the permafrost zones are simplified. #Alaska #Geography #EarthsFinePrint