BLS - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

09/04/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 09/04/2026 10:32

County Employment and Wages in Alaska — First Quarter 2026

News Release Information

26-1463-SAN
Friday, September 04, 2026

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  • (415) 625-2270

County Employment and Wages in Alaska - First Quarter 2026

Employment declined 1.6 percent in Anchorage Municipality, the only large county equivalent in Alaska, from March 2025 to March 2026, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Alaska employment decreased 1.3 percent over the year to 320,100 in March 2026, as measured by the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program. (See table 1.) Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that the rate of employment growth in Anchorage Municipality ranked 336th among the 371 largest U.S. counties with published data.

Employment in Anchorage Municipality stood at 145,100 in March 2026, accounting for 45.3 percent of total employment in Alaska. Nationwide, the 376 largest counties comprise 73.5 percent of total covered employment in the United States. (Large counties and county equivalents are those with annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more in 2025.)

Average weekly wages in the first quarter 2026

The average weekly wage in Anchorage Municipality increased 5.3 percent over the year to $1,579. The national average was $1,654, up 3.9 percent over the year. Anchorage Municipality's weekly wage ranked 104th nationally, and the percent change ranked 56th among the largest U.S. counties.

Statewide, average weekly wages increased 4.8 percent over the year to $1,519. Alaska ranked 18th in average weekly wages among the 50 states and the District of Columbia and 6th in wage growth.

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 29 small county equivalents in Alaska, defined as having employment below 75,000 in 2025. (See table 2.) Wage levels in 25 of the 29 smaller county equivalents were below the national average. North Slope Borough reported the highest average weekly wage ($3,069) in the state. Kusilvak Census Area and Lake and Peninsula Borough reported the lowest average weekly wage ($837).

Among all 30 Alaska county equivalents, 5 reported average weekly wages less than $1,075, 7 had wages from $1,075 to $1,224, 6 had wages from $1,225 to $1,374, 5 had wages from $1,375 to $1,524, and 7 had average weekly wages of $1,525 or higher. (See map 1 and table 2.)

Map 1. Average weekly wages by county equivalents in Alaska, first quarter 2026

(U.S. average = $1,654)

Additional statistics and other information

QCEW data for all states have been included in this release in table 3.

Nationwide coverage of the largest counties is published in the County Employment and Wages news release. Additional information about quarterly employment and wages data is available in the news release Technical Note and from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages website.

If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.

The County Employment and Wages release for the second quarter 2026 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, December 2, 2026.

County Changes for the 2026 County Employment and Wages News Releases

Counties with annual average employment of 75,000 or more in 2025 are included in this release and will be included in future 2026 releases. Five counties have been added to the publication tables: Kenton, KY; Union, NC; Licking, OH; Gregg, TX; and Kenosha, WI. One county has been dropped from the publication tables: Wood, OH.

Table 1. Covered establishments, employment, and wages in the United States and the large county equivalent in Alaska, first quarter 2026
Area Establishments,
first quarter
(thousands) 		Employment Average weekly wage (1)
March 2026
(thousands) 		Percent change,
March
2025-26 (2) 		National ranking
by percent change (3) 		First quarter
2026 ($) 		National ranking
by level (3) 		Percent change,
first quarter
2025-26 (2) 		National ranking
by percent change (3)

United States (4)

12,381.8 154,771.9 0.1 -- 1,654 -- 3.9 --

Alaska

25.4 320.1 -1.3 -- 1,519 18 4.8 6

Anchorage Municipality

8.8 145.1 -1.6 336 1,579 104 5.3 56

Footnotes:
(1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data.
(2) Percent changes were computed from employment and pay data adjusted for noneconomic county reclassifications.
(3) Ranking does not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
(4) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.

Note: Data are preliminary. Dashes indicate data not applicable or available. Covered employment and wages include workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.

Table 2. Covered establishments, employment, and wages in the United States and all county equivalents in Alaska, first quarter 2026
Area Establishments Employment March 2026 Average weekly wage ($) (1)

United States (2)

12,381,750 154,771,941 1,654

Alaska

25,401 320,096 1,519

Aleutians East Borough

81 2,007 1,232

Aleutians West Census Area

151 4,028 1,494

Anchorage Municipality

8,754 145,080 1,579

Bethel Census Area

306 6,064 1,068

Bristol Bay Borough

117 567 1,464

Chugach Census Area

403 3,142 1,528

Copper River Census Area

144 865 1,135

Denali Borough

146 989 1,820

Dillingham Census Area

151 1,739 1,397

Fairbanks North Star Borough

2,497 35,985 1,433

Haines Borough

168 856 1,143

Hoonah-Angoon Census Area

134 731 1,015

Juneau City and Borough

1,185 16,413 1,449

Kenai Peninsula Borough

2,416 20,214 1,297

Ketchikan Gateway Borough

625 6,266 1,327

Kodiak Island Borough

476 5,890 1,145

Kusilvak Census Area

125 2,084 837

Lake and Peninsula Borough

109 614 837

Mantanuska-Susitna Borough

2,962 29,137 1,154

Nome Census Area

292 3,838 1,530

North Slope Borough

224 13,527 3,069

Northwest Arctic Borough

156 2,898 1,897

Petersburg Borough

174 1,073 1,085

Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area

227 1,867 1,090

Sitka City and Borough

416 3,844 1,270

Skagway Municipality

113 511 1,239

Southeast Fairbanks Census Area

254 2,860 1,828

Wrangell City and Borough

95 687 1,274

Yakutat City and Borough

43 265 1,091

Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area

249 2,112 1,041

Footnotes:
(1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data.
(2) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.

Note: Data are preliminary. Dashes indicate data not applicable or available. Covered employment and wages include workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.

Table 3. Covered establishments, employment, and wages by state, first quarter 2026
State Establishments,
first quarter
(thousands) 		Employment Average weekly wage (1)
March 2026
(thousands) 		Percent change,
March
2025-26 		First quarter
2026 ($) 		National ranking
by level 		Percent change,
first quarter
2025-26 		National ranking
by percent change

United States (2)

12,381.8 154,771.9 0.1 1,654 -- 3.9 --

Alabama

168.7 2,121.2 0.7 1,292 38 3.6 28

Alaska

25.4 320.1 -1.3 1,519 18 4.8 6

Arizona

227.8 3,249.1 -0.6 1,495 21 4.5 10

Arkansas

109.4 1,305.2 -0.1 1,291 39 4.6 8

California

1,990.7 18,211.8 0.9 1,986 6 2.7 44

Colorado

264.7 2,848.5 -0.7 1,774 8 5.4 4

Connecticut

150.0 1,668.2 -0.4 2,080 4 5.2 5

Delaware

47.1 473.6 -0.3 1,606 15 3.1 39

District of Columbia

51.4 715.8 -4.5 2,725 1 4.5 10

Florida

894.1 9,962.8 0.0 1,518 19 4.3 13

Georgia

397.4 4,865.2 0.0 1,539 17 3.3 34

Hawaii

64.6 643.9 -0.3 1,387 29 1.7 51

Idaho

100.8 867.9 1.9 1,254 44 6.2 2

Illinois

389.4 5,992.4 0.0 1,731 9 4.1 16

Indiana

197.7 3,160.7 -0.1 1,356 30 2.7 44

Iowa

110.8 1,537.5 -0.1 1,301 36 3.9 22

Kansas

102.2 1,425.3 0.0 1,286 41 3.1 39

Kentucky

163.0 1,979.1 -0.4 1,248 45 2.9 43

Louisiana

159.6 1,917.2 -0.5 1,274 42 4.0 17

Maine

67.5 629.1 -0.5 1,327 34 3.5 30

Maryland

201.1 2,700.3 -1.7 1,676 10 2.7 44

Massachusetts

296.4 3,552.9 -0.9 2,201 3 4.8 6

Michigan

312.6 4,357.5 0.3 1,445 24 3.9 22

Minnesota

213.9 2,878.1 -0.3 1,630 14 3.8 24

Mississippi

93.3 1,162.9 -0.2 1,051 51 3.3 34

Missouri

263.5 2,890.5 0.1 1,354 31 3.4 32

Montana

63.2 506.6 0.6 1,229 48 3.5 30

Nebraska

78.9 1,008.2 -0.1 1,274 42 3.7 26

Nevada

112.8 1,575.7 2.0 1,391 28 2.1 50

New Hampshire

66.1 675.0 -1.2 1,656 12 3.0 41

New Jersey

343.4 4,247.8 0.0 1,879 7 3.3 34

New Mexico

67.1 867.4 -0.4 1,235 46 2.7 44

New York

710.5 9,743.6 -0.3 2,363 2 6.5 1

North Carolina

375.3 4,942.7 0.8 1,515 20 3.3 34

North Dakota

36.9 420.7 -0.5 1,333 33 2.4 49

Ohio

344.6 5,458.3 -0.2 1,417 26 4.0 17

Oklahoma

130.2 1,700.6 0.0 1,235 46 3.6 28

Oregon

173.5 1,952.3 -1.3 1,481 23 4.6 8

Pennsylvania

394.1 6,002.1 -0.1 1,550 16 3.3 34

Rhode Island

49.1 486.9 -0.6 1,487 22 4.2 14

South Carolina

193.1 2,326.6 0.7 1,296 37 4.0 17

South Dakota

41.1 451.7 0.2 1,211 49 4.2 14

Tennessee

228.1 3,254.1 -0.2 1,426 25 4.4 12

Texas

868.8 14,124.6 0.6 1,646 13 3.8 24

Utah

140.6 1,737.8 0.9 1,415 27 4.0 17

Vermont

33.4 304.2 -1.0 1,322 35 3.0 41

Virginia

324.8 4,118.7 -0.2 1,665 11 4.0 17

Washington

240.6 3,558.6 -0.2 1,998 5 2.7 44

West Virginia

63.0 693.3 -0.4 1,188 50 3.4 32

Wisconsin

208.0 2,902.6 0.0 1,353 32 3.7 26

Wyoming

31.8 275.2 -0.1 1,287 40 5.8 3

Puerto Rico

52.9 944.5 -0.8 724 (3) 3.4 (3)

Virgin Islands

2.9 34.9 1.2 1,054 (3) 1.5 (3)

Footnotes:
(1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data.
(2) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
(3) Data not included in the national ranking.

Note: Data are preliminary. Dashes indicate data not applicable or available. Covered employment and wages include workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.

BLS - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics published this content on September 04, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on September 04, 2026 at 16:33 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]