By SUZANNE DOWNING
July 27, 2026 – Alaska is wealthier, wages are higher, crime is down, more Alaskans are working and the Permanent Fund has grown by more than $26 billion since Gov. Mike Dunleavy took office, according to a new collection of state and federal data being assembled by the governor’s team. The Alaska Story obtained a draft copy of the report, which is still being built out.
The “Top 25 Improvements in Alaska” project compares measurable conditions in 2018, the year Dunleavy was elected, with the latest figures available. It is an initial installment of a much larger collection of metrics expected to be published on a public website as Dunleavy approaches the end of his second and final term.
The figures cover personal income, employment, crime, tourism, resource development, infrastructure and the state’s financial position. They are drawn from sources including the US Census Bureau, Bureau of Economic Analysis, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Alaska Department of Public Safety and Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation.
The report does not claim that every improvement resulted directly from an action by the Dunleavy administration. Some reflect federal spending, private investment or broader economic conditions. Yet taken together, the numbers provide a snapshot of how Alaska has changed during his time in office.
Alaskans’ per-capita personal income increased from $58,997 in 2018 to $80,175 in 2025, according to federal economic data. Median household income rose from $68,730 to approximately $91,260. Those are nominal dollar amounts and are not adjusted for inflation or Alaska’s cost of living.
The state economy expanded from approximately $54.8 billion in 2018 to $75 billion in 2025, making it the largest nominal gross domestic product in Alaska history.
Employment has also climbed above its pre-pandemic level. Alaska had approximately 344,000 nonfarm jobs in May 2026, compared with a 2018 annual average of about 327,700.
Construction workers saw particularly large wage gains. Average hourly earnings in the industry rose from $38 in 2018 to $52.36 in 2025, an increase of nearly 38% before adjusting for inflation.
Business formation increased as well. Alaska issued 22,623 new business licenses in fiscal year 2023, the latest year reported, compared with 16,045 in fiscal year 2018 — a 41% increase. 13,000 new jobs have been created.
The share of Alaskans living in poverty declined from 12.7% in 2018 to approximately 10.2% in 2024, according to Census Bureau estimates.
One of the most consequential changes occurred in the Permanent Fund. Its value grew from approximately $64.9 billion in 2018 to $91.3 billion as of May 31, 2026.
That growth has allowed the fund to contribute more to state government. The annual percent-of-market-value transfer rose from $2.7 billion when the structured draw began in fiscal year 2019 to approximately $3.8 billion in fiscal year 2026. That money now pays for a substantial portion of public services as well as Permanent Fund dividends.
Alaska’s crime figures show significant improvement, although the state continues to face serious public-safety challenges.
The property crime rate declined 47.8% between 2018 and 2024, reaching its lowest level in well over a decade. That category includes burglary, theft and vehicle theft. Burglaries have decreased 56%. Some of that may be attributed to the rolling back of Senate Bill 91, the catch-and-release crime bill signed by Gov. Bill Walker.
The violent crime rate fell 18.4% during the same period, reaching its lowest point since 2015. The overall reported crime rate declined approximately 41.8%.
Tourism rebounded dramatically from the pandemic shutdowns. Summer visitor volume grew approximately 33% between 2018 and 2024, and Alaska recorded 3.08 million visitors during a recent 12-month period.
Southeast Alaska cruise passenger traffic rose 48% from 2018 to 2024, producing record seasons for communities such as Juneau, Ketchikan and Skagway.
Tourism-related employment increased from approximately 43,300 jobs in 2017 to about 48,000 in 2023, according to industry research.
The period also brought major advances in resource development.
The Pikka Phase 1 project began producing oil in May 2026, marking the arrival of the first major new North Slope field in years. ConocoPhillips’ Willow project was approximately 50% complete in early 2026 and is on track to begin producing oil in 2029.
In the Interior, the Manh Choh mine near Tok began producing gold in July 2024, adding new mining and transportation jobs to the regional economy.
Alaska goods exports reached a record $6.7 billion in 2025, nearly 39% higher than in 2018. Seafood, minerals and energy products were among the major contributors. Exports are up more than 40%.
Military investment and force presence expanded during the period. Federal defense contract awards in Alaska rose from approximately $1.8 billion in fiscal year 2018 to $2.4 billion in fiscal year 2023. Total defense spending in the state reached $4.5 billion in fiscal year 2024.
The Army reactivated the 11th Airborne Division in 2022 as its Arctic force, while a roughly $600 million construction program at Eielson Air Force Base supported the arrival of 54 F-35 fighter aircraft in two squadrons. The infrastructure program was completed in 2024.
Alaska also secured more than $1 billion in federal broadband funding, including $629 million approved in February 2026 to connect approximately 46,000 homes and businesses, many in rural areas where reliable internet service has long been limited or unavailable.
Federal highway funding rose approximately 26% under the 2021 infrastructure law, providing Alaska with $3.7 billion over five years.
Anchorage, Fairbanks, Ketchikan and Sitka shared $9.9 million in federal funding for airport terminal improvements in 2024. Alaska ports received another $115.4 million in federal funding in 2026 as reconstruction of the Port of Alaska’s aging cargo facilities continued.
Dunleavy, first elected in 2018 and reelected in 2022, cannot seek a third consecutive term. The developing website appears designed in part to create a public record of Alaska’s condition during his eight years in office and to allow residents to examine the underlying trends for themselves.
The 25 measurements are only part of the list that is expected to appear on the website. Additional figures and source material are being assembled for publication as the project develops.
Not every number tells an uncomplicated success story. Higher incomes and wages must be weighed against inflation, the state still faces severe violent crime, and some gains are tied to federal appropriations or private-sector decisions.
But the overall picture is difficult to dismiss: Compared with 2018, when Gov. Bill Walker left office and left a state that was being crushed by crime, Alaska has a larger economy, more jobs, higher incomes, a substantially larger Permanent Fund, lower reported crime, stronger tourism, record exports and several major resource projects moving into construction or production.
Lights on, but nobody home as Alaska Legislature gavels in, promptly gavels out
11 thoughts on “Alaska’s progress by the numbers: Dunleavy project tracks gains in jobs, incomes, public safety and state wealth”
Bad Alaska Fish and Game management, got taken to the woodshed by President Trump who killed the foreign owned pebble mine prospect and ended the liberal exploitation of Alaska’s natural resources to foreigners at least for that crazy project , we received tiny PFD checks and he could not deliver a state of the state speech to persuade the legislature otherwise and landed a record number of veto overrides despite Republican majority’s, other than all that, he was a pretty good governor.
“Tiny PFD checks”???
This article is about accomplishments achieved during Dunleavys term in office and not the accomplishments of the RINO’s and Democrats. You obviously weren’t paying attention to the arguments during the session when PFD amounts were discussed and voted on by the Dems and RINO’s who caucused together. There is/was no such thing as a Republican majority unless you still think Princess Murky is a Republican. LOL
The price of booze hasn’t gone down. My donation box keeps getting lighter, the only thing that seems to be going down. As a crotchety old man on his last journalistic legs, I would’ve hoped you lousy Republicans would give us alcoholics one last break before the mid-terms. When my donations dry up and my thirst for alcohol becomes wetter, I get really angry and start throwing empty bottles around. Maybe you people at Alaska Story could kindly drop a dollar or some spare change?
Reporting and Always Farting From Alaska.
Your friend, Derm.
I’ve got a few leftover pennies from shopping yesterday. What’s your address, Derm? Or can I just send them to the Democrat Party Headquarters? Isn’t that where you hang out?
Keep farting!
Well I guess now we all know two private matters about Cole. He drinks a lot. And farts a lot. There’s gotta be more…..
Alaska Resident Growth Capture Rate:
\text{Capture Rate}_{g}= \frac{\%\Delta\text{ real disposable income per resident}_{g}} {\%\Delta\text{ real GDP per resident}}
Here g is urban or rural Alaska. “Real disposable income” means resident income after taxes, adjusted using the appropriate local cost index. BEA defines disposable personal income as personal income less personal taxes and measures state personal income by residence—not where the income was produced. BEA methodology
Set every measure to 2018 = 100:
2025 index Urban Rural scenario
Real GDP per resident 109.4 109.4
Resident income purchasing power* 112.8 99.1
Resident Capture Index 103.0 90.5
\text{Capture Index}=100\times \frac{\text{real resident-income index}} {\text{real-GDP-per-resident index}}
Interpretation:
• 100: resident purchasing power kept pace with production.
• Above 100: residents’ income grew faster than GDP per resident.
• Below 100: economic production grew faster than residents’ purchasing power.
• Below roughly 91 in rural Alaska: about one-tenth of rural residents’ relative economic position was lost against statewide production growth.
The illustration uses Alaska per-capita personal income, which rose from $58,997 to $80,175, real GDP and population data, urban inflation, and the rural essentials proxy previously constructed. Personal income , real GDP , population . It is preliminary because actual rural income growth must replace the statewide income assumption. Alaska has no official rural CPI; the official CPI covers only Anchorage and Mat-Su. Alaska CPI
For oil-related ownership, add a second measure:
\text{Alaska Ownership Retention Share}= \frac{\text{resident wages + resident business income + publicly retained royalties/profits}} {\text{Alaska value added}}
That captures leakage to nonresident workers and corporate owners.
BEA does not publish the complete ownership flow, so it would require tax, company-ownership, Native corporation, state royalty, Permanent Fund, and nonresident-worker data.
The strongest public headline would therefore be:
Alaska GDP per resident grew approximately 9.4%, but estimated rural purchasing power declined indicating that statewide production growth was not broadly captured in rural Alaska.
Sorry, but I found this piece of cheerleading to be fictional. Annual growth in much of the stats has been less than 4 percent. In most cases either general price inflation, or increases in prices for oil and for precious and base metals fully accounts for the cited increases. Have we even kept up with inflation and financial performance of index funds? This has been 8 years of a Republican administration: where are the decreases in state and municipal government employment? What happened to the planned growth in manufacturing and agriculture? Alaska was going to have a comparative advantage in data centers: Now every state but Alaska seems to have data centers under construction. Before the fictional data centers we were going to dominate North American drone manufacture. State government has been overwhelmed by SNAP enrollment growth: Why did we have SNAP enrollment growth at all? Has the Alaska economy kept up with cost of living increases? Has private sector business construction in any way kept up with government construction?
SNAP growth and enrollment is merely an indicator of the direction Democrat socialist programs is taking Alaska.
I personally know a growing group of financially capable working single moms making lots of tax free cash tips as well as regular wages driving BMW’s all collecting SNAP benefits and trading them to pay for expensive Botox and Ozempic treatments from Dr “Feelgood”.
The fraud involved in the system is equal to or greater than the Minnesota “Learing Center”
As far as construction progress the state would be booming if the Democrats and RINO’s wouldnt have taxed the much needed gas pipline before it had a chance to become a reality.
I appreciate the effort to measure and assess these things. That said, there some observations: All “jobs” are not the same; a petroleum engineer has a bigger impact on the economy than an Amazon delivery driver. Educational outcomes continue to crater. My eyes see a crumbling local infrastructure in Anchorage as streets turn into potholes and amusement park rides. Fairly soon, water and sewer systems will start to fail as they reached fifty years in the ground. While some good numbers can be found, the Alaska economy is stagnant. Pushing Alaska into a higher cost/higher tax environment will only hasten the decline.
Suzanne have you been in the “pot pipes” lately? Maybe hot flashes for menopause?
The Crime Boss Dunleavy has has done nothing good for this state. He hires anyone who lies for him. And the abuse from his office is the worst in the history of Alaska. His two terms are about the amount of theft he can get away with and how well he can detract from the truth and who will tell more lies for him.
Golly gee. Our Governor is SO wonderful and special. What a transparent fluff piece. If you have to manipulate numbers to include things Standing Tall for Alaska! didn’t have anything to do with, it causes me to wonder whst his future aspersions are and if you’re hedging yoir bets on him. Wasn’t he the same guy who kept Fauci’s mouthpiece “Doctor” Ann Zink around during the Covid scam to terrorize We the Alaska citizenry and ruin our businesses? Coward and fence-straddling tool that he is.