Alaska marks a week for the ages

By SUZANNE DOWNING

Sept. 22, 2026 – This is shaping up to be a week for the ages in Alaska … quite literally.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy has issued three proclamations recognizing older Alaskans in the span of three days: Employ Older Workers Week, Falls Prevention Awareness Week and, on Tuesday, Centenarian’s Day.

The timing of Falls Prevention Awareness Week, Sept. 21-25, is hard to miss. It arrives with the first day of fall. The serious message behind the seasonal wordplay, however, is that falls are the leading cause of fatal and nonfatal injuries among Alaskans age 65 and older.

One in three older Alaskans falls each year, according to the governor’s proclamation. In 2025, falls among that population resulted in 74 deaths, 906 hospitalizations and 5,779 emergency department visits. Those who have already fallen face twice the risk of falling again. 

Centenarian’s Day honors Alaskans who have reached age 100 — people born in 1926 or earlier, before Alaska was a state and before television was a fixture in American homes.

An exact current count is difficult to pin down, but the 2020 Census counted 94 centenarians in Alaska, the fewest of any state. Alaska also had one of the nation’s lowest rates, with 1.28 centenarians for every 10,000 residents. 

The small number may reflect more than Alaska’s modest population. Some older residents leave for warmer climates, easier access to medical care or a life with fewer icy sidewalks. Less ice, fewer hip-breaking falls.

Yet the number of older Alaskans overall is growing quickly. The state says the population age 65 and older more than doubled from 54,938 in 2010 to 107,444 in 2024. Seniors now account for roughly 14% of Alaska’s population.

At the same time, the state’s younger population is shrinking. Alaska Department of Labor figures show that from 2024 to 2025, the number of residents age 65 and older grew 3.2%, while the working-age population declined 0.1% and the number of children fell 0.8%. 

The change is not simply the temporary aging of the baby boom generation. Alaska’s fertility rate has remained below the replacement level of 2.1 children per woman since 2017. State demographers put the rate at about 1.9 and do not expect it to return to replacement level under their projections. The child-bearing generation is just not interested in children.

That makes Dunleavy’s Employ Older Workers Week proclamation more than a courtesy. Alaskans age 65 and older made up 6.2% of the state’s workers in 2023, up from only 1.8% two decades earlier. Their experience is becoming increasingly important as employers struggle to fill jobs and the pool of working-age residents contracts. 

Sitka offers a sharp example of the broader problem. Its working-age population is shrinking, while nearly 47% of its jobs are filled by nonresidents. Other Alaska communities face the same squeeze: fewer young residents entering the workforce, persistent out-migration and growing demand for health care and other services used heavily by an older population.

Alaska is still younger than most states. But the direction is unmistakable. The senior population is growing, children make up a smaller share of the state, and older Alaskans are becoming more important not only as family and community elders, but as workers keeping businesses and public services running.

So this week, Alaska is honoring those who have worked a long time, those who are still working and those who have made it all the way to 100.

And with winter not far behind the first day of fall, it may also be a good week to locate the ice cleats.