By SUZANNE DOWNING
Feb. 25, 2026 – City manager salaries in Alaska are climbing into territory that surpasses what governors earn, as the City of Ketchikan begins recruiting for one of the highest-paid municipal positions in the state.
The City of Ketchikan is seeking applicants for the combined role of City Manager and Ketchikan Public Utilities General Manager. Recruitment listings from early 2026 place the starting salary at $223,000, with compensation negotiable depending on qualifications and experience. The potential negotiated range as high as $235,000 to $245,000.
The position combines oversight of city government operations with management of the municipally owned utility.
For comparison, Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy earns approximately $176,000 per year as of early 2026.
If Ketchikan hires at the $223,000 base salary, the city manager would earn roughly 26.7% more than the governor. At the upper end of $245,000, the gap would grow to about 39% more than the state’s chief executive. Ketchikan has about 8,300 residents, meaning that each man, woman and child pays about $269 a year to support the city manager at the base salary level.
The City and Borough of Juneau’s top administrator, Katie Koester, currently earns $236,371 annually. That salary was approved by the Juneau Assembly in October and includes a 3% cost-of-living adjustment and a 3.5% merit increase, retroactive to September 2025, with a prior interim step of $228,384 from July 2025.
When Koester was hired in August 2023, her starting salary was $210,000. The recruitment posting at the time listed a starting salary of $175,000, negotiable based on qualifications, but negotiated compensation and subsequent adjustments have pushed total pay significantly higher. At $236,371, Juneau’s city manager earns about 34% more than Gov. Dunleavy.
Juneau is a combined city-borough with a population of about 32,000.
On the other hand, the Anchorage municipal manager earns approximately $160,000 per year, and that is to manage affairs for nearly 40% of the state’s population. The city budget approved last June is $656.8 million.
High municipal executive pay is not unique to Southeast Alaska. In Bellevue, Washington, the city manager position falls under a “Contract City Manager” pay plan with a fixed annual salary of $345,000 as of early 2026. That is considerably higher than the salary of Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson, who earns $204,205 annually. Bellevue’s city manager makes approximately 69% more than the state’s governor.
Municipal executive salaries are typically set by local assemblies or city councils and may be adjusted based on recruitment challenges. As Ketchikan’s recruitment moves forward, the compensation package will ultimately be subject to council approval and negotiation. But the numbers are already drawing attention: in Alaska, as in other states, top city managers are earning substantially more than governors and substantially more than managers in the private sector.
