Anchorage

Anchorage is a city in Alaska. Alaska is part of the United States, in the far north.

More people live in Anchorage than in any other city in Alaska.

Anchorage is the largest city in Alaska, a state of the United States. Visit Anchorage, the city's visitor organization, says about 40% of all Alaskans live there.

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that 287,155 people lived in Anchorage on 1 July 2025; the 2020 census counted 291,242. The city covers a huge area, 1,961 square miles, stretching from Portage Glacier to Eklutna.

Visit Anchorage: Alaska's largest city with 40 percent of the state's population; 1,961 square miles from Portage Glacier to Eklutna; in Alaska Standard Time, one hour behind Pacific Standard Time.

U.S. Census Bureau via City Population, Municipality of Anchorage: 226,338 (census 1990), 260,299 (2000), 292,252 (2010), 291,242 (2020) and 287,155 (estimate, 1 July 2025); the State of Alaska had 733,383 (2020) and 740,133 (estimate 2025), so Anchorage holds about 39%.

Look at the snowy mountains! The evening sun makes the tall buildings glow pink and orange. Their colors shine in the water.

This photo shows Anchorage on an evening at the end of April 2008, the photographer says. The low sun lights up the office towers of downtown in pink and orange, and their colors are reflected in the calm water in front.

Behind the city rise wide mountains, still covered in snow. Visit Anchorage says the Chugach Mountains rise quickly east of the city, full of trails, glaciers, rivers and wildlife.

Commons: Flickr photo by Frank Kovalchek ('Frank K. from Anchorage, Alaska'), CC BY 2.0 (license confirmed by the upload bot in 2008); the photographer's description reads 'Taken at the end of April 2008 in Anchorage, Alaska' and the Flickr title 'Anchorage looking nice on an April evening'.

In the picture: calm water with pink reflections in front; a shoreline of trees and houses; downtown towers lit by the low sun; a broad snow-streaked mountain range behind. Visit Anchorage: the Chugach rise to the east; Cook Inlet lies to the west.

About 1,500 moose live in Anchorage too! Salmon swim up a creek right in the city.

Visit Anchorage says the city's people share their home with an estimated 1,500 moose, as well as bald eagles, bears, beavers, Dall sheep and the occasional lynx. All summer, king and silver salmon fill Ship Creek, and people fish for them right in town.

Visit Anchorage also calls the city Alaska's cultural soul: it has the state's largest museum, many galleries, and the Alaska Native Heritage Center, where visitors learn about Alaska Native cultures.

Visit Anchorage: nearly 300,000 residents share their space with an estimated 1,500 moose, plus bald eagles, bears, beavers, Dall sheep and the occasional lynx; king and silver salmon fill Ship Creek all summer, one of the world's only urban salmon fisheries; the city is home to more artists and musicians than any other place in Alaska and to the state's largest museum; the Alaska Native Heritage Center is an excellent primer on Alaska Native cultures; seafood includes salmon, crab, halibut, rockfish, cod, clams, scallops and oysters; the Matanuska Valley, the state's farming heartland, is less than an hour away.