Alaska Business Opportunities
A Quick Glance at Alaska
Alaska, whose nickname is The Last Frontier, first obtained its statehood in 1959. With a population of 735,132 people, Alaska is the forty-seventh most populated state in the United States.
If you are considering starting your new business in Alaska, you might want to look into one of Alaska's top three most populous cities - Anchorage, Fairbanks or Juneau (which is also the state's capital).
Top Industry
The largest industry in the state of Alaska is oil and gas extraction.
- The gross domestic product (GDP), of this industry, is roughly $8.4 billion and accounts for 15.4% of Alaska's GDP.
- Oil and gas extraction also employs 1.1% of Alaska's private workforce.
Small Businesses
In the United States, the more than 600,000 plus franchised small busineeses account for 40% of all retail sales and provide jobs for some 8 million people. According to the Small Business Administration (SBA), their standard definition of what constitutes as a small business includes a maximum of 500 employees or operations with and/or up to $7 million in revenue, depending on the industry.
- There are 142,761 small businesses, in the state, of Alaska.
- Small businesses in Alaska, make up 38.9% of the state's private workforce.
State and Local Taxes
Listed below are the state and local taxes, for the state of Alaska, and how they rank against other states in the U.S.
State Tax Rate | Avg. Local Tax Rate | Combined Rate | Combined Rank* | Max Local Tax Rate |
---|---|---|---|---|
0% | 1.76% | 1.76% | 46 | 7.5% |
*Combined Rank is rank from highest to lowest tax percentage |
California has the highest state tax rate in the United States at 7.25%, but Lousinana has the highest combined tax rate, overall, at 9.98%. Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon share the spot for lowest combined tax rates at 0%.
Additional Information
If you need additional information about how to start a business in Alaska, their official state page might be a good place to start. If you are looking to own your own established franchise in Alaska, we have collected a comprehensive list of companies that are actively looking to expand in Alaska, for you to explore.
References
- By Denali National Park and Preserve, CC BY 2.0
- Census.gov
- Comparison between U.S. states and countries by GDP (nominal) from Wikipedia
- Largest Industry in Each State from 24/7 Wall St.
- Civilian Labor Force and Unemployment by State from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- State and Local Sales Tax Rates in 2017 from the Tax Foundation
City and County Level
- Anchorage
- Anchorage Municipality
- Bethel
- Bristol Bay Borough
- Coffman Cove
- Cordova
- Craig
- Delta Junction
- Denali Borough
- Dillingham
- Fairbanks
- Fairbanks North Star Borough
- Haines Borough
- Homer
- Juneau
- Juneau City and Borough
- Kaktovik
- Kenai
- Kenai Peninsula Borough
- Ketchikan
- Ketchikan Gateway Borough
- Kodiak
- Kodiak Island Borough
- Kotzebue
- Matanuska Susitna Borough
- Nome
- North Pole
- North Slope Borough
- Northwest Arctic Borough
- Pelican
- Petersburg
- Seldovia
- Sitka
- Sitka City and Borough
- Skagway
- Soldotna
- Unalaska
- Valdez
- Wasilla
- Wrangell
- Yakutat City and Borough