These Are The 10 Hardest Working Places In Alaska

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America has been known as the land of opportunity for as long as I can remember. Itâs the one place in the world where if you bare down and keep your nose to the grindstone, you can make a better life for your family and yourself.

And while everyone in Alaska works hard, thereâs a certain part of the Last Frontier that takes the Puritan work ethic to the extreme â the hardest working places in Alaska .

Whoâs the leader of this work around the clock ethos? That would be Eielson Afb which takes top honors for the hardest working place in Alaska. People work so hard there they manage to make getting to work a job.

So what other places burn the midnight oil to bring home a large piece of bacon? Youâre going to have to get to the office early and stay late on Fridays to beat out these places in Alaska for a promotion:

So listen up Barrow as we explain how we created this ranking, you could learn some things from the rest of the state.

For more AK reading, check out:

How We Determined The Hardest Working Places In The Last Frontier

Like all problems here at Zippia, we start with the data to answer the hard questions. Some might even consider us the hardest working data-crunchers this side of the Mississippi.

In this particular case, we went to the latest version of the American Community Survey looking for answers. As luck would have it, the Census Bureau just released the 2009-2014 5-Yr Estimate which would make this analysis the first of its kind with the new data.

After scrolling through what seemed like hundreds of criteria, we settled on this set for each State:

Average hours worked
Average commute time
Workers per household (Employed labor force divided by the number households)
Labor force participation rate
Adults with a college degree

Our thinking went something along the lines of if you are spent the many years getting a degree, are actively seeking employment, work a ton of hours when employed, and spend forever getting to work, you get the Zippia hardworking stamp of approval.

After we got the data for all 46 places in Alaska, we ranked each place from 1 to 46 for each of the criteria with 1 being the âhardest workingâ.

Next, we averaged the rankings for each to create a hardworking index.

Finally, we crowned the place with the lowest hard working index the âHardest Working Place In Alaskaâ. And, at the end of the day, Eielson Afb had its hard work pay off.

Read the detailed chart below to learn a bit more about why each place ranked where it did.

1. Eielson Afb

Source: Wikipedia

Population: 2,647College Graduates: 29.0%
Average Hours Worked Per Week: 43.4
Workers Per Household: 2.1

2. Cordova

Population: 2,637College Graduates: 28.8%
Average Hours Worked Per Week: 46.2
Workers Per Household: 1.7

3. Steele Creek

Population: 6,180 College Graduates: 39.9%
Average Hours Worked Per Week: 41.7
Workers Per Household: 1.6

4. Farmers Loop

Population: 4,062 College Graduates: 34.9%
Average Hours Worked Per Week: 42.7
Workers Per Household: 1.4

5. Goldstream

Population: 3,910 College Graduates: 52.8%
Average Hours Worked Per Week: 42.0
Workers Per Household: 1.4

6. Unalaska

Population: 4,536College Graduates: 15.9%
Average Hours Worked Per Week: 52.6
Workers Per Household: 4.0

7. Gateway

Population: 5,367 College Graduates: 29.9%
Average Hours Worked Per Week: 41.3
Workers Per Household: 1.6

8. Ridgeway

Population: 2,128 College Graduates: 27.3%
Average Hours Worked Per Week: 46.7
Workers Per Household: 1.4

9. Chena Ridge

Population: 5,671 College Graduates: 49.3%
Average Hours Worked Per Week: 39.3
Workers Per Household: 1.7

10. Bear Creek

Population: 2,399 College Graduates: 23.8%
Average Hours Worked Per Week: 44.8
Workers Per Household: 1.7

Detailed List Of Hardest Working Places In Alaska

City	Rank	Population	College Graduates	Average Hours Worked Per Week	Workers Per Household
Eielson AFB	1	2,647	29.0%	43.4	2.1
Cordova	2	2,637	28.8%	46.2	1.7
Steele Creek	3	6,180	39.9%	41.7	1.6
Farmers Loop	4	4,062	34.9%	42.7	1.4
Goldstream	5	3,910	52.8%	42.0	1.4
Unalaska	6	4,536	15.9%	52.6	4.0
Gateway	7	5,367	29.9%	41.3	1.6
Ridgeway	8	2,128	27.3%	46.7	1.4
Chena Ridge	9	5,671	49.3%	39.3	1.7
Bear Creek	10	2,399	23.8%	44.8	1.7
Fishhook	11	5,015	26.7%	40.8	1.6
Anchorage	12	298,178	32.9%	40.9	1.6
Kodiak	13	6,280	20.1%	42.1	2.0
College	14	14,568	39.3%	38.1	1.8
Nikiski	15	4,536	16.3%	45.6	1.4
Juneau	16	32,200	37.8%	40.0	1.5
Ester	17	2,653	32.9%	42.1	1.4
Butte	18	3,544	26.7%	40.3	1.6
Bethel	19	6,295	22.4%	42.8	1.7
Sitka	20	8,957	32.9%	41.7	1.4
North Pole	21	2,153	25.3%	42.2	1.4
Tanaina	22	9,391	20.1%	42.7	1.6
Valdez	23	4,002	20.6%	46.6	1.7
Badger	24	21,175	22.9%	41.8	1.6
Kalifornsky	25	7,806	24.0%	45.3	1.3
Knik-Fairview	26	15,797	18.6%	44.3	1.5
Lakes	27	9,345	20.9%	42.5	1.6
Nome	28	3,745	24.5%	42.3	1.6
Dillingham	29	2,255	26.1%	41.8	1.5
Homer	30	5,229	31.5%	41.6	1.3
Sterling	31	5,748	17.3%	43.8	1.4
Palmer	32	6,250	22.0%	41.3	1.4
Soldotna	33	4,345	26.0%	44.9	1.3
Seward	34	2,646	18.9%	44.5	1.3
Deltana	35	2,122	14.5%	39.9	1.4
Kenai	36	7,348	23.2%	43.1	1.3
Fairbanks	37	32,100	21.5%	42.4	1.5
Big Lake	38	3,959	18.7%	42.2	1.4
Kotzebue	39	3,273	19.5%	41.2	1.8
Wrangell	40	2,383	18.7%	42.9	1.0
Anchor Point	41	2,189	16.3%	44.4	1.1
Ketchikan	42	8,173	23.6%	42.0	1.3
Wasilla	43	8,406	18.9%	41.3	1.3
Houston	44	2,058	13.2%	44.3	1.3
Meadow Lakes	45	7,139	12.2%	42.6	1.3
Barrow	46	4,296	14.0%	39.5	1.6

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Author

Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.

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