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 put 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 Steele Creek 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 Meadow Lakes 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 to look 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 these lines: if you 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 23 places in Alaska, we ranked each place from 1 to 23 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, Steele Creek 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. Steele Creek

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

2. Gateway

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

3. Chena Ridge

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

4. Fishhook

Population: 5,015 College Graduates: 26.7%
Average Hours Worked Per Week: 40.8
Workers Per Household: 1.6

5. Anchorage

Source: Wikipedia

Population: 298,178College Graduates: 32.9%
Average Hours Worked Per Week: 40.9
Workers Per Household: 1.6

6. Kodiak

Population: 6,280College Graduates: 20.1%
Average Hours Worked Per Week: 42.1
Workers Per Household: 2.0

7. College

Population: 14,568 College Graduates: 39.3%
Average Hours Worked Per Week: 38.1
Workers Per Household: 1.8

8. Juneau

Population: 32,200College Graduates: 37.8%
Average Hours Worked Per Week: 40.0
Workers Per Household: 1.5

9. Bethel

Population: 6,295College Graduates: 22.4%
Average Hours Worked Per Week: 42.8
Workers Per Household: 1.7

10. Sitka

Population: 8,957College Graduates: 32.9%
Average Hours Worked Per Week: 41.7
Workers Per Household: 1.4

Detailed List Of Hardest Places In Alaska

CityRankPopulationCollege GraduatesAverage Hours Worked Per WeekWorkers Per Household

Steele Creek	1	6,180	39.9%	41.7	1.6
Gateway	2	5,367	29.9%	41.3	1.6
Chena Ridge	3	5,671	49.3%	39.3	1.7
Fishhook	4	5,015	26.7%	40.8	1.6
Anchorage	5	298,178	32.9%	40.9	1.6
Kodiak	6	6,280	20.1%	42.1	2.0
College	7	14,568	39.3%	38.1	1.8
Juneau	8	32,200	37.8%	40.0	1.5
Bethel	9	6,295	22.4%	42.8	1.7
Sitka	10	8,957	32.9%	41.7	1.4
Tanaina	11	9,391	20.1%	42.7	1.6
Badger	12	21,175	22.9%	41.8	1.6
Kalifornsky	13	7,806	24.0%	45.3	1.3
Knik-Fairview	14	15,797	18.6%	44.3	1.5
Lakes	15	9,345	20.9%	42.5	1.6
Homer	16	5,229	31.5%	41.6	1.3
Sterling	17	5,748	17.3%	43.8	1.4
Palmer	18	6,250	22.0%	41.3	1.4
Kenai	19	7,348	23.2%	43.1	1.3
Fairbanks	20	32,100	21.5%	42.4	1.5
Ketchikan	21	8,173	23.6%	42.0	1.3
Wasilla	22	8,406	18.9%	41.3	1.3
Meadow Lakes	23	7,139	12.2%	42.6	1.3

Never miss an opportunity that’s right for you.

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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