Named after Canadian gold prospector and miner Joseph Juneau, Juneau is the largest U.S. capital city by land area and is also the sole American capital city excluding Honolulu that is unreachable by road. Although Juneau has no universally accepted nickname, a popular moniker for Alaska state is The Last Frontier.
Juneau is a popular cruise ship destination. Entertainment within Juneau features plays at Perseverance Theater, Alaska’s biggest professional theater, and the non-profit Theater in the Rough. In addition, the Juneau Symphony performs regularly while opera fans can visit local opera companies Juneau Lyric Opera or Opera to Go.
Research website numbeo lacks sufficient data to rank Alaska’s capital city on its comprehensive global quality of life rating which benchmarks 250 cities worldwide. Numbeo does evaluate Juneau on several individual factors. For instance, Juneau does relatively well on traffic commute time (fastest), pollution (cleanest), safety (top 5%) and property price to income ratio (lowest 13%). On the negative side, Juneau rates poorly on health care (bottom 1%) and climate (worst 27%).
Historically, Juneau’s temperatures fluctuate dramatically during the year, down to a record cold of -22° Fahrenheit (-30° Celsius) on February 2, 1968 contrasted with the hottest day of 90° Fahrenheit (32.2° Celsius) on July 7, 1975.
The biggest employers in Juneau include Hecla Greens Creek Mining Company, disability support agency REACH Incorporated, Fred Meyer Stores, Southeast Alaska Regional Health Company, Wal-Mart and Juneau Youth Services.
From an international trade perspective, Alaska exported US$4.99 billion worth of goods around the globe in 2019. Its most valuable exports include zinc ores and concentrates (20.8% of Alaska’s global total), frozen fish meat (8.8%), lead ores and concentrates (8.3%), frozen Alaskan pollock (7.3%), crude petroleum oil (7%), frozen miscellaneous fish (5.6%), gold (5.4%), frozen livers and roes (4.8%), Pacific salmon (3.9%), Sockeye salmon (3.7%) according to United States Census Bureau data.
The non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for Juneau was 10.2% at July 2020, up from 3.9% one year earlier.
Capital Facts for Juneau, United States: Quick Reference
Geography
Capital landmarks: AJ Mine Gastineau Mill, Alaska Governor’s Mansion, Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, The Capitol Building and Wickersham State Historic Site
Famous People
Below, you will find 10 of the most famous people born in Juneau, United States.
- Hilary Lindh, Olympic skiing silver medalist (born May 10, 1969)
- Janet Gardner, rock singer & lead guitarist (born Mar. 17, 1962)
- Joshua Morrow, actor (born Feb. 8, 1974)
- Anna Graceman, folk music singer-songwriter (born Aug. 1, 1999)
- Douglas J. Eboch, writer, director & actor (born Dec. 10, 1967)
- Charles Melton, fashion model (born Jan. 4, 1991)
- Ken Pringle, actor & writer (born Mar. 11, 1977)
- Josh Opitz, movie producer (born Jan. 6, 1980)
- Albert Kookesh, Alaska Senate & House of Representatives member (born Nov. 24, 1948)
- Elton Engstrom Jr, lawyer, writer & politician (born Feb. 26, 1935)
Note: Data for our Famous People tab was sourced from Google searches of published Wikipedia articles specific to each person’s name.
Population
Demonym for a Juneau resident: Juneauite
Population: 32,217 (City and Borough of Juneau) at September 24, 2020
Density: 10 people per square mile (4 per square kilometer)
Population: 734,002 (Alaska) at September 24, 2020
Density: 1.3 people per square mile (0.5 per square kilometer)
Financial
GDP: US$55.406 billion in 2019 (Alaska)
GDP per person: $75,738
Note: The above GDP metrics are on a current basis and are in U.S. dollars.
Official currency used in Juneau: U.S. dollars
Research
Research Sources:
Brookings Institution, Global Metro Monitor Report (includes GDP data).
Dilemma X, U.S. Census Bureau metropolitan population estimates July 1, 2016.
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Total Gross Domestic Product for Alaska (MSA).
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Unemployment Rate in Juneau Borough/city AK (MSA).
Forbes Global 2000, The World’s Biggest Public Companies.
Nations Online, Capital Cities of the USA.
Numbeo, Quality of Life Index by City.
Official Government Website, City of Juneau official website.
State of Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Commissioner’s Office Press Release.
United States Census Bureau, Foreign Trade: State by 6-Digit HS Code and Top Countries.
United States Census Bureau, State Population Totals Tables: 2010-2016.
United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics: Seasonally Adjusted Metropolitan Area Estimates.
U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis, Gross Domestic Product by Metropolitan Area, 2015 (Tables Only).
Wikimedia Commons, Juneau city flag.
Wikipedia, Alaska.
Wikipedia, Juneau, Alaska.
Wikipedia, List of Metropolitan Statistical Areas.
World Population Review, Juneau City and Borough, Alaska Population.
Juneauites celebrate Independence Day as a national holiday each July 4.
The land area for Juneau city and its borough occupies 3,254.7 square miles (8,429.64 square kilometers). The state capital’s population was 32,217 Juneauites at September 24, 2020.
At the state level, Alaska covers a land area measuring 571,951 square miles (1,481,346 square kilometers) home to an overall population of 734,002 people.
Juneau’s population density is more concentrated averaging 10 residents per square mile (4 per square kilometer).
Zooming out to Alaska state boundaries, population density drops to an average 1.3 inhabitants per square mile (0.5 per square kilometer).
