Spanning 78.8 square miles on a strip of coastal lowland, Anchorage is the largest city in Alaska by population (291,247 in 2020), and the most tax-friendly city in the U.S. (Kiplinger). It was founded in 1914 as the headquarters of the Alaska Railroad running north to Fairbanks. With a median age of 33.9 (2022), Anchorage encompasses an urban core, a joint military base, and almost all of Chugach State Park. The main drivers of its economy are retail, healthcare, social assistance, and public administration.

To live in the 32.6 square miles of Fairbanks, Alaska, is to bask under the Midnight Sun, and the Northern Lights. Called “Golden Heart City” or the “Golden Heart of Alaska” because of its gold-rush history and the warm welcome it gives visitors, Fairbanks began with the founding of a trading post by E.T. Barnette on the south bank of the Chena River in 1901. Today, hiking, hunting, fly-fishing, whitewater rafting, and dog mushing attracts residents, one-third of whom work in the government services sector, including the military. Their median age is 27.9 (2022).