Juneau Is Alaska's Forgotten Capital: Just 6.2% Live Within 100 Miles, Anchorage Sits 572 Miles Away

By SimpleMapLab·Published 13 May 2026·Rank #49 of 50 states·↑ All 50 states

Only 6.2% of Alaska’s population lives within 100 miles of Juneau. The state’s largest population centre — Anchorage — sits 572 miles from the capital, far outside the 100-mile circle. Alaska ranks #49 of 50 states for capital centrality, meaning 1 states have a less-misplaced capital.

A 100-mile geodesic radius around the Juneau, AK state capitol overlaid on Alaska. 6.2% of Alaska's population lives inside the dashed ring.

6.2%

of Alaska’s population within 100 miles of Juneau

46 K

residents inside the radius (of 735 K statewide)

557 mi

from Juneau to Alaska’s population centroid

#49

of 50 states ranked by capital-to-population centrality

Open this radius in the map → /tools/map-radius-tool · Juneau, AK · 100 mi
The link opens the SimpleMapLab Map Radius Tool with the 100-mile circle already drawn around the Juneau capitol. Change the radius to 50, 250, or any value to compare different framings.

Why this happened

Juneau is the only US state capital with no road connection to the rest of its state. Sitting on the southeast panhandle, it can only be reached by air or by Alaska Marine Highway ferry — a 36-hour boat from Bellingham, Washington. The 100-mile radius around Juneau captures 6.2% of Alaska's population: the panhandle towns of Sitka, Petersburg, Wrangell, and a handful of small villages. Anchorage — home to roughly 40% of all Alaskans — sits 572 miles away, beyond a wilderness no road has ever crossed.

Alaskans have voted four times since statehood to move the capital to a road-accessible location. The 1974 vote chose Willow, a town between Anchorage and Fairbanks; the 1978 follow-up vote on funding the move failed. The capital has stayed in Juneau by inertia and by the panhandle's defensive geography — moving it would require building it from scratch.

The biggest cities inside the 100-mile radius

The top 5 most-populous places (by aggregated ZIP code population) sitting inside the 100-mile circle around Juneau. Cities are listed by total population captured by ZIP centroids in the dataset.

#	City	Population in radius
1	Juneau	29,588
2	Sitka	8,368
3	Douglas	2,190
4	Haines	2,168
5	Skagway	1,244

The largest city outside the radius

Alaska’s most-populous city outside the 100-mile circle is Anchorage, sitting 572 miles from Juneau. The aggregated population of Anchorage’s ZIP codes alone — 240,914 residents — illustrates the gap between Alaska’s political seat and its population centre.

How Alaska compares

The states ranked closest to Alaska on this metric. Click any to compare the radius breakdown directly.

#48 South Dakota

Pierre · 10.8% pop. captured

#50 Florida

Tallahassee · 3.9% pop. captured

#47 New York

Albany · 14.7% pop. captured

#46 Illinois

Springfield · 19.1% pop. captured

#45 Texas

Austin · 21.3% pop. captured

Draw it yourself

Open the 100-mile circle around Juneau →

The Map Radius Tool lets you change the radius (try 50 mi for an urban-suburban question or 250 mi for “a day’s drive”), drag the centre to compare Juneau’s reach with that of Juneau, or add a second circle for a side-by-side comparison.

Methodology (brief)

We took the lat/lng of the Alaska state capitol building (58.3019°, -134.4197°) and drew a 100-mile geodesic radius. For every ZIP code in Alaska, we tested whether the ZIP centroid falls inside; if so, its population counts. We then divide by Alaska’s total population to produce the percentage. The full methodology for all 50 states is on the hub page.

Suggested citation: SimpleMapLab (2026). 100 Miles Around Juneau: How Much of Alaska Is Inside? Part of the State Capital Radius study. Retrieved from https://www.simplemaplab.com/studies/state-capital-radius/alaska. Licensed under CC-BY 4.0.