Moving to Ketchikan, Alaska

About Ketchikan, Alaska
Ketchikan

Ketchikan ( KETCH-ih-kan; Tlingit: Kichx̱áan) is a city in and the borough seat of the Ketchikan Gateway Borough of Alaska. It is the state's southeasternmost major settlement. Downtown Ketchikan is a National Historic Landmark District.

With a population at the 2020 census of 8,192, up from 8,050 in 2010, it is the sixth-most populous city in the state, and thirteenth-most populous community when census-designated places are included. The surrounding borough, encompassing suburbs both north and south of the city along the Tongass Highway (most of which are commonly regarded as a part of Ketchikan, albeit not a part of the city itself), plus small rural settlements accessible mostly by water, registered a population of 13,948 in that same census.

Incorporated on August 25, 1900, Ketchikan is the earliest extant incorporated city in Alaska, because consolidation or unification elsewhere in Alaska resulted in the dissolution of those communities' city governments. Ketchikan is located on Revillagigedo Island, so named in 1793 by Captain George Vancouver.

Ketchikan is named after Ketchikan Creek, which flows through the town, emptying into the Tongass Narrows a short distance southeast of its downtown. "Ketchikan" comes from the Tlingit name for the creek, Kitschk-hin, the meaning of which is unclear. It may mean "the river belonging to Kitschk"; other accounts claim it means "Thundering Wings of an Eagle". In modern Tlingit, this name is Kichx̱áan.

Gender
Gender Ketchikan Alaska Country
Female 48.7% 47.8% 50.8%
Male 51.3% 52.2% 49.2%
Gender

Household Income


Income Ketchikan Alaska Country
Less than $10,000 3.6% 3.8% 5.8%
$10,000 to $14,999 5.1% 2.9% 4.1%
$15,000 to $24,999 8.9% 6.2% 8.5%
$25,000 to $34,999 9.9% 6.7% 8.6%
$35,000 to $49,999 12.7% 10.1% 12.0%
$50,000 to $74,999 17.9% 18.3% 17.2%
$75,000 to $99,999 12.6% 14.2% 12.8%
$100,000 to $149,999 15.9% 19.3% 15.6%
$150,000 to $199,999 7.7% 9.6% 7.1%
$200,000 or more 5.7% 8.8% 8.3%
Education


Education Ketchikan Alaska Country
< 9th Grade 3% 3% 5.0%
9-12th Grade 5% 4% 7.0%
High School or GED 33% 28% 27.0%
Other College 29% 26% 20.0%
Associate's Degree 8% 9% 9%
Bachelor's Degree 14% 19% 20.0%
Master's Degree 6% 8% 9.0%
Professional Degree 1% 2% 2.0%
Doctorate Degree 1% 1% 1.0%
Household Income
Education
Race / Ethnicity


Ethnicity Ketchikan Alaska Country
White 55.2% 59.7% 60.1%
African American 0.8% 3.1% 12.2%
American Indian 16.2% 14.1% 0.6%
Asian 12.6% 6.2% 5.6%
Hawaiian 0.2% 1.4% 0.2%
Other 0.4% 0.4% 0.3%
Multiracial 8.3% 7.9% 2.8%
Hispanic 6.2% 7.2% 18.2%
Race / Ethnicity