The 20th century brought the oil boom. Salaries and prices in the state shot up overnight. The 1980s brought misfortune when world oil prices dropped and the biggest oil spill in U.S. history occurred. In 1989, the Exxon Valdez spilled 11 million gallons of crude oil into Prince William Sound, contaminating 1,567 miles of shoreline and killing between 300,000 and 650,000 birds. Today, Alaskans still have the nation's highest per-capita income, though it is tempered by the high cost of living.
Most current residents are actually transplants.
Roughly only 30 percent of the population are native-born, and 25 percent have moved there in the last five years. Most of these new residents, often mobile youths from America's West Coast, came to Alaska to work and enjoy the best of outdoor living. The major cruise lines all include Alaska on their list of itineraries. Most trips run for a week to 10 days. Most Alaska ships include onboard casinos, multiple restaurants, health and fitness facilities, and lavish spas with an assortment of pampering options such as massages, saunas, and facial wraps.