The terminus of the Alaska Pipeline on Prince William Sound, east of Anchorage, has a stable economy where tourism is taking up the slack from the oil industry. The state's second largest city has long, warm summer days and long, cold winters with temperatures of minus 50 degrees. The population of the Fairbanks North Star Borough is 84,000. Fairbanks is home to the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and government is a major employer here. The state capital has a population of 30,000.
State government is the largest employer, and tourism is a source of seasonal employment.
In the north, winters are severe, and the sun makes only brief appearances. Midsummer days have no nightfall. Villages outside the hub communities of Nome, Kotzebue and Barrow often have difficulty finding qualified professional and technical employees. The western Alaska towns of Bethel and Dillingham are sometimes in need of qualified medical, city government and education professionals. Food and other purchases in the bush can cost twice their price in urban areas, and amenities are scarce.