Anchorage City is situated in Alaska's south central area. The city is the United States northernmost major city and was officially called the Municipality of Anchorage. The number of inhabitants, according to 2010 census numbers, totals approximately 292,000. When combining Anchorage with its nearby community of Matanuska-Susitna Borough, there were roughly 374,550 residents in this Metropolitan Statistical Area. Over 40% of the total population of the state of Alaska lives within Anchorage City, making it the biggest city in the state of Alaska. Only the city of New York has a higher percentage of residents who live within the state's largest city amongst the 50 American states.
There was a big Russian presence in south central Alaska in the 19th century. The US brokered a deal to buy the land of Alaska from the debt-ridden Imperial Russia. The price of $7.2 million, that worked out to approximately 2 cents an acre, was secured by William H. Seward, the U.S. Secretary of State. Political rivals lampooned the idea and called it "Seward's Icebox, Seward's Folly and Walrussia." Gold was discovered along the Turnagain Arm during the year 1888.
The city of Anchorage grew immensely during the year 1914, with the construction of a railroad port, for the Alaska Engineering Commission. The Alaska Railroad as it was referred to continued to be built until it was finished in 1923. A tent city emerged at the region beside Ship Creek's mouth where the railroad headquarters were situated.
In the city of Anchorage, the largest economic sectors include tourism, transportation, municipal, federal and state government, resource extraction, military, various corporate head offices and several regional head offices for multinational businesses. Anchorage's geographical location and surrounding natural resources account for a huge portion of the local economy.
Traditionally, the city has enjoyed steady growth, although, not necessarily as rapid as several cities in the lower 48 states. The city of Anchorage does not experience as much catastrophe during economic downturns, with the exception of a real estate related crash in the mid to late 1980s.
The Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport or also known as TSAIA is the third busiest cargo airport, surpassed by the airports in Memphis and Hong Kong. This abundance in traffic is linked to the location of the city along the "great circle," referring to routes between the lower 48 states and between Asia. Additionally, the airport has a huge source of jet fuel from the Alaskan refineries located in the North Pole and Kenai. There is pipeline and rail service to transport the jet fuel to the Port of Anchorage.
The most visible trade within the city of Anchorage is the resource sector, mostly petroleum. There are numerous high rise buildings in the city of Anchorage which bear the logos of large multi-national businesses such as BP and ConocoPhilips. Most offices and administration are situated in Anchorage. Field operations are centered on the South Slope of Anchorage around the Alaska North Slope and around the Cook Inlet.
Alaska's tallest building is located within the cities downtown core and is ConocoPhillips Alaska's head office. This corporation is a subsidiary of ConocoPhillips. Other companies like for example CH2M HILL and Arctic Slope Regional Corporation provide oilfield support services and are likewise headquartered outside of Anchorage but maintain a substantial presence within Anchorage City.