Alaska energy profile

Manufacturing energy costs in Alaska

The current industrial power rate in Alaska is 23.13 cents per kWh (Aug 2026, EIA), ranking 49 of 51 states and sitting 139.9% above the national average.

Current prices in Alaska

  • Industrial electricity: 23.13 cents per kWh (Aug 2026, EIA).
  • Commercial electricity, the rate a warehouse or distribution center in Alaska typically pays: 23.9 cents per kWh.
  • Industrial natural gas: $7.42 per Mcf (Aug 2026), 71% above the national average.
  • Just below Alaska on the price ladder: District of Columbia at 18.53, Rhode Island at 19.87, Massachusetts at 20.03 cents. Just above: California at 24.12, Hawaii at 39.33 cents.

What the rate does to operating cost

  • A 10 kW machine running a 4,000 hour year costs about $9,252 in electricity at Alaska rates versus $3,856 at the national average; at 50 kW the gap is $46,260 versus $19,280, and at 200 kW it is $185,040 versus $77,120.
  • At this rate, efficiency projects clear their hurdle faster in Alaska than almost anywhere: every avoided kWh is worth more, so compressed air leak repairs, VFD retrofits, and scheduling around demand charges deserve a fresh look.

Cost to manufacture in Alaska

  • Alaska scores 156.3 on the MFG Calcs State Cost-to-Manufacture Index, where the U.S. is 100: the 50th lowest of 51 (Aug 2026).
  • Its labor factor (manufacturing wages) is 128.4 and its energy factor (industrial electricity) 239.9; the index weighs wages at 75% and electricity at 25% and leaves out taxes, land and incentives.

What factory labor pays in Alaska

  • Industrial engineers: $75.25/hr median in Alaska versus $49.25 nationally (OEWS 2025).
  • Industrial production managers: $54.46/hr median in Alaska versus $60.61 nationally (OEWS 2025).
  • Welders, cutters, and brazers: $38.87/hr median in Alaska versus $25.84 nationally (OEWS 2025).
  • Quality inspectors and testers: $37.57/hr median in Alaska versus $23.35 nationally (OEWS 2025).
  • Production supervisors: $37.48/hr median in Alaska versus $35.79 nationally (OEWS 2025).
  • Machinists: $37.34/hr median in Alaska versus $28.24 nationally (OEWS 2025).

Manufacturing jobs in Alaska

  • Alaska had 15,100 manufacturing jobs in Sep 2026, the 48th most of 51 (BLS State and Metro Area Employment, not seasonally adjusted).
  • That is up 15.3% from Sep 2025.

Manufacturing base in Alaska

  • Alaska has 576 manufacturing establishments employing about 11,521 workers (Census County Business Patterns, 2023).
  • Average pay per manufacturing employee is $72,691, 1% below the U.S. average of $73,202.
  • Largest sectors by establishment count: food manufacturing (161), fabricated metal products (74), wood product manufacturing (41), printing and related support (41), transportation equipment (33).

Manufacturing economy in Alaska

  • Manufacturing added $1.5B to Alaska's economy in 2025, 2% of the state's GDP, the 50th largest of the 50 states and DC (BEA).

Sources and update cadence

  • Prices come from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, jobs from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, establishments and payroll from the Census Bureau and GDP from the Bureau of Economic Analysis; each refreshes automatically when the agency publishes, and this page archives every month and year it shows so the Alaska history keeps deepening.

Last reviewed 2026-11-13.