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Do adults in Alaska feel their financial situation is better than a year ago?

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Adults in Alaska, 555,000 people · 555 profiles askedFirst 100 free · Need more?
38%chose “About the same”
0%95% interval 34% to 42%100%

Summary

38% of adults in Alaska said their financial situation was about the same as a year ago, compared with 32% who said it was worse.

  1. 1The lead: 7 pts — “About the same” is ahead of “Worse,” but their intervals overlap, so the difference stays inside the margin.
  2. 2Widest gap · employment: 54 pts — people not in the labor force were higher than unemployed on “About the same,” and the gap is clear, though the unemployed group has 23 profiles.
  3. 3How it settled: 0 pts — over the last 275 profiles, the estimate did not move and the sample had settled.

These are synthetic profiles rather than real people, and on 46 multiple-choice questions checked against the 2024 General Social Survey, simulated answers from this population sat a median 21 points from real people’s within demographic groups and 14 points nationally.

What people answered

The share choosing each option. The dot is the estimate; the band is the 95% interval.

0%25%50%75%100%
About the same
38% 34%–42%
Worse
32% 28%–36%
Better
30% 26%–34%
Not sure
0% 0%–1%
estimate 95% interval

How the estimate settled

Each answer's share after every ten profiles; the band is the 95% interval of the leading answer, and it narrows as more people are asked.

10 profiles: 30% (11% to 60%)20 profiles: 35% (18% to 57%)30 profiles: 37% (22% to 54%)40 profiles: 38% (24% to 53%)50 profiles: 38% (26% to 52%)60 profiles: 37% (26% to 49%)70 profiles: 37% (27% to 49%)80 profiles: 38% (28% to 48%)90 profiles: 39% (29% to 49%)100 profiles: 39% (30% to 49%)110 profiles: 39% (30% to 48%)120 profiles: 39% (31% to 48%)130 profiles: 39% (31% to 48%)140 profiles: 39% (32% to 48%)150 profiles: 39% (31% to 47%)160 profiles: 38% (31% to 46%)170 profiles: 38% (31% to 46%)180 profiles: 38% (32% to 46%)190 profiles: 38% (32% to 46%)200 profiles: 39% (32% to 45%)210 profiles: 39% (32% to 45%)220 profiles: 39% (33% to 46%)230 profiles: 39% (33% to 46%)240 profiles: 39% (33% to 45%)250 profiles: 39% (33% to 45%)260 profiles: 38% (33% to 45%)270 profiles: 38% (33% to 44%)280 profiles: 39% (33% to 44%)290 profiles: 39% (33% to 44%)300 profiles: 38% (33% to 44%)310 profiles: 38% (33% to 43%)320 profiles: 37% (32% to 43%)330 profiles: 37% (32% to 43%)340 profiles: 37% (32% to 42%)350 profiles: 37% (32% to 42%)360 profiles: 37% (32% to 42%)370 profiles: 37% (32% to 42%)380 profiles: 37% (32% to 42%)390 profiles: 37% (33% to 42%)400 profiles: 37% (33% to 42%)410 profiles: 37% (33% to 42%)420 profiles: 37% (33% to 42%)430 profiles: 38% (33% to 42%)440 profiles: 38% (33% to 42%)450 profiles: 38% (34% to 43%)460 profiles: 38% (34% to 43%)470 profiles: 38% (34% to 43%)480 profiles: 38% (34% to 43%)490 profiles: 38% (34% to 43%)500 profiles: 38% (34% to 43%)510 profiles: 38% (34% to 42%)520 profiles: 38% (34% to 42%)530 profiles: 38% (34% to 42%)540 profiles: 38% (34% to 42%)550 profiles: 38% (34% to 42%)555 profiles: 38% (34% to 42%)
0%36%73%13927841655538%
About the same38%
Worse32%
Better30%
95% interval of “About the same”

Who was asked

The make-up of the sample, drawn to match the population asked.

Sex555 profiles
men 51%women 49%
Employment555 profiles
employed 56%not in the labor force 36%armed forces 4%unemployed 4%
Education555 profiles
high school diploma 32%some college 23%bachelor's degree 16%graduate degree 10%some high school 9%other 10%
Age514 profiles
40-44 12%25-29 11%20-24 11%55-59 11%60-64 10%other 46%

Why they answered this way

The people who feel worse are dealing with rising everyday costs, fixed retirement money, or not having work. The people who feel better point to stronger pay and steady jobs, while those saying the same have not seen much change at home or at work.

My work's been steady, and the bills haven't changed enough to make things feel different.
Man, 53, AlaskaAbout the same
Still living with my family and doing about the same as last year.
Woman, 20, Alaska · not workingAbout the same
Nothing much changed in our household, so it feels about the same to me.
Woman, 56, Alaska · not workingAbout the same
Groceries and prescriptions take more out of my retirement check than they did last year.
Man, 80, Alaska · not workingWorse
Heating the house and regular store runs are costing more, and we're having to watch what we spend.
Man, 60, Alaska · not workingWorse
No job yet. That's made everything tighter.
Man, 19, Alaska · looking for workWorse
A raise at work gave us more breathing room than we had last year.
Woman, 63, AlaskaBetter
Work has been good this year, and I've been able to put more aside instead of just covering expenses.
Man, 62, AlaskaBetter
My job has been paying better, and we aren't stretched as thin by the monthly bills.
Man, 43, AlaskaBetter

Who answered what

Share answering “About the same”, by the attributes of the people asked, against everyone (the vertical line). Groups with few profiles have wide intervals.

Biggest gaps

On each attribute, the group that answered lowest and the one that answered highest, and the gap between them. Groups of at least ten profiles.

  1. Employment54 pts
    unemployed 0%not in the labor force 54%
  2. Age49 pts
    25-29 18%70-74 67%
  3. Education13 pts · within the margin
    high school diploma 34%bachelor's degree 47%
  4. Sex0 pts · within the margin
    men 38%women 39%

Sex

0%25%50%75%100%
men
38% 33%–44%
women
39% 33%–45%
estimate 95% interval everyone

Employment

0%25%50%75%100%
employed
34% 29%–39%
not in the labor force
54% 47%–61%
armed forces
8% 2%–26%
unemployed
0% 0%–14%
estimate 95% interval everyone

Education

0%25%50%75%100%
high school diploma
34% 28%–41%
some college
37% 29%–46%
bachelor's degree
47% 37%–57%
graduate degree
43% 31%–56%
some high school
35% 23%–49%
associate degree
38% 25%–53%
less than 9th grade
45% 21%–72%
estimate 95% interval everyone

Age

0%25%50%75%100%
15-19
45% 21%–72%
20-24
22% 13%–35%
25-29
18% 10%–30%
30-34
32% 20%–47%
35-39
36% 24%–51%
40-44
24% 15%–36%
45-49
34% 21%–50%
50-54
31% 17%–49%
55-59
48% 35%–61%
60-64
43% 30%–57%
65-69
53% 39%–67%
70-74
67% 49%–81%
estimate 95% interval everyone

Every breakdown

Full report

The answer by all ninety attributes, ranked by how much they separate people, with an interval on each.

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State by state

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The answer in every state, mapped, with the sample behind each.

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In the full report

This page is the free preview: the answer, why, and four breakdowns. A full run adds the rest. See what the report holds on this sample, or read a finished report.

The kinds of people in this answer

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Four or five groups of reasons, each with its share and its number: who anchors on today’s bill, who shares a login, who pays for the kids.

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Every reason, exportable

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All the people asked, in their own words, with their attributes, as a table to filter and download.

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The whole population

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Thousands of profiles instead of a hundred: intervals a fifth as wide, and rare groups large enough to read.

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The next questions

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Would you take ads for five dollars less? Which service would you drop first? Asked of the same people.

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A one-page summary

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This page says the finding in short; the report lays it out with the chart, the segments and the caveats as one page to print or forward.

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How this was computed

Populationadults in Alaska, 555,000 peopleQuestion as asked“Compared with a year ago, how would you say your financial situation is now?”
Options: Better · About the same · Worse · Not sureSample555 profiles drawn in a fixed representative order from the population; asking more extends the same sample rather than starting overMethodEach profile answers in character from its own attributes. Answers outside the format are discarded before counting.AccuracyThe interval reflects sampling variation in the simulated sample. On 46 multiple-choice questions checked against the 2024 General Social Survey, simulated answers from this population sat a median 21 points from real people's within demographic groups and 14 points nationally. Every check

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