Moving to Wasilla, Alaska

About Wasilla, Alaska
Wasilla

Wasilla (Dena'ina: Benteh) is a city in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska, United States, and the fourth-largest city in Alaska. It is located on the northern point of Cook Inlet in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley of the southcentral part of the state. The city's population was 9,054 at the 2020 census, up from 7,831 in 2010. Wasilla is the largest city in the borough and a part of the Anchorage metropolitan area, which had an estimated population of 398,328 in 2020.

Established at the intersection of the Alaska Railroad and Old Carle Wagon Road, the city prospered at the expense of the nearby mining town of Knik. Historically entrepreneurial, the economic base shifted in the 1970s from small-scale agriculture and recreation to support for workers employed in Anchorage or on Alaska's North Slope oilfields and related infrastructure. The George Parks Highway turned the town into a commuter suburb of Anchorage. The headquarters of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, a popular and significant sporting event in Alaska, is located in Wasilla.

Wasilla gained international attention when Sarah Palin, who served as Mayor of Wasilla before her election as Governor of Alaska, was chosen by John McCain as his running mate for Vice President of the United States in the 2008 United States presidential election.

Wasilla is named after Chief Wasilla, a local Dena'ina chief. "Wasilla" is the anglicized spelling of the chief's Russian-given name, Васи́лий Vasilij, which corresponds to the English name Basil.

Gender
Gender Wasilla Alaska Country
Female 51.8% 47.8% 50.8%
Male 48.2% 52.2% 49.2%
Gender

Household Income


Income Wasilla Alaska Country
Less than $10,000 6.7% 3.8% 5.8%
$10,000 to $14,999 7.8% 2.9% 4.1%
$15,000 to $24,999 12.2% 6.2% 8.5%
$25,000 to $34,999 6% 6.7% 8.6%
$35,000 to $49,999 9.2% 10.1% 12.0%
$50,000 to $74,999 15.8% 18.3% 17.2%
$75,000 to $99,999 10.4% 14.2% 12.8%
$100,000 to $149,999 20% 19.3% 15.6%
$150,000 to $199,999 6.6% 9.6% 7.1%
$200,000 or more 5.2% 8.8% 8.3%
Education


Education Wasilla Alaska Country
< 9th Grade 2% 3% 5.0%
9-12th Grade 5% 4% 7.0%
High School or GED 39% 28% 27.0%
Other College 26% 26% 20.0%
Associate's Degree 9% 9% 9%
Bachelor's Degree 10% 19% 20.0%
Master's Degree 8% 8% 9.0%
Professional Degree 0% 2% 2.0%
Doctorate Degree 1% 1% 1.0%
Household Income
Education
Race / Ethnicity


Ethnicity Wasilla Alaska Country
White 77.9% 59.7% 60.1%
African American 1.1% 3.1% 12.2%
American Indian 5.4% 14.1% 0.6%
Asian 3.9% 6.2% 5.6%
Hawaiian 0.3% 1.4% 0.2%
Other 0% 0.4% 0.3%
Multiracial 5.6% 7.9% 2.8%
Hispanic 5.8% 7.2% 18.2%
Race / Ethnicity