Anchorage Business Confidence Index Falls to 34.2

Katie Berry and Moira Gallagher of McKinley Research Group delivered the annual business confidence index for the Anchorage Economic Development Corporation on Aug. 7, 2025.

Berry presented the results to a packed luncheon at the Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center. The Anchorage Economic Development Corporation reports lower business confidence in its annual survey, even as key indicators like jobs and building permits hold steady.

Index readings and component shifts

The reading of 34.2 is a drop of 15.3 points compared to last year. The composite score for 2025 is the third lowest since AEDC began tracking it in 2009, surpassed only by 2016 and 2021, and 4.9 points below the ten-year average. At 43.9, consumer confidence ticked up a little bit from last year. The Capital Expenditures Index dropped by 10.6 points to 52.9.

Employment growth in Anchorage has really leveled off so far in 2025. The leisure and hospitality sector shrank. A 7 percent drop in passenger volume occurred at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport. Jobs are up by 1,000. Multifamily permits, at 171, are near the highest level for the last several years.

Local addresses and external drivers

Mayor Suzanne LaFrance, in her State of the City address to the AEDC luncheon, stated that in just the first half of this year the number of multifamily permits issued doubled the full-year 2024 total. The median home price rose to more than $520,000. Keynote speaker Mary C. Daly, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, pointed out that Anchorage’s economy, like Alaska more broadly, is driven by outside forces.

AEDC Board Chair Michelle Klouda said AEDC continues to support the campaign. Jenna Wright is on extended leave while undergoing cancer treatment.