Juneau

About Juneau

Juneau ( JOO-noh; Tlingit: Dzántik'i Héeni [ˈtsʌ́ntʰɪ̀kʼɪ̀ ˈhíːnɪ̀] transl. Base of the Flounder's River), officially the City and Borough of Juneau, is the capital of the U.S. state of Alaska, located along the Gastineau Channel in Southeast Alaska. Juneau was named the capital of Alaska in 1906, when the government of what was then the District of Alaska was moved from Sitka as dictated by the U.S. Congress in 1900. On July 1, 1970, the City of Juneau merged with the City of Douglas and the surrounding Greater Juneau Borough to form the current consolidated city-borough, which ranks as the second-largest municipality in the United States by area and is larger than both Rhode Island and Delaware.

Downtown Juneau is nestled at the base of Mount Juneau and it is across the channel from Douglas Island. As of the 2025 census, the City and Borough had a population of 31,454, making it the third-most populous city in Alaska after Anchorage and Fairbanks, but the sixth-least populous U.S. state capital. Juneau experiences a daily influx of 16,000 people or more from visiting cruise ships between the months of May and September. These cruise ships have a positive impact on Juneau's local economy, bringing in $375 million of direct spending in 2023. The city is named after a gold prospector from Quebec, Joe Juneau, although it was once called Rockwell and then Harrisburg (after Juneau's co-prospector, Richard Harris). The Tlingit name of the town is Dzántik'i Héeni (transl. Base of the Flounder's River), and Auke Bay just north of Juneau proper is called Áak'w (transl. Little Lake) in Tlingit. The Taku River, just south of Juneau, was named after the cold t'aakh wind, which occasionally blows down from the mountains.

Juneau is one of only two U.S. state capitals without roads connecting it to the rest of the state or to the contiguous United States; Honolulu, Hawaii, is the other. The absence of a road network is due to the extremely rugged terrain surrounding the city. In turn, Juneau is a de facto island city in terms of transportation; all goods coming in and out must be transported by plane or boat despite the city's location on the Alaskan mainland. Downtown Juneau sits at sea level with tides averaging 16 feet (5 m), below steep mountains about 3,500 to 4,000 feet (1,100 to 1,200 m) high. Atop the mountains is the Juneau Icefield, a large ice mass from which about 30 glaciers flow; two of them, the Mendenhall Glacier and the Lemon Creek Glacier, are visible from the local road system. The Mendenhall Glacier has been gradually retreating; its front face is declining in width and height.

The Alaska State Capitol in downtown Juneau was built as the Federal and Territorial Building in 1931. Prior to statehood, it housed federal government offices, the federal courthouse, and a post office. It also housed the territorial legislature and other territorial offices, including that of the governor. Juneau is the home of the state legislature, the governor, and lieutenant governor. Some executive branch offices have moved certain functions to Anchorage and elsewhere in the state.

Text: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Juneau weather: 7-day forecast

Source: National Weather Service (NOAA).

Live webcams in Juneau

Webcams: Windy.com

Living in Juneau

Median household income

$101,661

Median home value

$449,300

Median rent

$1,444/mo

Median age

40

Map of Juneau

Tap any street on the map to see it in Street View below. Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Juneau Street View

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Juneau, AK population

Juneau had 32,255 residents in the 2020 Census.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Decennial Census.

Juneau at a glance

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau (Gazetteer, ZCTA), USGS GNIS, Wikidata.

Towns near Juneau

• Excursion Inlet42.4 mi W
• Hoonah48.8 mi W

Straight-line distance between town centers.

Frequently asked questions about Juneau