In the Panhandle of Southeast Alaska, Juneau is located on Gastineau Channel in the Inside Passage about 900 air miles north of Seattle (a two-hour flight) and 600 air miles south of Anchorage (a 90-minute flight). In summer, air service increases to more than 15 flights per day from Alaska Airlines' gateway cities.

Population
According to the 2000 U.S. Census Bureau, 30,790 people reside in Juneau.

Culture
Juneau, the third largest community in Alaska, is supported largely by state and federal employment and by tourists cruising the Inside Passage. As Alaska's capital, Juneau is home to legislators and their staff between January and May. Juneau has a Tlingit history with a strong historical influence from the early prospectors and boomtown that grew around gold mining operations.

Size
3,248 square miles total, including 928 square miles of ice cap and 704 square miles of water. 264 miles are urbanized. Juneau has grown along both banks of the Gastineau Channel on Douglas Island and the mainland, filling the valleys of Lemon Creek and Mendenhall carved by glaciers. More than two-thirds of the population lives in these areas.

Elevation
Sea level, rising to 3,576 feet (Mount Juneau), 3,666 feet (Gastineau Peak), and 3,819 feet (Mount Roberts), plunging between 90 and 120 feet deep in Gastineau Channel.

Climate:
Maritime. This is a rainforest; bring a raincoat.

Precipitation:
54.31 inches average annual rain and melted snow at the airport (based on 30-year average), and 91.32 inches downtown. Juneau ended 2001 with 59.43 inches of precipitation, just over 5 inches above the norm at the Juneau Airport. This was the driest since 1998 and 1989. Juneau averages 222 rainy days per year. Rainiest months are September and October, with 6.73 and 7.84 inches average. Juneau's driest months are usually April, May, and June.

Rain records:
July 1997 broke records with 10.36 inches; December 1997 had 13.61 inches. April 1999 broke records for that month with 7.48 inches. Measurable rain fell on 277 days in 1999, the most ever in any year.

This included 49 consecutive days with measurable rainfall from September 29 to November 16, also a record. Juneau's wettest year was 1991 with 85.15 inches rain (not including snow) at the airport.

Snow:
101 inches average. The record is 194.1 inches in 1964-65. The record snowfall in 24 hours is 31 inches in March of 1948.

Cloud cover:
Juneau averages 278 cloudy days per year, with two to three sunny days per week in April, May and June.

Temperatures:
The warmest months are June, July and August. The hottest day in 2001 was August 13 at 79 degrees. Average daytime summer temperatures range from 44 to 65. Winter temperatures range from 25 to 35. The average temperature during 2001 was 42.1 degrees, against a norm of 42.2.

Record high was 90 degrees in July 1975. Record low was minus 22 on Jan. 12, 1972. Warmest month on record was 60.3 degrees July 1951; coldest month was an average 6.8 degrees in January 1969.

Daylight:
Maximum 18 hours. 16 minutes around June 21, summer solstice, with sunrise at 3:51 a.m.; sunset at 10:07 p.m. Minimum winter daylight December 21 (winter solstice) is 6 hours, 23 minutes, with sunrise at 8:44 a.m.; sunset at 3:07 p.m.

Wind:
Taku winds can hit more than 100 m.p.h. Peak wind noted at the Juneau airport during 2001 was a southeast wind to 61 m.p.h.

Roads:
About 190 miles of city- and state-maintained roads, approximately 45 miles end to end, not including Douglas Island roads.

Capital Transit System, "One of the Ten Best Small Transit Agencies in North America 1999" per Metro Magazine, provides service for downtown Juneau, Douglas Island, Mendenhall Valley, Lemon Creek, and Auke Bay.

Ridership was about 838,700 in 2001, with another 28,700 rides on Care-A-Van Transportation services. Elderly users and persons with disabilities ride free.

The Alaska Marine Highway ferry system offers auto and passenger connections. From the north, board in Skagway or Haines. From the south, board in Bellingham or Prince Rupert. Ferry service is available year round, with increased frequency in the summer.

The ferry system provides daily summer service between Haines-Skagway and Juneau via the M/V Malaspina. The marine highway's newest addition, the M/V Kennicott links the southeast ports to southcentral and western Alaska. Reservations are recommended.

The main commercial air carrier serving the city is Alaska Airlines. During summer months, air service increases to more than 15 flights per day from Alaska Airlines' gateway cities to Alaska's capital city.

Juneau arrivals
In 2001, 690,648 people arrived in Juneau on one of the 539 cruise ship dockings downtown--about 50,000 more people than the previous year. Furthermore, in the past few years an estimated 100,000 independent visitors annually come to town. About 75 percent arrive via plane and about 25 percent travel on the ferry.

Juneau's per capita income for 1999 was $33,974, according to Juneau Economic and Development Council.

Cost of living:
The American Chamber of Commerce Researchers Association (ACCRA) fourth quarter 1999 index placed Juneau as the fifth highest cost urban area nationwide, after New York City, Boston, Kodiak, AK, and Washington D.C. At this time Juneau's cost of living is rated 25-30 percent above the national average.

Home:
The average sale price for a single-family home at the end of the fourth quarter of 1999 was $186,345. Studies for the fourth quarter 2000 revealed housing costs in Juneau were 46 percent above the U.S. city standard, according to Runzheimer International Living Cost Standards.

Apartment:
The average rental cost of a two-bedroom apartment for fourth quarter 2000 was $950 a month, according to information published by Alaska Department of Labor in June 2001. Average rent of a three-bedroom home was $1,468.

Other costs:
The ACCRA Cost of Living Index, March 2001, showed Juneau residents pay 28.1 percent above the national average for their groceries and 60 percent more for their health care.