This State Will Pay You $1,400 or More a Year To Live There
Written by
Vance Cariaga
Edited by
Amber Barkley
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Among U.S. states, Alaska might be the most unique. It’s the largest state, the northernmost, the westernmost and the easternmost, if you want to get into a technical discussion involving longitudes and the prime meridian — most people don’t and give this title to Maine. It’s also the only state that pays an annual dividend to its residents — and this year, you can get about $1,400 just to live there.
The money is made available through the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend, which was established more than four decades ago to let residents share in the state’s vast oil revenues. The fund received its first deposit of dedicated oil revenues in 1977, according to the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation. Three years later, the state legislature approved the first dividend check of $1,000, and it was distributed to residents in 1982.
Not interested in living in Alaska? Check out other places that will pay you to move there.
How It Works
The exact distribution amount changes from year to year based on how much money lawmakers decide to draw from the Permanent Fund savings account. Last year’s dividend was about $1,702 and included a one-time energy relief payment, Alaska Public Media reported.
The 2025 dividend is expected to be about $1,400 based on the current formula. Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy has proposed a change that would pay roughly $3,900 to each Alaskan, but that proposal is “unlikely to make it through the legislature,” according to Alaska Public Media.
For the most part, Alaska gets high marks for sending dividend payments to its residents every year. As the Earth4All website noted in 2024, the fund “is popular across the political spectrum” in Alaska, with 81% of Alaskans saying the payouts improve their quality of life.
“Crucially, the fund recognizes the equal right of every resident of Alaska to a portion of the state’s natural wealth,” the site reported. “It’s seen as a matter of justice, and particularly intergenerational justice: safeguarding the wealth of today for future generations.”
Whether or not the dividend is worth moving to Alaska is another story. For one thing, the state gets very cold — and dark — for much of the year. For another, it’s one of the most expensive states in the country in terms of average living costs. But on the plus side, you won’t have to pay state income taxes in Alaska.
Do You Qualify?
If you’re interested in moving to Alaska, here’s what you need to know about the dividend requirements, according to the state’s Department of Revenue. To qualify for the 2025 dividend, you must meet these requirements:
- Resident of Alaska during all of calendar year 2024
- Intend to remain an Alaska resident indefinitely
- Not a resident of any other state or country and have not received benefits as a result of a claim of residency in another state or country after Dec. 31, 2023
- If out of the state for more than 180 days, the absence qualified as an “allowable absence”
- Physically present in Alaska for at least 72 consecutive hours during 2023 or 2024
- Not sentenced for or incarcerated for a felony conviction in 2024; not incarcerated for a misdemeanor conviction in Alaska with a prior felony conviction or two or more prior misdemeanors since Jan. 1, 1997.
For more information on how to apply, visit Alaska.gov. Applications for the 2025 dividend are being accepted through March 31, 2025.
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