This cluster centers on Anchorage, the most populous city in Alaska with 291,247 people at the 2020 census. Girdwood, a resort town inside the Municipality of Anchorage, had an estimated 1,742 residents in 2019. Alyeska Resort, the largest ski area in the state, sits there about 30 miles from downtown. Skiing and snowboarding at Alyeska bring visitors and their money into the valley. Seasonal vacation homes long dominated the town, and the Alyeska Prince Hotel, opened in the 1990s, shifted Girdwood toward a year round economy. Housing affordability for resort workers is a recurring local debate, and many workers have camped illegally on public lands. Summer brings hiking, fishing, rafting and the July Girdwood Forest Fair. Inside Anchorage, Arctic Valley is a nonprofit area run by the Anchorage Ski Club and open mainly on weekends, and Hilltop Ski Area serves the city too. Anchorage's economy rests on transportation, the military, government, tourism, corporate headquarters and resource extraction.