I think you nailed it. The majority of the northern portion of alaska is going to be oil/gas workers, lumberjacks, and perhaps researchers and native tribes. All of those probably have company barracks, cabins, or if there is a ‘town’ it’s going to be a few hundred yards wide. For the towns, it’s due to the winter, when you almost need to be close to other people in case something goes wrong, because significant help is a long way away in distance and time.
And also supplies. You can take a nice hour drive to the local town and stock up every month or so before heading back to your secluded cabin, but unless you’re hiding Walter White, why bother? it’s just not practical after a certain point.
You don’t have corner gas stations and supermarkets every few miles, so people are going to live close to the place where the stuff comes in, which also happens to be where the work probably is.
