Population-wise. On that basis, it's smaller than Oklahoma, IIRC. 3 million in Alaska, and 3 million in OKC alone. 6 million for the state.
ND has a population of 640,000. VT (Democratic contender Governor Howard Dean's state) has a population of 620,000. Wyoming (VP Cheney's home state) has a population of 525,000.
I would point out that AK has a GSP (gross state product) of $40B. VT has a GSP of $23B. DE (Joe Biden's state) has a GSP of $49B. NM (Bill Richardson's state) has a GSP of $57B.
So Governor Palin has managed an economy comparable in size to that of other VP contenders and VPs.
Further, I would point out that she was the driving force behind, and the chief negotiator of, a state natural gas project that is valued at $40B - a project that AK's establishment had been dragging its feet on for 30 years prior to her governorship. A project which includes among its principal parties the government of Canada.
She - in her first year in office - executed a transaction that will likely increase AK's GSP by 10% annually.
Very few governors in American history can point to an executive accomplishment of that magnitude.