Article Overview: Boroughs in Alaska
Unlike most US states divided into counties, Alaska carves its vast territory into boroughs. Similar to counties, but like many things in the last frontier, they do things a tad differently. While most of the areas serve as local governments with a focus on public services and infrastructure, Alaska’s boroughs reflect the state’s rugged landscape and sparse population. Join us as we break down the Boroughs in Alaska!
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Boroughs in Alaska
Boroughs vs. Counties
Counties and boroughs are both local government divisions, but with some key differences. Counties are the standard across most US states, handling things like roads and public health. Boroughs aren’t legally required to adhere to the same terms that counties are. Generally, counties have more power than boroughs, which can be incorporated (having their own government) or unincorporated (run by the state or county).
Alaska is the only state that has boroughs instead of Counties, although Louisiana has parishes instead of counties. America’s special children.
Why Does Alaska Have Boroughs?
Alaska’s founders opted for a unique path when designing local government, the just had to feel special I suppose! They debated using the term “county” system, but ultimately chose “boroughs” to avoid inheriting the legal and political baggage associated with counties in the Lower 48. How libertarian of them.
These boroughs were envisioned to be more adaptable and hold greater power than traditional counties. Alaska’s vast size and scattered population played a role in this decision as well, as some areas simply wouldn’t have the tax base to sustain a county structure. This resulted in a system where boroughs were primarily established in areas with stronger economies.
How Many Boroughs are in Alaska?
There are currently 19 organized boroughs in Alaska, and 1 unorganized borough. The 19 organized boroughs in Alaska encompass roughly half the state’s landmass, around 46%. The remaining territory falling under the unorganized borough status, is overseen by the state government and divided into 10 census areas, for statistical purposes.
Furthermore, Alaska’s boroughs aren’t all created equal. There are four classifications that define their level of authority. At the top, “Unified Home Rule” and “Non-unified Home Rule” boroughs have the most freedom, able to make their own laws as long as they don’t conflict with existing ones. Then there are “First Class” boroughs, which can pass ordinances for most matters within their borders. Finally, “Second Class” boroughs have the least power and need voter approval to handle many non-local issues.
Honestly it gets pretty confusing what the major differences are. At its core, there are three main types of boroughs in Alaska: 4 City Boroughs, 15 organized boroughs, and 11 unorganized census areas. For a total of 30 boroughs or counties in Alaska.
Alaska’s City Boroughs
Alaska’s four city boroughs are home to the state’s major population centers, Anchorage and Juneau; as well Sitka and Wrangell. The city boroughs in Alaska provide a full range of municipal services, including police, fire departments, and public transportation. Per the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Research and Analysis Section, and U.S. Census Bureau these four boroughs in Alaska have “unified home rule municipalities where the city government and borough government are merged.”
- Municipality of Anchorage
- City and Borough of Sitka
- City and Borough of Wrangell
- City and Borough of Juneau
Alaska’s Organized Boroughs
The following 15 boroughs in Alaska are not unified with a city and have varying levels of services for their residents. Most of these organized boroughs contain cities within their borough boundaries, however a couple do not. Bristol Bay, Haines, the Municipality of Skagway, Yakutat all lack an incorporated city.
- Aleutians East
- Bristol Bay
- Denali
- Fairbanks North Star
- Haines
- Kenai Peninsula
- Ketchikan Gateway
- Kodiak Island
- Lake and Peninsula
- Matanuska-Susitna
- North Slope
- Northwest Arctic
- Petersburg
- Skagway
- Yakutat
Alaska’s Unorganized Boroughs
Encompassing 56% of Alaska’s land mass, the unorganized boroughs are a testament to the state’s vast wilderness. This region, overseen by the state government, presents unique challenges and opportunities. Here’s a list of Alaska’s 11 unorganized boroughs or census areas.
- Aleutians West
- Bethel
- Chugach
- Copper River
- Dillingham
- Hoonah-Angoon
- Kusilvak
- Nome
- Prince of Wales-Hyder
- Southeast Fairbanks
- Yukon-Koyukuk
Boroughs of Alaska Map
Here’s a map of Alaska’s different boroughs. Green represents Alaska’s organized boroughs, while blue represents the states four city boroughs, and yellow representing Alaska’s unorganized or census areas.
Full List of Alaska Counties/Boroughs
To recap, here’s a list of Alaska’s counties or boroughs and their population.
- Aleutians East: 3,461
- Aleutians West: 5,160
- Municipality of Anchorage: 287,145
- Bethel Borough: 13,240
- Bristol Bay: 844
- Chugach: 6,769
- Copper River: 2,674
- Denali: 1,584
- Dillingham:4,607
- Hoonah-Angoon: 2,262
- Kusilvak: 8,001
- Bristol Bay Borough: 2,289
- Denali Borough: 1,892
- Haines Borough: 2,508
- Fairbanks North Star Borough: 95,356
- City and Borough of Juneau: 31,685
- Kenai Peninsula: 60,690
- Ketchikan Gateway: 13,933
- Kodiak Island: 13,897
- Lake and Peninsula: 1,102
- Matanuska-Susitna: 115,239
- Nome: 9,563
- North Slope: 10,435
- Northwest Arctic: 964
- Prince of Wales-Hyder: 5,696
- Southeast Fairbanks: 7,102
- Skagway: 1,095
- Valdez-Cordova Borough: 1,200
- Wrangell City and Borough: 2,388
- Yukon-Koyukuk Borough: 8,557
Boroughs in Alaska: References and Resources
We didn’t come up with all this info on our own. If you want to fact check us or do some more research on boroughs in Alaska, here’s a list of some of our sources:
Alaska Boroughs and Census Areas
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