List of boroughs and census areas in Alaska
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The U.S. state of Alaska is divided into 19 organized boroughs and 11 census areas in the Unorganized Borough.[1] Boroughs and census areas are both treated as county-level equivalents by the Census Bureau.
Delegates to the Alaska Constitutional Convention wanted to avoid the traditional county system and adopted their own unique model with different classes of boroughs varying in powers and duties.[2] Many of the most densely populated regions of the state are part of Alaska's boroughs, which function similarly to counties in other states. There are four different classifications of organized boroughs: "Unified Home Rule" or "Non-unified Home Rule" (may exercise all legislative powers not prohibited by law or charter); "First Class" (may exercise any power not prohibited by law on a non-area wide basis by adopting ordinances); and "Second Class" (must gain voter approval for authority to exercise many non-area wide powers).[3]
Unlike county-equivalents in the other 49 states, the organized boroughs do not cover the entire land area of the state. The area not part of any organized borough is referred to as the Unorganized Borough. The U.S. Census Bureau, in cooperation with the state, divides the Unorganized Borough into 11 census areas, each roughly corresponding to an election district, thus totaling 30 county equivalents. However, Census Areas exist solely for the purposes of statistical analysis and presentation; they have no government of their own. Some areas in the Unorganized Borough receive limited public services directly from the Alaska state government: usually law enforcement from the Alaska State Troopers and educational funding.
Seven consolidated city-borough governments exist—Juneau City and Borough, Skagway Municipality, Sitka City and Borough, Yakutat City and Borough, Wrangell City and Borough, Haines Borough, as well as the state's largest city, Anchorage. Though its legal name is the Municipality of Anchorage, it is considered a consolidated city-borough under state law.
The Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 55-2,3,4 codes, which are used by the United States Census Bureau to uniquely identify states and counties, is provided with each entry.[4] Alaska's code is 02, so each code is of the format 02XXX. The FIPS code for each county equivalent links to census data for that county equivalent. There are 30 divisions in Alaska.
List of boroughs
| Borough |
FIPS code[5] | Borough seat[6] | Class [7][8][9] |
Est.[6] | Origin | Etymology | Density |
Population[10] | Area[11] | Map |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aleutians East Borough | 013 | Sand Point | Second | 1987 | - | Its location in the east Aleutian Islands, which are themselves of uncertain linguistic origin; possibly derived from Chukchi word aliat ("island") | 0.52 | Template:Nts | Template:Nts sq mi (Template:Nts km2) |
State map highlighting Aleutians East Borough |
| Anchorage | 020 | (Consolidated city-borough) |
Unified Home Rule | 1964/1975 | Anchorage Borough formed in 1964, merged with city in 1975 to form unified city-borough | Derived from the presence of a safe place to anchor and unload supplies for construction of the Alaska Railroad c. Template:TrimScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters"., thereby creating a community. | 169.65 | Template:Nts | Template:Nts sq mi (Template:Nts km2) |
State map highlighting Anchorage |
| Bristol Bay Borough | 060 | Naknek | Second | 1962 | - | Named in 1778 by Capt. James Cook for George Digby, 2nd Earl of Bristol. | 1.83 | Template:Nts | Template:Nts sq mi (Template:Nts km2) |
State map highlighting Bristol Bay Borough |
| Denali Borough | 068 | Healy | Home Rule | 1990 | - | From Denali, the tallest North American mountain, which means "great one" in the Dena'ina language | 0.13 | Template:Nts | Template:Nts sq mi (Template:Nts km2) |
State map highlighting Denali Borough |
| Fairbanks North Star Borough | 090 | Fairbanks | Second | 1964 | - | Named for its borough seat of Fairbanks, named in turn for Charles Fairbanks (1852–1918), U.S. Senator from Indiana and vice president under Theodore Roosevelt, and for Polaris, the North Star | 12.94 | Template:Nts | Template:Nts sq mi (Template:Nts km2) |
State map highlighting Fairbanks North Star Borough |
| Haines Borough | 100 | (Consolidated city-borough) |
Home Rule | 1968 (Consolidated 2002) |
- | After Haines, which was itself named for Mrs. Francina E. Haines (1819–1870), the key fundraiser for the construction of a Presbyterian mission in the town. | 0.90 | Template:Nts | Template:Nts sq mi (Template:Nts km2) |
State map highlighting Haines Borough |
| Juneau | 110 | (Consolidated city-borough) |
Unified Home Rule | 1970 | The cities of Juneau and Douglas merged with the surrounding borough to form the municipality | Joseph "Joe" Juneau (1836-1899), prospector and co-founder of the city. | 11.68 | Template:Nts | Template:Nts sq mi (Template:Nts km2) |
State map highlighting Juneau |
| Kenai Peninsula Borough | 122 | Soldotna | Second | 1964 | - | The Kenai Peninsula, whose name may be derived from Kenayskaya, the Russian name for Cook Inlet. | 3.82 | Template:Nts | Template:Nts sq mi (Template:Nts km2) |
State map highlighting Kenai Peninsula Borough |
| Ketchikan Gateway Borough | 130 | Ketchikan | Second | 1963 | - | The borough seat of Ketchikan and the borough's gateway location on the Alaska-Canada border. | 2.82 | Template:Nts | Template:Nts sq mi (Template:Nts km2) |
State map highlighting Ketchikan Gateway Borough |
| Kodiak Island Borough | 150 | Kodiak | Second | 1963 | - | Named after Kodiak Island, which may itself be named for the Koniag people | 1.88 | Template:Nts | Template:Nts sq mi (Template:Nts km2) |
State map highlighting Kodiak Island Borough |
| Lake and Peninsula Borough | 164 | King Salmon | Home Rule | 1989 | - | The borough's many large lakes, and the Alaska Peninsula | 0.06 | Template:Nts | Template:Nts sq mi (Template:Nts km2) |
State map highlighting Lake and Peninsula Borough |
| Matanuska-Susitna Borough | 170 | Palmer | Second | 1964 | - | Named for the valley that the Matanuska and Susitna Rivers form. | 4.76 | Template:Nts | Template:Nts sq mi (Template:Nts km2) |
State map highlighting Matanuska-Susitna Borough |
| North Slope Borough | 185 | Utqiaġvik | Home Rule | 1972 | - | The Alaska North Slope along the Brooks Range. | 0.12 | Template:Nts | Template:Nts sq mi (Template:Nts km2) |
State map highlighting North Slope Borough |
| Northwest Arctic Borough | 188 | Kotzebue | Home Rule | 1986 | In 1986, residents of Kotzebue and 10 other area villages voted to form the Northwest Arctic Borough (with boundaries coincident with those of NANA), to be economically based on taxing the Red Dog mine, then under development. | Its geographic location and position above the Arctic Circle. | 0.20 | Template:Nts | Template:Nts sq mi (Template:Nts km2) |
State map highlighting Northwest Arctic Borough |
| Petersburg Borough | 195 | Petersburg | Home Rule | 2013 | Incorporated after voters approved borough formation in December 2012. | Named for Norwegian immigrant Peter Buschmann (1849-1903), founder of the former city of Petersburg. | 1.18 | Template:Nts | Template:Nts sq mi (Template:Nts km2) |
State map highlighting Petersburg Borough |
| Sitka | 220 | (Consolidated city-borough) |
Unified Home Rule | 1971 | - | Derived from Tlingit word Shee At'iká, meaning "People on the outside of Shee (Baranof Island)." | 2.91 | Template:Nts | Template:Nts sq mi (Template:Nts km2) |
State map highlighting Sitka |
| Skagway | 230 | (Consolidated city-borough) |
First | 2007 | - | Derived from Tlingit word Shgagwèi, meaning "a windy place with white caps on the water." | 2.58 | Template:Nts | Template:Nts sq mi (Template:Nts km2) |
State map highlighting Skagway |
| Unorganized Borough | - | - | - | 1961 | The Borough Act of 1961 created The Unorganized Borough including all of Alaska not within a Unified, Home rule, First class or Second class borough. | A legal entity in Alaska, covering those parts of Alaska not within an incorporated borough; it is directly administered by the State of Alaska.[12] | 0.24 | Template:Nts | Template:Nts sq mi (Template:Nts km2) |
State map highlighting Unorganized Borough |
| Wrangell | 275 | (Consolidated city-borough) |
Unified Home Rule | 2008 | Formerly part of Wrangell-Petersburg Census Area | Ferdinand von Wrangel, Russian administrator of Alaska, 1840-49. | 0.81 | Template:Nts | Template:Nts sq mi (Template:Nts km2) |
State map highlighting Wrangell |
| Yakutat | 282 | (Consolidated city-borough) |
Home Rule | 1992 | - | Yakutat Bay and the Yakutat Alaska Native people | 0.09 | Template:Nts | Template:Nts sq mi (Template:Nts km2) |
State map highlighting Yakutat |
Census areas in the Unorganized Borough
Currently unique among the United States, Alaska is not entirely subdivided into organized county equivalents. The Unorganized Borough is the portion of the U.S. state of Alaska not contained in any of its 19 organized boroughs. While referred to as the "Unorganized Borough", it is not a borough itself. It encompasses over half of Alaska's area, 970,500 km2. If the Unorganized Borough were a state in itself, it would be the largest state in the United States of America, larger than the rest of Alaska and larger than Texas or California. (374,712 mi2). As of the 2024 Census estimate, 10% of Alaskans (75,790 people) reside in it.
For the 1980 census, the United States Census Bureau divided the Unorganized Borough into 12 census areas to facilitate census taking in the vast unorganized area. As new boroughs incorporate, these areas have been altered or eliminated to accommodate,[13] such that there are currently 11 census areas:
See also
- List of cities in Alaska
- List of census-designated places in Alaska
- List of United States counties and county equivalents
References
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- Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development - maps and profiles of boroughs and census areas, including those that have changed since the 2000 census
Other sources
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- Division of Community and Regional Affairs, Alaska Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development
- Local Government On-Line, Division of Community and Regional Affairs, Alaska Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development
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Further reading
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