The
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
of
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
is divided into 19
organized boroughs and one
Unorganized Borough
The Unorganized Borough is composed of the portions of the U.S. state of Alaska which are not contained in any of its 19 organized boroughs. While referred to as the "Unorganized Borough," it is not a borough itself, as it forgoes that level of ...
. Alaska and the state of
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
are the only states that do not call their first-order administrative subdivisions
counties
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
(Louisiana uses
parishes
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...
instead).
Delegates to the
Alaska Constitutional Convention
The Constitution of the State of Alaska was ratified on April 4, 1956 and took effect with Alaska's admission to the United States as a U.S. state on January 3, 1959.
History and background
The statehood movement
In the 1940s, the movement for ...
wanted to avoid the traditional county system and adopted their own unique model with different classes of boroughs varying in powers and duties.
Many of the most densely populated regions of the state are part of Alaska's boroughs, which function similarly to counties in other states. However, unlike county-equivalents in the other 49 states, the organized boroughs do not cover the entire land area of the state. There are four different classes of organized boroughs: "Unified Home Rule" (may exercise all legislative powers not prohibited by law or charter); "Non-unified Home Rule"; "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).
The area not part of any organized borough is referred to as the
Unorganized Borough
The Unorganized Borough is composed of the portions of the U.S. state of Alaska which are not contained in any of its 19 organized boroughs. While referred to as the "Unorganized Borough," it is not a borough itself, as it forgoes that level of ...
. The
U.S. Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, 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, these areas exist solely for the purposes of statistical analysis and presentation; they have no government of their own. Boroughs and census areas are both treated as county-level equivalents by the Census Bureau.
Some areas in the unorganized borough receive limited public services directly from the Alaska state government, usually law enforcement from the
Alaska State Troopers
The Alaska State Troopers, officially the Division of Alaska State Troopers (AST), is the state police agency of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is a division of the Alaska Department of Public Safety (DPS). The Alaska State Troopers is a full-se ...
and educational funding.
Six
consolidated city-borough governments exist—
Juneau City and Borough,
Skagway Municipality,
Sitka City and Borough,
Yakutat City and Borough,
Wrangell City and Borough
The City and Borough of Wrangell ( tli, Ḵaachx̱ana.áakʼw, russian: Врангель) is a borough in Alaska, United States. As of the 2020 census the population was 2,127, down from 2,369 in 2010.
Incorporated as a Unified Home Rule Bor ...
, as well as the state's largest city,
Anchorage
Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring Ma ...
. Though its legal name is the ''Municipality of Anchorage,'' it is considered a consolidated city-borough under state law.
The
Federal Information Processing Standard
The Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) of the United States are a set of publicly announced standards that the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed for use in computer systems of non-military, American ...
(FIPS) 55-2,3,4 codes, which are used by the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
to uniquely identify states and counties, is provided with each entry.
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
Census areas in the Unorganized Borough
The
Unorganized Borough
The Unorganized Borough is composed of the portions of the U.S. state of Alaska which are not contained in any of its 19 organized boroughs. While referred to as the "Unorganized Borough," it is not a borough itself, as it forgoes that level of ...
is the portion of the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
of
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
not contained in any of its 19 organized
boroughs
A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely.
History
In the Middle Ag ...
. While referred to as the "Unorganized Borough", it is not a borough itself. It encompasses over half of Alaska's area, 970,500 km
2. 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 mi
2). As of the 2021
Census estimate, 10% of Alaskans (76,490 people) reside in it.
Currently unique among the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, Alaska is not entirely subdivided into organized
county
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
equivalents. For the 1980 census, the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
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,
such that there are currently 11 census areas:
See also
*
List of cities in Alaska
Alaska is a state of the United States in the northwest extremity of the North American continent. According to the 2020 United States Census, Alaska is the 3rd least populous state with 733,391 inhabitants but is the largest by land area spann ...
*
List of census-designated places in Alaska
*
List of United States counties and county equivalents
This article lists the 3,243 counties and county equivalents of the United States. The 50 states of the United States are divided into 3,007 ''counties'', political and geographic subdivisions of a state; 236 other local governments and geographi ...
References
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
*Division of Community and Regional Affairs,
:*Local Government On-Line, Division of Community and Regional Affairs,
::*
::*
:*
*
{{USCensus Geography
Alaska, boroughs and census areas in
Boroughs and census areas