Some of you might be asking yourself, at this very moment, is Alaska a good place?
The answer is unequivocally yes… if you know where to locate the best counties to live in Alaska.
Lucky for you, we’re here to help you identify the best counties to live in the Last Frontier based on the most recently available data from the Census. And this isn’t our first rodeo — we’ve been using Saturday Night Science to rank places for years.
The question becomes if you wanted to relocate to the best part of Alaska, where would you go? To answer that, we looked at crime, cost of living, and demographic data for all 27 counties in the state.
Juneau City and Borough is the county to be when it comes to living the good life in Alaska. And you should avoid Aleutians East Borough if you can — at least according to the data.
$101,661 median income · 4.0% unemployment
$92,885 median income · 3.1% unemployment
$101,727 median income · 6.8% unemployment
$103,284 median income · 4.6% unemployment
$86,927 median income · 4.7% unemployment
$88,267 median income · 5.3% unemployment
$81,136 median income · 9.1% unemployment
$75,125 median income · 3.8% unemployment
$94,031 median income · 5.8% unemployment
$86,250 median income · 5.0% unemployment
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Alaska’s statewide median.
Alaska statewide median: $92,788
Alaska statewide median: $387,636
Alaska statewide median: 5.9%
On the map
Where Alaska’s best counties are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How do you determine which Alaska county is the best?
To give you the best county in Alaska, we have to look at a handful of metrics that signal the quality of a place. To do that, we made assumptions about what’s in a “best county” and what isn’t. For reference, we are trying to make the kind of argument you’d make at a bar using facts, Saturday Night Science.
With that in mind, we went to two of the best data sources on the internet. Namely, the American Community Survey data and FBI Crime data for the most recent period.
We paid particular attention to:
- Violent Crime Rates
- Property Crime Rates
- Median Home Values
- Median Income
- Unemployment Rates
- Adult Education Levels
- Health Insurance Coverage
- Poverty Rates
We then ranked each county in Alaska across each of the criteria from one to 27, with one being the best.
Taking the average rank across all criteria, we created a quality of life score with the county posting the lowest overall score being the “Best County To Live In Alaska.”
The result is some of the safest, quietest, and best counties to raise a family in the Last Frontier.
We updated this article for 2026. This report is our eleventh time ranking the best counties to live in Alaska.
Read on to see why Juneau City and Borough is the best county, while Aleutians East Borough is probably in contention for being the worst county in Alaska.
The full plate
Detailed List Of The Best Counties In Alaska
Click any column to sort. Search by county name.
| Rank | County | Population | Median Income | Median Home Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Juneau City and Borough | 31,794 | $101,661 | $493,524 |
| 2 | Ketchikan Gateway Borough | 13,768 | $92,885 | $393,472 |
| 3 | Sitka City and Borough | 8,368 | $101,727 | $494,623 |
| 4 | Anchorage Municipality | 288,976 | $103,284 | $434,868 |
| 5 | Haines Borough | 2,086 | $86,927 | $328,740 |
| 6 | Fairbanks North Star Borough | 95,460 | $88,267 | $303,371 |
| 7 | Skagway Municipality | 1,244 | $81,136 | $478,256 |
| 8 | Petersburg Borough | 3,409 | $75,125 | $372,287 |
| 9 | Matanuska-Susitna Borough | 112,988 | $94,031 | $380,715 |
| 10 | Kodiak Island Borough | 12,771 | $86,250 | $395,260 |
| 10 | Denali Borough | 1,969 | $80,781 | $302,068 |
| 12 | Aleutians West Census Area | 5,235 | $135,500 | $477,487 |
| 13 | Bristol Bay Borough | 918 | $95,625 | $269,994 |
| 14 | Kenai Peninsula Borough | 60,413 | $80,538 | $335,456 |
| 15 | Wrangell City and Borough | 2,088 | $63,750 | $325,574 |
| 16 | North Slope Borough | 10,810 | $95,694 | $315,435 |
| 17 | Yakutat City and Borough | 527 | $85,000 | $240,995 |
| 18 | Southeast Fairbanks Census Area | 7,068 | $73,882 | $309,757 |
| 19 | Hoonah-Angoon Census Area | 2,311 | $61,406 | $288,667 |
| 20 | Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area | 5,715 | $61,156 | $247,476 |
| 21 | Lake and Peninsula Borough | 1,013 | $65,625 | $260,877 |
| 22 | Nome Census Area | 9,866 | $78,681 | $231,988 |
| 23 | Dillingham Census Area | 4,724 | $78,533 | $174,650 |
| 24 | Northwest Arctic Borough | 7,441 | $84,018 | $218,697 |
| 25 | Bethel Census Area | 18,394 | $73,996 | $184,646 |
| 26 | Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area | 5,195 | $55,741 | $108,195 |
| 27 | Aleutians East Borough | 3,491 | $65,365 | $148,837 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS + FBI crime data via Saturday Night Science. All 27 Alaska counties.
Summary
Summary: The Best Counties In Alaska To Call Home For 2026
Living in Alaska can vary from one part of the state to the next — who woulda thought?
The best counties in Alaska are Juneau City and Borough, Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Sitka City and Borough, Anchorage Municipality, Haines Borough, Fairbanks North Star Borough, Skagway Municipality, Petersburg Borough, Matanuska-Susitna Borough, and Kodiak Island Borough.
But now you know the outstanding parts and the parts to avoid, and that’s why you came here to learn at the end of the day.
You are welcome.
