Valdez, Unalaska, Cordova: These cities aren’t just some of the best places to live in Alaska. They are also home to some of the richest people in the Last Frontier.
Valdez in particular houses the richest residents in the state thanks, in part, to a median household income of $99,151 and a ridiculously low poverty rate of 4.396442185514611%.
If you’re thinking of moving to one of these towns, you’ll probably need to start saving. The richest places in Alaska share common characteristics such as having a genius level populous, sky high home prices, and a Pleasantville level of married couples.
How did we come up with these mega wealthy cities? We analyzed Census data from the 2017-2021 American Community Survey for the 21 places in Alaska with more than 2,000 people.
For more on how we calculated the top ten, read on or skip to the end for the full list of the richest cities in Alaska.
Rich people not your cup of tea? Feel free to check out some more reading about Alaska:
The 10 Richest Cities In Alaska For 2023
1. Valdez
/10
Population: 3,966
Rank Last Year: 2 (Up 1)
Median Income: $99,151
Unemployment Rate: 4.3%
Poverty Rate: 4.4%
More on Valdez: Real Estate | Photos
2. Unalaska
/10
Population: 4,339
Rank Last Year: 3 (Up 1)
Median Income: $94,271
Unemployment Rate: 4.2%
Poverty Rate: 6.5%
More on Unalaska: Real Estate | Photos
3. Cordova
/10
Population: 2,588
Rank Last Year: 1 (Down 2)
Median Income: $77,667
Unemployment Rate: 0.9%
Poverty Rate: 1.7%
More on Cordova: Real Estate | Photos
4. North Pole
/10
Population: 2,825
Rank Last Year: 8 (Up 4)
Median Income: $83,524
Unemployment Rate: 3.2%
Poverty Rate: 5.2%
More on North Pole: Real Estate | Photos
5. Juneau
/10
Population: 32,240
Rank Last Year: 4 (Down 1)
Median Income: $90,126
Unemployment Rate: 5.1%
Poverty Rate: 7.2%
More on Juneau: Real Estate | Photos
6. Sitka
/10
Population: 8,518
Rank Last Year: 5 (Down 1)
Median Income: $82,083
Unemployment Rate: 5.4%
Poverty Rate: 6.9%
More on Sitka: Real Estate | Photos
7. Anchorage
/10
Population: 292,545
Rank Last Year: 6 (Down 1)
Median Income: $88,871
Unemployment Rate: 5.4%
Poverty Rate: 9.1%
More on Anchorage: Real Estate | Photos
8. Kodiak
/10
Population: 5,682
Rank Last Year: 9 (Up 1)
Median Income: $67,391
Unemployment Rate: 5.1%
Poverty Rate: 9.0%
More on Kodiak: Real Estate | Photos
9. Kotzebue
/10
Population: 3,199
Rank Last Year: 11 (Up 2)
Median Income: $95,385
Unemployment Rate: 5.8%
Poverty Rate: 14.8%
More on Kotzebue: Real Estate | Photos
10. Nome
/10
Population: 3,685
Rank Last Year: 10 (No Change)
Median Income: $91,375
Unemployment Rate: 10.7%
Poverty Rate: 7.3%
More on Nome: Real Estate | Photos
Methodology: How We Determined The Richest Places In Alaska For 2023
The first thing that comes to most people’s minds when they think about determining the richest places is to simply identify personal incomes. After all, rich people have really high salaries.
However, we don’t believe that one statistic wholly encompasses what it means to be one of the “richest places”. So we looked at this set of criteria from the newly released 2017-2021 American Community Survey:
- Poverty Level
- Median Household Income
- Unemployment Rate
Median household income is the most digestible way to understand how rich a place really is. The unemployment rate tries to capture the prospects for more people to become rich. If more people are employed, the richer the future looks.
After we collected the data for all 21 places with more than 2,000 people in Alaska, we ranked each place from 1 to 21 for each of the criteria, with 1 being the richest.
We then averaged all the rankings for a place into a “Rich Score” with the place having the lowest overall Rich Score, Valdez, crowned the “Richest City In Alaska For 2023”. You can download the data here.
You can learn more about the top ten below or skip to the end to see the rankings for all 21 places.
Summary: The Wealthiest Places In Alaska For 2023
Like we said earlier, when we set out to identify the richest places in Alaska, we weren’t sure what we’d encounter, but it ended up being some of the best places to live in Alaska.
When you look at the data, the cities and places mentioned above meet the criteria for being at the very top of the income ladder for everyone that lives there.
If you’re curious enough, here are the poorest cities in Alaska, according to data:
Poorest: Wasilla
2nd Poorest: Soldotna
3rd Poorest: Palmer
For more Alaska reading, check out:
Detailed List Of The Richest Cities In Alaska
Rank | City | RichScore |
---|---|---|
1 | Valdez | 2.67 |
2 | Unalaska | 3.67 |
3 | Cordova | 4.33 |
4 | North Pole | 4.33 |
5 | Juneau | 5.67 |
6 | Sitka | 7.67 |
7 | Anchorage | 8.0 |
8 | Kodiak | 9.67 |
9 | Kotzebue | 10.67 |
10 | Nome | 11.0 |
11 | Dillingham | 11.67 |
12 | Bethel | 11.67 |
13 | Seward | 12.0 |
14 | Fairbanks | 13.33 |
15 | Ketchikan | 13.33 |
16 | Wrangell | 14.67 |
17 | Homer | 16.33 |
18 | Kenai | 17.0 |
19 | Palmer | 17.0 |
20 | Soldotna | 17.67 |
21 | Wasilla | 18.67 |