North Pole, Alaska

Population

Growing. Up 10.4% since 2020.

2,477

people, the 19th-largest of Alaska's cities and towns.

Census Population Estimates, 2025. Rank among Alaska's cities and towns computed by the Almanac. Sources: Census Population Estimates

The workday

9 in 10 jobs here go to people who live somewhere else.

92.2%

of 757 jobs located in North Pole are filled by in-commuters.

Census LEHD LODES, 2016. Sources: Census LEHD LODES

Rent

Median rent is up 49% since the 2005–2009 survey, before inflation.

$1,304

a month. Alaska's median is $1,419.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024 (latest), with earlier 5-year windows. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

The seam

Cross one tract line and median rent doubles.

A $1,567 gap between neighbors, the sharpest rent edge between adjacent tracts in Fairbanks North Star Borough.

• $726 Tract 1
• $2,293 Tract 9800

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024, adjacent tracts compared by the Almanac. Tract estimates carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

Room to build

The median rent is above what local wages can carry.

$741–$1,111

is the monthly rent range local workforce wages support.

• $1,304 median

Supportable rent computed by the Almanac from 2016 source wage data. Median rent: Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Computed by the Almanac, Census ACS 5-year

Building

Most of the housing here is older than 2000.

• 202 homes permitted in ten years, 2016–2025
• 36% of those were in multifamily buildings
• 77% of all homes were built before 2000

Census Building Permits Survey, 2016–2025; Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census Building Permits Survey, Census ACS 5-year

Units needed

Closing the gap would add 0.3–0.8% to the 969 homes here.

3–8

is the estimated number of missing housing units, from the lowest to the highest of three estimates.

Range computed by the Almanac from 2016 jobs and household data, using three demand models: 1% of jobs located here, 1% of renter households, and a rate by town size applied to renters. The low end is the lowest of the three and the high end the highest. It is an estimate, not a count. Sources: Computed by the Almanac

Home value

A median home costs 18% less than Alaska's.

$289,400

median home value in North Pole.

• $289,400 North Pole
• $352,900 Alaska
• $332,700 U.S.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year