Utqiaġvik, Alaska

Population

Down 5.5% since 2020.

4,640

people, the 12th-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

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

62.1%

of 1,535 jobs located in Utqiaġvik are filled by in-commuters.

Census LEHD LODES, 2016. Sources: Census LEHD LODES

Rent

Median rent is up 31% since the 2015–2019 survey, before inflation.

$1,360

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 jumps $293.

A $293 gap between neighbors, the sharpest rent edge between adjacent tracts in North Slope Borough.

• $1,067 Tract 2
• $1,360 Tract 1

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 sits inside what local wages can carry.

$1,233–$1,850

is the monthly rent range local workforce wages support.

• $1,360 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.

• 84% of all homes were built before 2000

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

Units needed

Closing the gap would add 0.4–0.9% to the 1,634 homes here.

7–15

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 12% less than Alaska's.

$311,400

median home value in Utqiaġvik.

• $311,400 Utqiaġvik
• $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