Whittier, Alaska

Population

Down 10.1% since 2020.

249

people, the 92nd-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

Every job here goes to someone who lives somewhere else.

100.0%

of 28 jobs located in Whittier are filled by in-commuters.

Census LEHD LODES, 2016. Sources: Census LEHD LODES

Rent

Median rent is up 32% since the 2005–2009 survey, before inflation.

$961

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 $217.

A $217 gap between neighbors, the sharpest rent edge between adjacent tracts in Chugach Census Area.

• $1,211 Tract 2
• $1,428 Tract 3

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.

$559–$838

is the monthly rent range local workforce wages support.

• $961 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.

• 0 homes permitted in ten years, 2016–2025
• 97% 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 0–0.3% to the 315 homes here.

0–1

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 76% less than Alaska's.

$83,800

median home value in Whittier.

• $83,800 Whittier
• $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