Alaska Borough Map

Alaska Borough Map Collection

Alaska Borough Maps

Alaska’s county system is a whole different ballgame compared to the Lower 48. Instead of counties, it’s divided into 19 boroughs and 11 census areas (as shown below).

PHYSICAL MAP

Alaska Topographic Borough Map

Our Alaska’s topographic map overlays its boroughs, from east to west. Mountain ranges, glaciers, and river valleys shape each borough’s rugged terrain. Zoom in for yourself below.

SATELLITE IMAGERY

Alaska Satellite Borough Map

Our satellite map of Alaska shows the boroughs in detail. You’ll see everything from snowy peaks to deep forests and icy coastlines. It’s Alaska as seen from space.

OUTLINE MAP

Alaska Simple Borough Map

This simple map outlines each of Alaska’s boroughs with its borders and labels. It’s easy to read and perfect for getting a sense of where everything is. Download it below.

Alaska Boroughs

As I mentioned before, Alaska has 19 organized boroughs and 11 census areas. There is another type of boundary in Alaska called an “Unorganized Borough”. This is basically government-speak for “figure it out yourselves.” The Unorganized Borough are those areas that are not contained in any of its 19 organized boroughs.

The Municipality of Anchorage takes the cake as the most populous borough. No surprise there as it’s home to Alaska’s biggest city, where nearly half the state’s population lives. Imagine that: almost one in every two Alaskans crowded into this one area. On the flip side, we’ve got the Yakutat City and Borough. It has fewer than 700 folks spread over an area the size of Delaware. Talk about breathing room.

Most Populous: Municipality of Anchorage
Least Populous: Yakutat City and Borough

For size, these boroughs make Lower 48 counties look like postage stamps. The North Slope Borough is a monster, covering over 94,000 square miles. That’s bigger than the entire state of Minnesota. It stretches from the Brooks Range to the Arctic Ocean. The tiniest borough? Skagway, a narrow strip of land nestled in the Inside Passage. But what it lacks in size, it makes up for in history as a gateway to the Klondike Gold Rush.

Largest Area: North Slope Borough
Smallest Area: Skagway Municipality

The borough system in Alaska is pretty young, all things considered. It only came into being in 1961, when the state constitution called for maximum local self-government. Before that? It was pretty much the Wild West in terms of local organization. The first organized borough, Bristol Bay, didn’t pop up until 1962. It’s a system born out of necessity and practicality in a state with vast distances and sparse population.

Whether you’re in the fishing villages of the Aleutians or the oil fields of the North Slope, these boroughs are the backdrop to Alaska’s wild and wonderful story. Living in these places isn’t for the faint of heart. In some boroughs, you’re more likely to run into a moose than your neighbor. And forget popping over to the next borough for a cup of sugar because in Alaska, that might mean flying an airplane.

Alaska Borough List

Here’s a full list of Alaska’s boroughs with quick facts about each one.

FIPS Code	Name	Land %	Water %	Total Area (sq mi)
02-013	Aleutians East Borough	46.5	53.5	15,016.0
02-016	Aleutians West Census Area	31.1	68.9	14,116.4
02-020	Anchorage Municipality	87.8	12.2	1,944.0
02-050	Bethel Census Area	89.2	10.8	45,558.8
02-060	Bristol Bay Borough	56.8	43.2	848.7
02-068	Denali Borough	99.8	0.2	12,662.4
02-070	Dillingham Census Area	88.9	11.1	20,628.8
02-090	Fairbanks North Star Borough	98.6	1.4	7,434.9
02-100	Haines Borough	85.2	14.8	2,745.4
02-105	Hoonah-Angoon Census Area	68.5	31.5	9,568.7
02-110	Juneau City and Borough	83.1	16.9	3,254.7
02-122	Kenai Peninsula Borough	64.8	35.2	24,720.3
02-130	Ketchikan Gateway Borough	73.0	27.0	6,652.9
02-150	Kodiak Island Borough	54.7	45.3	12,085.1
02-158	Kusilvak Census Area	86.9	13.1	19,658.5
02-164	Lake and Peninsula Borough	70.4	29.6	33,932.9
02-170	Matanuska-Susitna Borough	97.8	2.2	25,276.1
02-180	Nome Census Area	81.2	18.8	28,290.1
02-185	North Slope Borough	93.7	6.3	94,827.4
02-188	Northwest Arctic Borough	87.8	12.2	40,619.6
02-195	Petersburg Borough	75.9	24.1	3,821.8
02-198	Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area	48.2	51.8	10,909.5
02-220	Sitka City and Borough	59.6	40.4	4,815.1
02-230	Skagway Municipality	97.5	2.5	445.0
02-240	Southeast Fairbanks Census Area	98.8	1.2	25,113.0
02-261	Valdez-Cordova Census Area	84.9	15.1	40,305.3
02-275	Wrangell City and Borough	73.5	26.5	3,476.6
02-282	Yakutat City and Borough	83.2	16.8	9,162.3
02-290	Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area	98.4	1.6	147,870.2

Source: United States Census Bureau