Northwest Arctic, Alaska

Northwest Arctic population, land area and income

Northwest Arctic had 7,134 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 35,671.7 square miles of land. It ranks 14th of 30 in Alaska by population and 4th by land area. That works out to 0.2 people per square mile, below the US average of 96.3, and the 8th lowest nationally.

The median county-equivalent in Alaska has 6,175 residents; Northwest Arctic is somewhat larger.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $78,619 is in the top quarter among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

How Northwest Arctic's population changed since 2020

Northwest Arctic lost 661 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a drop of 8.5%. That ranks 28th of 30 in Alaska for growth. The median Alaska county changed by -1.3%, and the state as a whole by +1.0%.

Since the April 2020 estimates base, Northwest Arctic recorded 611 births and 340 deaths, a natural change of +271. Net international migration added -5 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to -925. The largest single component was domestic migration, which removed 925 people.

Where Northwest Arctic is

The Census internal point of Northwest Arctic is at 67.005100, -160.021100. It sits in UTM zone 4N. The map shades Alaska's 30 county-equivalents by population change from 2020 to 2024, darker for faster growth, with Northwest Arctic outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Towns in Northwest Arctic

One incorporated place of 1,000+ people has residents in Northwest Arctic, 2,889 people together, or 40% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Northwest Arctic; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is Kotzebue with 2,889.

Counties bordering Northwest Arctic

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 3 neighbors for Northwest Arctic. The most populous is North Slope, AK, with 10,663 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

• North Slope

  10,663 people

  238 mi NE

• Nome

  9,836 people

  193 mi SW

• Yukon-Koyukuk

  5,099 people

  261 mi ESE

Distance to Juneau and the nearest big city

Juneau is 999.0 miles ESE of Northwest Arctic's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Anchorage, AK (population 289,600), 515.7 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Fairbanks, AK (population 31,732), 378.7 miles away.

Northwest Arctic FIPS code

The FIPS code of Northwest Arctic is 02188: state code 02 for Alaska plus borough or census area code 188. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $78,619.