Unalaska, Sitka, Juneau: These cities aren’t just some of the best places to live in Alaska. They are also home to some of the richest people in the Last Frontier.
Unalaska in particular houses the richest residents in the state thanks, in part, to a median household income of $104,706 and a ridiculously low poverty rate of 8.011178388448997%.
If you’re thinking of moving to one of these towns, you’ll probably need to start saving. The richest places in Alaska share common characteristics such as having a genius level populous, sky high home prices, and a Pleasantville level of married couples.
How did we come up with these mega wealthy cities? We analyzed Census data from the 2018-2022 American Community Survey for the 21 places in Alaska with more than 2,000 people.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
For more on how we calculated the top ten, read on or skip to the end for the full list of the richest cities in Alaska.
Rich people not your cup of tea? Feel free to check out some more reading about Alaska:
The 10 Richest Cities In Alaska For 2024
1. Unalaska
/10
2. Sitka
/10
Population: 8,462
Median Income: $95,261
Median Home Values: $499,205
More on Sitka: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
3. Juneau
/10
Population: 32,108
Median Income: $95,711
Median Home Values: $465,706
More on Juneau: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
4. Bethel
/10
Population: 6,312
Median Income: $100,852
Median Home Values: $373,847
More on Bethel: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
5. Nome
/10
6. Anchorage
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Population: 290,674
Median Income: $95,731
Median Home Values: $373,986
More on Anchorage: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
7. Kodiak
/10
Population: 5,584
Median Income: $76,765
Median Home Values: $419,391
More on Kodiak: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
8. Ketchikan
/10
Population: 8,168
Median Income: $73,512
Median Home Values: $380,964
More on Ketchikan: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
9. Cordova
/10
10. Dillingham
Methodology: How We Determined The Richest Places In Alaska For 2024
The first thing that comes to most people’s minds when they think about determining the richest places is simply identifying personal incomes. After all, rich people have really high salaries.
However, we don’t believe that one statistic wholly encompasses what it means to be one of the “richest places.” So we looked at this set of criteria from the newly released 2018-2022 American Community Survey and applied Saturday Night Science:
- Median Home Values
- Median Household Income
Median household income is the most digestible way to understand how rich a place is. And home values are a measure of wealth. The two combine to define a “Rich City.”
After we collected the data for all 21 places with more than 2,000 people in Alaska, we ranked each place from 1 to 21 for each of the criteria, with 1 being the richest.
We then averaged all the rankings for a place into a “Rich Score,” with the place having the lowest overall Rich Score, Unalaska, crowned the “Richest City In Alaska For 2024.”
The data has been updated for 2024. This is our tenth time ranking the wealthiest cities in Alaska.
You can skip to the end to see the rankings for all 21 places.
Summary: The Wealthiest Places In Alaska For 2024
Like we said earlier, when we set out to identify the richest places in Alaska, we weren’t sure what we’d encounter, but it ended up being some of the best places to live in Alaska.
The richest cities in Alaska are Unalaska, Sitka, Juneau, Bethel, Nome, Anchorage, Kodiak, Ketchikan, Cordova, and Dillingham.
When you look at the data, the cities and places mentioned above meet the criteria for being at the very top of the income ladder for everyone that lives there.
If you’re curious enough, here are the poorest cities in Alaska, according to data:
Poorest: Wrangell
2nd Poorest: Fairbanks
3rd Poorest: Soldotna
For more Alaska reading, check out:
- Cheapest Places To Live In Alaska
- Best Places To Raise A Family In Alaska
- Best Places To Live In Alaska
Detailed List Of The Richest Cities In Alaska
| Rank | City | RichScore | Median Income | Average Home Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Unalaska | 1.5 | $104,706 | $477,285 |
| 2 | Sitka | 4.0 | $95,261 | $499,205 |
| 3 | Juneau | 4.5 | $95,711 | $465,706 |
| 4 | Bethel | 6.0 | $100,852 | $373,847 |
| 5 | Nome | 6.0 | $103,542 | $366,373 |
| 6 | Anchorage | 6.0 | $95,731 | $373,986 |
| 7 | Kodiak | 9.0 | $76,765 | $419,391 |
| 8 | Ketchikan | 10.5 | $73,512 | $380,964 |
| 9 | Cordova | 11.5 | $79,526 | $342,401 |
| 10 | Dillingham | 11.5 | $92,578 | $316,028 |
| 11 | Kotzebue | 12.0 | $101,071 | $276,895 |
| 12 | Palmer | 12.0 | $68,929 | $384,706 |
| 13 | Seward | 12.5 | $77,850 | $340,623 |
| 14 | North Pole | 13.0 | $91,583 | $302,858 |
| 15 | Homer | 13.0 | $69,757 | $369,327 |
| 16 | Valdez | 14.0 | $89,255 | $291,208 |
| 17 | Kenai | 14.5 | $77,335 | $304,984 |
| 18 | Wasilla | 14.5 | $69,534 | $363,621 |
| 19 | Soldotna | 17.0 | $67,365 | $325,383 |
| 20 | Fairbanks | 17.5 | $69,914 | $281,546 |
| 21 | Wrangell | 20.5 | $61,000 | $277,682 |
