25-443: Northwest Arctic Borough is a borough located in the U.S. state of Alaska . As of the 2020 census , the population was 7,793, up from 7,523 in 2010. The borough seat is Kotzebue . The borough was formed on June 2, 1986. According to the U.S. Census Bureau , the borough has a total area of 40,749 square miles (105,540 km), of which 35,573 square miles (92,130 km) is land and 5,176 square miles (13,410 km) (12.7%)
50-469: A form of regional government. This regionalization tried to avoid having a number of independent, limited-purpose governments with confusing boundaries and inefficient governmental operations, as the territorial service districts had been. The boroughs were widely seen as an important foundation for the government to provide services without becoming all-powerful and unnecessarily intrusive, an argument which surfaced time and time again during various attempts by
75-520: A significant potential source of taxation, such as natural resource extraction and tourism. Many residents of the Unorganized Borough, particularly those in the larger communities which may be most susceptible to organized borough incorporation, have been opposed to such incorporation, and say the status quo suits them just fine. On the other hand, many Alaskans residing in organized boroughs feel that they unfairly subsidize residents of
100-411: Is composed of the portions of the U.S. state of Alaska which are not contained in any of its 19 organized boroughs . While referred to as the "Unorganized Borough", it is not a borough itself, as it forgoes that level of government structure. It encompasses nearly half of Alaska's land area, 323,440 square miles (837,700 km ), and, as of the 2020 U.S. Census , it had a population of 77,157, which
125-507: Is the portion of the U.S. state of Alaska not contained in any of its 19 organized boroughs . While referred to as the "Unorganized Borough", it is not a borough itself. It encompasses over half of Alaska's area, 970,500 km . If the unorganized Borough were a state in itself, it would be the largest state in the United States of America, larger than the rest of Alaska and larger than Texas or California. (374,712 mi ). As of
150-590: Is water. By land area, it is slightly larger than the state of Maine . Its coastline is limited by the Chukchi Sea . The Kotzebue Sound , a significant wildlife area, is a prominent water body within the Northwest Arctic Borough. The largest polar bear sighted in history, a male weighing 2,209 pounds (1,002 kg), was sighted at Kotzebue Sound. At the 2000 census , there were 7,208 people, 1,780 households and 1,404 families residing in
175-701: The 2023 Census estimate, 10% of Alaskans (75,362 people) reside in it. Currently unique among the United States , Alaska is not entirely subdivided into organized county equivalents. For the 1980 census, the United States Census Bureau divided the unorganized borough into 12 census areas to facilitate census taking in the vast unorganized area. As new boroughs incorporate, these areas have been altered or eliminated to accommodate, such that there are currently 11 census areas: Unorganized Borough, Alaska The Unorganized Borough
200-651: The Legislature in 1975. This created regional divisions of the unorganized borough for the purpose of establishing rural school districts . Many REAAs were later absorbed into organized boroughs. There are 19 Regional Educational Attendance Areas in the unorganized borough. Seward Peninsula Saint Lawrence Island A number of boroughs have been incorporated since the Mandatory Borough Act, but most (the primary examples being North Slope , Northwest Arctic , and Denali ) were incorporated to exploit
225-539: The age of 18 living with them, 47.90% were married couples living together, 19.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.10% were non-families. 16.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 2.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.87 and the average family size was 4.36. Age distribution was 41.50% under the age of 18, 10.00% from 18 to 24, 28.10% from 25 to 44, 15.50% from 45 to 64, and 5.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age
250-560: The borough. The population density was 0.18 per square mile (0.069/km). There were 2,540 housing units at an average density of 0 per square mile (0/km). The racial makeup of the borough was 12.32% White , 0.21% Black or African American , 82.46% Native American , 0.89% Asian , 0.06% Pacific Islander , 0.36% from other races , and 3.70% from two or more races. 0.79% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 40.00% reported speaking Inupiat or "Eskimo" at home. There were 1,780 households, of which 55.20% had children under
275-448: The constitutional convention indicate that counties were not used as a form of local government for various reasons. The failure of some local economies to generate enough revenue to support separate counties was an important issue, as was the desire to use a model that would reflect the unique character of Alaska, provide for maximum local input, and avoid a body of county case law already in existence. Instead, Alaska adopted boroughs as
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#1732766290496300-586: The legislature to create organized boroughs out of portions of the unorganized borough. Alaska adopted the borough structure by statute in 1961, and envisioned boroughs to serve as an "all-purpose" form of local government, to avoid the perceived problems of county government in the lower 48 states as well as Hawaii . According to Article X of the Alaska Constitution, areas of the state unable to support borough government were to be served by several unorganized boroughs, which were to be mechanisms for
325-487: The other 49 states, the organized boroughs do not cover the entire land area of the state. The area not part of any organized borough is referred to as the Unorganized Borough . The U.S. Census Bureau , in cooperation with the state, divides the Unorganized Borough into 11 census areas, each roughly corresponding to an election district, thus totaling 30 county equivalents. However, these areas exist solely for
350-793: The purposes of statistical analysis and presentation; they have no government of their own. Boroughs and census areas are both treated as county-level equivalents by the Census Bureau. Some areas in the Unorganized Borough receive limited public services directly from the Alaska state government, usually law enforcement from the Alaska State Troopers and educational funding. Seven consolidated city-borough governments exist— Juneau City and Borough , Skagway Municipality , Sitka City and Borough , Yakutat City and Borough , Wrangell City and Borough , Haines Borough , as well as
375-527: The state are part of Alaska's boroughs, which function similarly to counties in other states. There are four different classifications of organized boroughs: "Unified Home Rule" or "Non-unified Home Rule" (may exercise all legislative powers not prohibited by law or charter); "First Class" (may exercise any power not prohibited by law on a non-area wide basis by adopting ordinances); and "Second Class" (must gain voter approval for authority to exercise many non-area wide powers). However, unlike county-equivalents in
400-490: The state of Louisiana are the only states that do not call their first-order administrative subdivisions counties (Louisiana uses parishes instead). Delegates to the Alaska Constitutional Convention wanted to avoid the traditional county system and adopted their own unique model with different classes of boroughs varying in powers and duties. Many of the most densely populated regions of
425-511: The state or by a tribal government. School districts in the Unorganized Borough are operated either by cities, in those limited instances when the city has chosen to undertake those powers, or through the general guidance of the Alaska Department of Education under the auspices of Rural Education Attendance Areas. Unique among the United States, Alaska is not entirely subdivided into county equivalents . To facilitate census-taking in
450-508: The state to form boroughs led to the Mandatory Borough Act of 1963, which called for all election districts in the state over a certain minimum population to incorporate as boroughs by January 1, 1964. A resolution of the State of Alaska's Local Boundary Commission introduced in January 2009 spells this out in greater detail: Furthermore, 21 Rural Education Attendance Areas were established by
475-585: The state to regionalize services; however, separate unorganized boroughs were never created. The entire state was defined as one vast unorganized borough by the Borough Act of 1961, and over the ensuing years, Alaska's organized boroughs were carved out of it. Alaska's first organized borough, and the only one incorporated immediately after passage of the 1961 legislation, was the Bristol Bay Borough . The pressure from residents of other areas of
500-622: The state's largest city, Anchorage . Though its legal name is the Municipality of Anchorage, it is considered a consolidated city-borough under state law. The Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 55-2,3,4 codes, which are used by the United States Census Bureau to uniquely identify states and counties, is provided with each entry. Alaska's code is 02, so each code is of the format 02XXX. The FIPS code for each county equivalent links to census data for that county equivalent. There are 30 divisions in Alaska. The Unorganized Borough
525-535: The territory from establishing counties. The delegates of the convention which wrote the Alaska Constitution had, in fact, debated the merits of establishing counties , and had rejected the idea in favor of creating a system of boroughs, both organized and unorganized. The intent of the framers of the constitution was to provide for maximum local self-government with a minimum of local government units and tax-levying jurisdictions. The minutes of
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#1732766290496550-401: The vast unorganized area, the United States Census Bureau , in cooperation with the state, divided the unorganized borough into 11 census areas , beginning with the 1970 Census and undergoing border or name adjustments most recently in 2007, 2008, 2013, 2015, and 2019. During the 1950s, when the push for the territory of Alaska to become a state was at its height, any municipal government
575-415: Was 10.52% of the population of the state. The largest communities in the Unorganized Borough are the cities of Bethel , Unalaska , and Valdez . This vast area has no local government other than that of school districts , municipalities , and tribal village governments . Except within some incorporated cities, all government services in the Unorganized Borough, including law enforcement, are provided by
600-471: Was 24 years. For every 100 females, there were 114.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 120.70 males. 67°00′N 160°00′W / 67.00°N 160.00°W / 67.00; -160.00 List of boroughs and census areas in Alaska The U.S. state of Alaska is divided into 19 organized boroughs and 11 census areas in the unorganized borough . Alaska and
625-444: Was extremely limited and scattered. Territory-wide, there were no more than a few dozen incorporated cities , and a small handful of service districts, broken into public utility districts and independent school districts . The service districts were authorized by the territorial legislature in 1935 to allow unincorporated areas limited powers to provide services and to raise taxes for them. The United States Congress had forbidden
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