The U.S. State of Alaska currently has four statistical areas that have been delineated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). On July 21, 2023, the OMB delineated two metropolitan statistical areas and two micropolitan statistical areas in Alaska.[ 1] The most populous of these statistical areas is the Anchorage, AK Metropolitan Statistical Area , centered on the state's largest city of Anchorage .
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has designated more than 1,000 statistical areas for the United States and Puerto Rico .[ 2] These statistical areas are important geographic delineations of population clusters used by the OMB, the United States Census Bureau , planning organizations, and federal, state, and local government entities.
The OMB defines a core-based statistical area (commonly referred to as a CBSA ) as the county or counties (or county-equivalents ) surrounding at least one densely-settled core of at least 10,000 population,[ 2] "plus adjacent counties having a high degree of social and economic integration with the core as measured through commuting ties with the counties containing the core".[ 2] The OMB further divides core-based statistical areas based on population into metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) for those with at least 50,000 and micropolitan statistical areas (μSAs) for those with 10,000 to 49,999 people.[ 2]
The OMB defines a combined statistical area (CSA) as two or more adjacent core-based statistical areas where the employment interchange rate (% commuting from A to B plus % commuting from B to A) is at least 15%.[ 2] The primary statistical areas (PSAs) include all combined statistical areas and any core-based statistical area that is not a constituent of a combined statistical area.
The four United States statistical areas, 19 organized boroughs and 11 census areas of the State of Alaska
Core-based statistical area[ 1]
2023 population (est.)[ 3]
County-equivalent
2023 population (est.)[ 3]
Anchorage, AK MSA
401,314
Municipality of Anchorage, Alaska
286,075
Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska
115,239
Fairbanks-College, AK MSA
94,840
Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska
94,840
Juneau, AK μSA
31,555
City and Borough of Juneau, Alaska
31,555
Ketchikan, AK μSA
13,738
Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Alaska
13,738
none
Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska
61,223
Bethel Census Area, Alaska
18,224
Kodiak Island Borough, Alaska
12,565
North Slope Borough, Alaska
10,603
Nome Census Area, Alaska
9,763
City and Borough of Sitka, Alaska
8,282
Kusilvak Census Area, Alaska
8,001
Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska
7,361
Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska
7,077
Chugach Census Area, Alaska
6,769
Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area, Alaska
5,696
Aleutians West Census Area, Alaska
5,160
Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska
5,129
Dillingham Census Area, Alaska
4,607
Aleutians East Borough, Alaska
3,461
Petersburg Borough, Alaska
3,427
Copper River Census Area, Alaska
2,674
Hoonah-Angoon Census Area, Alaska
2,262
Haines Borough, Alaska
2,070
Wrangell City and Borough, Alaska
2,064
Denali Borough, Alaska
1,584
Lake and Peninsula Borough, Alaska
1,331
Municipality of Skagway, Alaska
1,095
Bristol Bay Borough, Alaska
844
Yakutat City and Borough, Alaska
687
State of Alaska
733,406
Core-based statistical areas [ edit ]
The following table provides the in-state population ranking of each CBSA along with its rate of population change over time.
The four core-based statistical areas of the State of Alaska
2023 rank
Core-based statistical area [ 1]
Population
2023 estimate[ 3]
Change
2020 Census [ 4]
Change
2010 Census [ 5]
1
Anchorage, AK MSA
401,314
+0.75 %
398,328
+4.60 %
380,821
2
Fairbanks-College, AK MSA
94,840
−0.85 %
95,655
−1.97 %
97,581
3
Juneau, AK μSA
31,555
−2.17 %
32,255
+3.13 %
31,275
4
Ketchikan, AK μSA
13,738
−1.51 %
13,948
+3.49 %
13,477
^ a b c Revised Delineations of Metropolitan Statistical Areas, Micropolitan Statistical Areas, and Combined Statistical Areas, and Guidance on Uses of the Delineations of These Areas (July 21, 2023). "0MB BULLETIN NO. 23-01" (PDF) . Office of Management and Budget . Retrieved November 5, 2023 . {{cite web }}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link )
^ a b c d e "2020 Standards for Delineating Core Based Statistical Areas" . Office of Management and Budget . July 16, 2021. Retrieved December 13, 2021 .
^ a b c "County Population Totals and Components of Change: 2020-2023" . United States Census Bureau , Population Division. March 2023. Retrieved May 21, 2024 .
^ "PROFILE OF GENERAL POPULATION AND HOUSING CHARACTERISTICS" . U.S. Census Bureau . 2020. Retrieved May 21, 2024 .
^ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2019" . U.S. Census Bureau . 2019. Retrieved May 21, 2024 .
64°04′07″N 152°16′42″W / 64.0685°N 152.2782°W / 64.0685; -152.2782 (State of Alaska )