County facts · Land area · October 22, 2026

Largest Counties in Alaska: Boroughs and Census Areas

Alaska's largest boroughs and census areas by land area and 2023 population, the smallest, and a link to each official parcel map.

Looking for the largest counties in Alaska? Alaska has no counties. The Census Bureau instead counts 30 county equivalents: 19 boroughs, including the unified city-boroughs such as Anchorage and Juneau, and 11 census areas that it draws inside the Unorganized Borough, where there is no borough government. Together they cover about 571,022 square miles of land, based on the 2020 Gazetteer. The largest by land area is Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, at about 145,576 square miles, roughly 335 times the size of the smallest, Skagway Municipality (434 sq mi). Measured by people instead, the largest is Anchorage Municipality, with about 286,075 residents in the Census Bureau's July 1, 2023 estimate.

The Valdez-Cordova Census Area was split into the Chugach and Copper River census areas in 2019. Platbookmapper's directory still files that ground under one Valdez-Cordova entry, so those two rows below are shown without a county page link. Most boroughs and census areas have no county seat in the usual sense, so this page leaves the Seat column out.

The tables below rank the boroughs and census areas both ways. Each row links to the borough or census area's Platbookmapper page and straight to its official parcel viewer.

Alaska boroughs and census areas at a glance

• Boroughs and census areas: 30
• Land area: about 571,022 sq mi, plus about 94,742 sq mi of water inside borough and census area lines
• Residents, 2023 estimates: about 733,406, or about 1.3 people per square mile of land
• Median borough or census area land area: about 7,479 sq mi
• With a verified public parcel viewer in our directory: 21 of 30 (11 of them through a statewide viewer)

The 10 largest Alaska boroughs and census areas by land area

Together these 10 cover about 79% of Alaska's land area and hold about 25% of its residents.

The 10 most populous Alaska boroughs and census areas

These 10 hold about 89% of Alaska's residents in the 2023 estimates.

The 5 smallest Alaska boroughs and census areas by land area

Most and least crowded

• Most people per square mile: Anchorage Municipality, about 168 (then Fairbanks North Star Borough, 13, and Juneau City and Borough, 12)
• Fewest people per square mile: Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, about 0.04 (then Lake and Peninsula Borough, 0.06, and Yakutat City and Borough, 0.09)

Boroughs and census areas with the most water

The Census Bureau reports water separately from land. It counts lakes, reservoirs, rivers and, along a coast or a Great Lake, the water inside the boundary.

• Lake and Peninsula Borough: about 10,035 sq mi of water, 30% of its total area
• Aleutians West Census Area: about 9,723 sq mi of water, 69% of its total area
• Kenai Peninsula Borough: about 8,703 sq mi of water, 35% of its total area

Using these numbers in a land search

• Land area is not parcel count. A large rural borough or census area can hold fewer parcels than a small suburban one, so size alone says little about how busy its parcel map is.
• Search, don't scroll. In a big borough or census area, type an address, owner name or parcel number into the viewer's search box, where it has one, instead of panning across the map.
• Records follow recording districts. Alaska records deeds through the state Recorder's Office by recording district, while boroughs and cities that tax property keep their own maps.
• Rounded figures. Land and water areas are rounded to whole square miles (one decimal for very small places). People per square mile is the 2023 estimate divided by land area.

Related guides

• Alaska borough GIS websites by viewer
• Alaska landowner maps for hunting
• Largest county in each state
• Largest counties in the US by land area

More: All Alaska boroughs and census areas on Platbookmapper

Sources

• U.S. Census Bureau Gazetteer files, 2020 county land and water area.
• U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, county totals, Vintage 2023 (July 1, 2023 estimates)
• Platbookmapper county GIS directory (live data file behind our county pages, pulled October 22, 2026) for each official parcel viewer.