North Slope Borough, Alaska

North Slope Borough is a borough in Alaska, United States, stretching from the crest of the Brooks Range to the Arctic Ocean coast. It had a population of 11,031 at the 2020 census and covers 94,796 square miles (245,520 km2) — the largest county-equivalent in the United States by area — centred near 69°18′N 153°27′W.

Utqiagvik — renamed from Barrow in 2016 — is the county seat, and its postal code is 99723. The borough has seven incorporated cities, two census-designated places, and several unincorporated oil-field camps; there are no civil townships in Alaska. The whole borough runs on Alaska Time (UTC−9, UTC−8 during daylight time), and its FIPS code is 02185.

Towns & Villages in North Slope Borough

North Slope Borough has 11 named places on the map below: seven incorporated cities (all Iñupiat villages except Deadhorse), two census-designated places, and a handful of unincorporated oil-support camps along the Dalton Highway corridor. None of the borough’s communities is connected by road to the rest of Alaska except Deadhorse, the terminus of the Dalton Highway.

Deadhorse and Prudhoe Bay sit at the same industrial hub near the Beaufort Sea coast and are often used interchangeably; Deadhorse is the airport and support-camp cluster, while Prudhoe Bay is the census-designated place covering the surrounding oil-field housing and facilities. Alpine and Sagwon, further west and south, are unincorporated oil-field satellite camps with no permanent census population reported separately.

ZIP Codes

• 99723 — Utqiagvik
• 99721 — Anaktuvuk Pass
• 99791 — Atqasuk
• 99747 — Kaktovik
• 99789 — Nuiqsut
• 99766 — Point Hope
• 99759 — Point Lay
• 99782 — Wainwright
• 99734 — Prudhoe Bay (also serves Deadhorse)

Every incorporated city and CDP in the borough has its own ZIP code; Alpine, Sagwon, and Umiat have no dedicated ZIP and use mail routed through the nearest serviced village.

Geography

North Slope Borough covers the entire Arctic Slope of Alaska: the northern flank of the Brooks Range, the rolling Arctic foothills, and the flat coastal tundra plain running along the Chukchi and Beaufort seas. The Colville River, the largest river draining the North Slope, crosses the borough east to west before reaching the Arctic Ocean near Nuiqsut. Much of the borough’s eastern third lies within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and the western third overlaps the National Petroleum Reserve–Alaska.

The borough borders the Northwest Arctic Borough to the southwest, the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area to the south and southeast, and the Yukon Territory of Canada across an unorganized international boundary to the east; the Arctic Ocean, Chukchi Sea, and Beaufort Sea bound it on the north and west. Only Northwest Arctic Borough currently has a live county-style page on this site.

Demographics

The 2020 census counted 11,031 residents, the vast majority Iñupiat Alaska Native. Utqiagvik, with 4,927 people, holds nearly half the borough’s population, followed by Point Hope at 830. Density works out to roughly one person per 8 square miles of land — among the lowest of any county-equivalent in the country. The borough’s own oil and gas property tax base, unusual for a rural Alaska borough, funds schools and services well above the Alaska median household income of $88,121, though a verified borough-level income figure is not available here.

Economy & Local Life

The borough’s economy runs on two tracks. Property taxes on the Prudhoe Bay and Alpine oil fields, both within borough limits, pay for schools, a modern water and sewer utility, and public safety across all eight villages — a funding model unique among rural Alaska boroughs. Alongside that industrial base, subsistence hunting and fishing remain central to daily life: bowhead whale hunts each spring and fall are a community event in Utqiagvik, Kaktovik, Point Hope, Wainwright, and Nuiqsut, and caribou, seal, and fish round out the subsistence economy in Anaktuvuk Pass and Atqasuk.

History

North Slope Borough was organized in 1972, the first Alaska borough formed specifically so a group of Iñupiat villages could tax the newly discovered Prudhoe Bay oil infrastructure for local services rather than see that revenue flow only to the state. The Alaska Supreme Court upheld the borough’s authority to tax the oil facilities in 1976, a decision that reshaped municipal finance across the state. The borough took its name from the North Slope, the geographic region lying north of the Brooks Range crest. Construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline through the 1970s and the growth of the Dalton Highway to Deadhorse followed the Prudhoe Bay discovery and remain the region’s defining infrastructure.

Getting There

No public road connects Utqiagvik or any of the borough’s seven Iñupiat villages to the rest of Alaska; all scheduled travel is by air. Deadhorse, at the north end of the Dalton Highway, is the borough’s only community reachable by road.

• Fairbanks — about 500 miles south (nearest major hub with year-round jet service to Utqiagvik)
• Anchorage — about 725 miles south (direct flights to Utqiagvik and Deadhorse)
• Deadhorse — about 500 driving miles north of Fairbanks via the Dalton Highway, the only road link into the borough

Utqiagvik is served by Wiley Post–Will Rogers Memorial Airport, with jet service from Anchorage and Fairbanks; each village has its own gravel airstrip for smaller in-borough flights.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is North Slope Borough?
It occupies the entire Arctic Slope of northern Alaska, from the Brooks Range crest to the Arctic Ocean coast.

What is the population of North Slope Borough?
11,031 at the 2020 census.

How big is North Slope Borough?
94,796 square miles (245,520 km2), the largest county-equivalent in the United States.

What is the county seat of North Slope Borough?
Utqiagvik, renamed from Barrow in 2016.

How many towns are in North Slope Borough?
Seven incorporated cities, two census-designated places, and several unincorporated oil-support camps.

What ZIP codes are in North Slope Borough?
Nine ZIP codes, one per incorporated city and CDP, from 99721 (Anaktuvuk Pass) to 99791 (Atqasuk).

Is North Slope Borough connected to Alaska’s road system?
Only at Deadhorse, via the Dalton Highway; every other community is fly-in only.

More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Alaska.