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Place dossier plate
SheetAK-AMBLER-AK · Ambler, AK 201 pop · income 9th pct
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Ambler
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Ambler on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Deer Creek · lowest
36,713
Deer Creek · lowest
36,713 median HH income
17.6% of the leader · rank #1
Ambler · this city
41,563
Ambler · this city
41,563 median HH income
20.0% of the leader · rank #2
Ochlocknee · near
41,563
Ochlocknee · near
41,563 median HH income
20.0% of the leader · rank #3
Tremont · near
41,563
Tremont · near
41,563 median HH income
20.0% of the leader · rank #4
Meta · near
41,563
Meta · near
41,563 median HH income
20.0% of the leader · rank #5
Pattonsburg · near
41,563
Pattonsburg · near
41,563 median HH income
20.0% of the leader · rank #6
Brookfield Ce… · highest
208,333
Brookfield Ce… · highest
208,333 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Ambler on ACS population and median household income
. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 201.
Ambler ranks in the 9th percentile for household income nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS.
9th
percentile, household income
5th
percentile, home value
70th
percentile, median rent
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Ambler, AK
Alaska's Ambler is a small town, with 201 residents per the latest Census Bureau ACS figures. Ambler households earn a median of $41,563 annually, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 25.5%. Typical homes in Ambler are valued around $86,700, and the median resident age is 33.8 years. About 5.6% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 21.0% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The city is served by 1 public schools according to NCES Common Core of Data.
Alaska tracks close to the national cost-of-living baseline: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, Alaska scores 102.4 (Near Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $1,467 monthly. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts Alaska's average monthly utility costs around $271 (state average). FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 35.2 out of 100 (Very Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Ambler's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from population change to comparison shortlist to schools and households to housing and income to work and mobility; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Ambler, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares, matched public-school count, annual population history.
No matched row is reported here for FBI reported-crime rates, local building permits, within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Population change
Is Ambler growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Recent estimates point downward. A falling count can reflect migration, household size, annexation boundaries, or estimation noise, so it is a prompt to inspect the full series rather than a claim about local economic health.
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -28 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -10.2% change. No comparable local building-permit series is available here, so population change should not be read as a housing-supply measure. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Which cities make useful reference points for Ambler?
Within Alaska, the closest population matches are Gakona (200 residents, $90,313 income); Nikolaevsk (202 residents, $55,000 income); Northway (202 residents). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Deer Creek, AZ (201 residents); Gu Oidak, AZ (201 residents); Letona, AR (201 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching.
The NCES join finds 1 public school within the city match. 5.6% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
The matched institution count is small, so district boundaries and schools outside the city line may matter more than the municipal count suggests. Use the number as a coverage cue, then verify attendance zones with the district before making a household decision.
How far does income reach against housing in Ambler?
The home-value-to-income reference is relatively compact: the ACS median home value is 2.1 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 25.5%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. The ratio makes housing the clearest place to start this profile, but a low multiple can coexist with slow demand, older stock, or household-level hardship. Compare the home-value distribution and same-state peer table before treating it as an advantage.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Work and mobility
What does the journey to work look like in Ambler?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. Remote work has a visible role in the local pattern. That can reduce commute exposure for some workers, but it says nothing about job availability or broadband quality; read it alongside income and housing rather than as a stand-alone lifestyle score.
Walking is the largest reported mode at 65.5%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Public transit
0.0%
Work from home
17.2%
Drive alone
0.0%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 29 workers age 16+.
Lowest-decile income · poverty 25.5% (Highest-decile poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
102.4 (US=100)
Above-average cost · BEA RPP 2024, Alaska average
F
City profile score · Ambler, AK
11/100
4 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Cost of living F
102.4 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Household income F
$41,563
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate F
25.5%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share F
5.6%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Ambler profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 29/100 (F) · 102.4 index
Household income: 9/100 (F) · $41,563
Poverty rate: 5/100 (F) · 25.5%
Bachelor's+ share: 0/100 (F) · 5.6%
How does Ambler compare to other US cities?
Where Ambler sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income9% higher than other cities
Home value5% pricier than other cities
Median rent70% pricier than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Ambler against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Alaska only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Alaska-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Ambler near the bottom of Alaska's cities
Among the 228 Alaska cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Ambler ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Ambler only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#193 of 215
10th percentile in Alaska
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 228
0th percentile in Alaska
Median Home Value
#168 of 200
16th percentile in Alaska
Poverty Rate
#46 of 225
80th percentile in Alaska
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#170 of 228
25th percentile in Alaska
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Alaska only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
9th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Ambler's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$86,700Among the most affordablemore affordable than 95% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Ambler's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.1×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#1,951 of 15,516
More affordable than 87% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#1,851 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 2.1×, Ambler sits in the affordable band:
national rank #1,951 of 15,516 and #1,851 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
The multiple is comparatively compact among tracked cities, but a low ratio can still coexist with slow demand or household-level hardship.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$41,563Ambler, AK median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Ambler, AK median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Ambler, AK.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)5.6%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)25.5%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)21.0%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
201
Median Income
$41,563
Median Home Value
$86,700
Median Age
33.8
Poverty Rate
25.5%
Labor force participation
21.0%
Bachelor's Degree+
5.6%
Schools
Total Schools
1
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Ambler's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
274 residents
2021
265 residents
2022
257 residents
2023
254 residents
2024
248 residents
2025
246 residents
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
0.0%
Carpool
0.0%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
65.5%
Work from Home
17.2%
Other
17.3%
Based on 29 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Alaska statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $271
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Alaska at $271 (electricity about $131 , water and sewer about $45 ).
These are Alaska statewide averages, not a meter reading for Ambler. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Alaska's BEA cost-of-living index is 102.4 (Near Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Ambler is $1,467/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Alaska statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 35.2 / 100 (Very Low).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Alaska statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Ambler sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Ambler compares to similar-size Alaska cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, NCES CCD, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.