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Place dossier plate
SheetAK-WHITE-MOUNTAIN-AK · White Mountain, AK 185 pop · income 30th 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 White Mountain
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest White Mountain on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Elvaston · lowest
30,625
Elvaston · lowest
30,625 median HH income
25.3% of the leader · rank #1
White Mountain · this city
56,563
White Mountain · this city
56,563 median HH income
46.6% of the leader · rank #2
Cisne · near
56,563
Cisne · near
56,563 median HH income
46.6% of the leader · rank #3
Garwin · near
56,563
Garwin · near
56,563 median HH income
46.6% of the leader · rank #4
Pierson · near
56,563
Pierson · near
56,563 median HH income
46.6% of the leader · rank #5
Burnside · near
56,563
Burnside · near
56,563 median HH income
46.6% of the leader · rank #6
Dorchester · highest
121,250
Dorchester · highest
121,250 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 White Mountain 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: 185.
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, White Mountain places in the 30th percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.
30th
percentile, household income
11th
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: White Mountain, AK
185 people live in White Mountain, Alaska - a small town by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. The typical household in White Mountain brings in $56,563 a year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 16.7%. Typical homes in White Mountain are valued around $104,700, and the median resident age is 33.9 years. About 10.2% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 50.7% 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: the state registers 102.4 on a 100-equals-national-average index (Near Average) per BEA Regional Price Parities 2024. A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $1,467 per month statewide. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Alaska run around $271, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. Commute times here average 4.3 minutes, with 0.0% driving alone and 0.0% working from home, per Census ACS commuting data. 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 White Mountain'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 comparison shortlist to work and mobility to housing and income to schools and households to population change; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For White Mountain, city-specific coverage includes matched public-school count, annual population history, commute-mode shares.
No matched row is reported here for FBI reported-crime rates, within-city Census tract profiles, local building permits; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
Which cities make useful reference points for White Mountain?
Within Alaska, the closest population matches are Old Harbor (186 residents, $31,250 income); Minto (190 residents, $62,917 income); Ruby (180 residents, $35,208 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Black Oak, AR (185 residents); Boles, AR (185 residents); Mount Vernon, AR (185 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.
What does the journey to work look like in White Mountain?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
Walking is the largest reported mode at 45.1%. The reported mean trip to work is 4.3 minutes.
How far does income reach against housing in White Mountain?
The home-value-to-income reference is relatively compact: the ACS median home value is 1.9 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 16.7%, 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.
What does the education layer cover for White Mountain?
The NCES join finds 1 public school within the city match. 10.2% 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.
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.
Population change
Is White Mountain 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 -5 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -2.7% 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.
Period change
-2.7%
2025 estimate
179
2020 estimate
184
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
Below median income · poverty 16.7% (High poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
102.4 (US=100)
Above-average cost · BEA RPP 2024, Alaska average
F
City profile score · White Mountain, AK
23/100
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.
Household income F
$56,563
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
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.
Poverty rate F
16.7%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share F
10.2%
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).
White Mountain profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Household income: 30/100 (F) · $56,563
Cost of living: 29/100 (F) · 102.4 index
Poverty rate: 19/100 (F) · 16.7%
Bachelor's+ share: 7/100 (F) · 10.2%
How does White Mountain compare to other US cities?
White Mountain measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income30% higher than other cities
Home value11% 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 White Mountain 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 White Mountain near the bottom of Alaska's cities
Among the 228 Alaska cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, White Mountain ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares White Mountain only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#138 of 215
35th percentile in Alaska
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 228
0th percentile in Alaska
Median Home Value
#151 of 200
25th percentile in Alaska
Poverty Rate
#78 of 225
65th percentile in Alaska
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#144 of 228
37th 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
30th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How White Mountain's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$104,700Among the most affordablemore affordable than 89% 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
White Mountain's home-value-to-income ratio: 1.9×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#1,155 of 15,516
More affordable than 93% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#1,116 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 1.9×, White Mountain sits in the affordable band:
national rank #1,155 of 15,516 and #1,116 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
$56,563White Mountain, AK median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context White Mountain, 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 White Mountain, AK.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)10.2%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)16.7%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)50.7%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
185
Median Income
$56,563
Median Home Value
$104,700
Median Age
33.9
Poverty Rate
16.7%
Labor force participation
50.7%
Bachelor's Degree+
10.2%
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
White Mountain's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
184 residents
2021
181 residents
2022
179 residents
2023
178 residents
2024
179 residents
2025
179 residents
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
4.3 minutes
Drive Alone
0.0%
Carpool
0.0%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
45.1%
Work from Home
0.0%
Other
54.9%
Based on 71 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 White Mountain. 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 White Mountain 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 White Mountain sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How White Mountain 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.