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Place dossier plate
SheetAK-WHITTIER-AK · Whittier, AK 471 pop · income 31st 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 Whittier
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Whittier on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Sparkman · lowest
37,222
Sparkman · lowest
37,222 median HH income
33.0% of the leader · rank #1
Whittier · this city
57,188
Whittier · this city
57,188 median HH income
50.7% of the leader · rank #2
Bondville · near
57,188
Bondville · near
57,188 median HH income
50.7% of the leader · rank #3
Marietta · near
57,188
Marietta · near
57,188 median HH income
50.7% of the leader · rank #4
Losantville · near
57,188
Losantville · near
57,188 median HH income
50.7% of the leader · rank #5
Rosedale · near
57,188
Rosedale · near
57,188 median HH income
50.7% of the leader · rank #6
Forestville C… · highest
112,746
Forestville C… · highest
112,746 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 Whittier 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: 471.
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Whittier lands in the 31st percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.
31st
percentile, household income
4th
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: Whittier, AK
Whittier is a small town in Alaska, home to 471 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Households in Whittier report a median income of $57,188 per year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 20.0%. Whittier's housing stock carries a median value of $83,500, and the median resident age is 29.8 years. About 30.8% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 66.1% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 0 residential units authorized here in 2024 (No Permits). NOAA puts Whittier's yearly average temperature at 41.1°F with 197.3 inches of precipitation per year and 268.2 inches of snowfall.
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. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Alaska run around $271, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. Natural-hazard exposure scores 35.2 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (Very Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Whittier'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 housing and income to climate and hazard context to population change to comparison shortlist to schools and households to work and mobility; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Whittier, city-specific coverage includes matched public-school count, annual population history, commute-mode shares, local building permits.
No matched row is reported here for FBI reported-crime rates, within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Housing and income
How far does income reach against housing in Whittier?
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.
The home-value-to-income reference is relatively compact: the ACS median home value is 1.5 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 20.0%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
The two sources should not be blended into one comfort or safety score. Use the climate values for baseline conditions and the risk index as a prompt to inspect specific hazards, insurance, and local emergency guidance for a particular address.
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 41.1°F, with 197.3 inches of precipitation and 268.2 inches of annual snowfall. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for Alaska is 35.2 out of 100. Climate normals describe long-run weather; the FEMA score on PlainCities is a state average of county NRI inputs and combines hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and resilience.
Is Whittier growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -28 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -10.1% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 0 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
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.
Which cities make useful reference points for Whittier?
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.
Within Alaska, the closest population matches are Kiana (471 residents, $66,719 income); Angoon (467 residents, $45,938 income); Thorne Bay (475 residents, $61,750 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Sparkman, AR (471 residents); Ellsworth, MN (471 residents); Wellsburg, NY (471 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.
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.
Schools and households
What does the education layer cover for Whittier?
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.
The NCES join finds 1 public school within the city match. 30.8% 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.
Poverty estimate
20.0%
Bachelor's degree+
30.8%
Matched public schools
1
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
What does the journey to work look like in Whittier?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 39.9%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
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.
Drive alone
39.9%
Work from home
15.9%
Public transit
0.0%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 208 workers age 16+.
Below median income · poverty 20.0% (High poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
102.4 (US=100)
Above-average cost · BEA RPP 2024, Alaska average
F
City profile score · Whittier, AK
31/100
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.
Bachelor's+ share C
30.8%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income F
$57,188
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
20.0%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Whittier profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Bachelor's+ share: 59/100 (C) · 30.8%
Household income: 30/100 (F) · $57,188
Cost of living: 29/100 (F) · 102.4 index
Poverty rate: 13/100 (F) · 20.0%
How does Whittier compare to other US cities?
Here's how Whittier stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income31% higher than other cities
Home value4% 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 Whittier 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 Whittier near the bottom of Alaska's cities
Among the 228 Alaska cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Whittier ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Whittier only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#136 of 215
37th percentile in Alaska
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 228
0th percentile in Alaska
Median Home Value
#173 of 200
14th percentile in Alaska
Poverty Rate
#61 of 225
72nd percentile in Alaska
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#46 of 228
80th 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
31st percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Whittier's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$83,500Among the most affordablemore affordable than 96% 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
Whittier's home-value-to-income ratio: 1.5×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#337 of 15,516
More affordable than 98% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#331 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 1.5×, Whittier sits in the affordable band:
national rank #337 of 15,516 and #331 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
$57,188Whittier, AK median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Whittier, 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 Whittier, AK.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)30.8%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)20.0%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)66.1%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
471
Median Income
$57,188
Median Home Value
$83,500
Median Age
29.8
Poverty Rate
20.0%
Labor force participation
66.1%
Bachelor's Degree+
30.8%
Climate
Avg Temperature
41.1°F
Annual Precipitation
197.3"
Annual Snowfall
268.2"
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
Whittier's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
277 residents
2021
270 residents
2022
265 residents
2023
258 residents
2024
252 residents
2025
249 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
Total Permits (2024)
0
housing units authorized
Single-Family
0
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
0
0
0
-
2020
0
0
0
-
2021
0
0
0
-
2022
0
0
0
-
2023
0
0
0
-
2024
0
0
0
-
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
39.9%
Carpool
15.4%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
27.9%
Work from Home
15.9%
Other
0.9%
Based on 208 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 Whittier. 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 Whittier 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 Whittier sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Whittier 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, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, 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.